The Killers - Criterion Collection
starring: Claude Akins, Hall Brock, John Cassavetes, Virginia Christine, John Copage
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Product Description:
Studio: Image EntertainmentRelease Date: 02/18/2003Run time: 196 minutes
Amazon.com:
The Killers (1946)
This 1946 adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story adds well over an hour of new material to the original tale. The reason is, while director Robert Siodmak, star Burt Lancaster, and an outstanding supporting cast are faithful to Hemingway's work, his story only takes up about 15 minutes of screen time. Burt Lancaster plays the doomed man sought by hired guns in a small town. Hemingway's bruisingly concise dialogue makes an early sequence set in a diner quite unnerving, but after the killers dispense with their prey, Siodmak turns to an insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) who looks into the reasons behind the murder. An exemplary film noir (complete with a fickle femme fatale played by Ava Gardner), The Killers is all mood and fatalism.
The Killers (1964)
The 1964 remake (of sorts) by Don Siegel builds another whole world around Hemingway's narrow, if intense, premise. The two assassins of Siegel's film (Clu Gulager, Lee Marvin) go in search of their intended victim--a teacher (John Cassavetes) at a school for the blind--and find that he not only recognizes his fate when they show up, but seems entirely resigned to it. Curiosity leads the killers to seek out the party who hired them and discover why Cassavetes's character didn't run or fight. Soon the facts tumble into place--the dead man had once been a top-drawer racer who fell for a glamorous woman (Angie Dickinson), the latter gradually pulling him into the orbit of a criminal villain (a convincingly evil Ronald Reagan)--and the film becomes increasingly dark and dangerous. Originally shot for television but rejected for its violence, Siegel's film is a blistering experience of swimming against the currents of fate for one's survival--and losing. --Tom Keogh
Studio: Image EntertainmentRelease Date: 02/18/2003Run time: 196 minutes
Amazon.com:
The Killers (1946)
This 1946 adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story adds well over an hour of new material to the original tale. The reason is, while director Robert Siodmak, star Burt Lancaster, and an outstanding supporting cast are faithful to Hemingway's work, his story only takes up about 15 minutes of screen time. Burt Lancaster plays the doomed man sought by hired guns in a small town. Hemingway's bruisingly concise dialogue makes an early sequence set in a diner quite unnerving, but after the killers dispense with their prey, Siodmak turns to an insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) who looks into the reasons behind the murder. An exemplary film noir (complete with a fickle femme fatale played by Ava Gardner), The Killers is all mood and fatalism.
The Killers (1964)
The 1964 remake (of sorts) by Don Siegel builds another whole world around Hemingway's narrow, if intense, premise. The two assassins of Siegel's film (Clu Gulager, Lee Marvin) go in search of their intended victim--a teacher (John Cassavetes) at a school for the blind--and find that he not only recognizes his fate when they show up, but seems entirely resigned to it. Curiosity leads the killers to seek out the party who hired them and discover why Cassavetes's character didn't run or fight. Soon the facts tumble into place--the dead man had once been a top-drawer racer who fell for a glamorous woman (Angie Dickinson), the latter gradually pulling him into the orbit of a criminal villain (a convincingly evil Ronald Reagan)--and the film becomes increasingly dark and dangerous. Originally shot for television but rejected for its violence, Siegel's film is a blistering experience of swimming against the currents of fate for one's survival--and losing. --Tom Keogh
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Not Super But Notable For A Few Things
I always thought the best part of the `46 "The Killers" was the opening scene in the diner with two of the toughest guys in the film noir genre: Charles McGraw and William Conrad. After that, it went downhill but is still quite passable as a film noir.
