The Killers - Criterion Collection

Buy This Item The Killers - Criterion Collection by Criterion  Available from Amazon  $34.99  on 