It's also nice to see Ava Gardner in her prime. Take a look: there is a woman with some true sex appeal! Also fun to admire was the cinematography, which usually is good in film noirs. This is why I purchased the Criterion DVD version ... Read More
Rating: 
- 1946 Trumps 1964
It's interesting that Criterion packaged the original fim adaptation of "The Killers" along with it's remake, or in this case, the reimaging.This is a case, however, where the original in terms of artistry outdoes the remake.Director Robert Siodmak's 1946 version is innovative in terms of style merging noir and cinema verite.The byzantine script takes many interesting twists and turns that add up to a satisfying experience.Burt Lancaster, as the doomed Swede, with little dialogue manages ... Read More
Rating: - Thoughtful Hired Guns
Ernest Hemingway was a prolific short story writer and I have argued in the past elsewhere in this space that perhaps some of these were his best literary efforts. Needless to say,a writer whose command of a sparse and functional style is going do very nicely when Hollywood comes a-calling. In this case the short story was indeed short. A couple of hired killers come into a lunch counter looking for someone on the run. He doesn't show and that is the end of the story. Although we presume his fate ... Read More
Rating: - A first-rate crime noir from 1946; a flawed and dated crime story from 1964
The Killers (1946) -How do you make an interesting movie when the character the movie ostensibly is all about is just a dumb lug, as interesting as a boiled potato? The Swede stumbles into one situation after another, willing to believe in true love or lies. For me, director Robert Siodmak and screenwriters Anthony Veiller, Richard Brooks and John Huston (the last two uncredited) solve this problem three ways.
First, there is the great look and style of the movie. I think it's impossible ... Read More
Rating: - Film Noir "The Killers" reviewed by Chroesus
I could not wait to view this set of DVD's. I found both versions to be
well acted divergent takes on a classic noir theme. The one bad step that
leads to more mis-steps and a long dark spiral with plenty of crime drama
and action to boot.
The sixties era version took a bad rap in many of the reviews I read but
I found the Lee Marvin performance action packed and entertaining all the
way thru. It lacked the noir atmosphere but managed to preserve almost all
of ... Read More
- Not Super But Notable For A Few ThingsI always thought the best part of the `46 "The Killers" was the opening scene in the diner with two of the toughest guys in the film noir genre: Charles McGraw and William Conrad. After that, it went downhill but is still quite passable as a film noir.
It's also nice to see Ava Gardner in her prime. Take a look: there is a woman with some true sex appeal! Also fun to admire was the cinematography, which usually is good in film noirs. This is why I purchased the Criterion DVD version ... Read More
- 1946 Trumps 1964It's interesting that Criterion packaged the original fim adaptation of "The Killers" along with it's remake, or in this case, the reimaging.This is a case, however, where the original in terms of artistry outdoes the remake.Director Robert Siodmak's 1946 version is innovative in terms of style merging noir and cinema verite.The byzantine script takes many interesting twists and turns that add up to a satisfying experience.Burt Lancaster, as the doomed Swede, with little dialogue manages ... Read More
- Thoughtful Hired GunsErnest Hemingway was a prolific short story writer and I have argued in the past elsewhere in this space that perhaps some of these were his best literary efforts. Needless to say,a writer whose command of a sparse and functional style is going do very nicely when Hollywood comes a-calling. In this case the short story was indeed short. A couple of hired killers come into a lunch counter looking for someone on the run. He doesn't show and that is the end of the story. Although we presume his fate ... Read More
- A first-rate crime noir from 1946; a flawed and dated crime story from 1964The Killers (1946) -How do you make an interesting movie when the character the movie ostensibly is all about is just a dumb lug, as interesting as a boiled potato? The Swede stumbles into one situation after another, willing to believe in true love or lies. For me, director Robert Siodmak and screenwriters Anthony Veiller, Richard Brooks and John Huston (the last two uncredited) solve this problem three ways.
First, there is the great look and style of the movie. I think it's impossible ... Read More
- Film Noir "The Killers" reviewed by ChroesusI could not wait to view this set of DVD's. I found both versions to be
well acted divergent takes on a classic noir theme. The one bad step that
leads to more mis-steps and a long dark spiral with plenty of crime drama
and action to boot.
The sixties era version took a bad rap in many of the reviews I read but
I found the Lee Marvin performance action packed and entertaining all the
way thru. It lacked the noir atmosphere but managed to preserve almost all
of ... Read More
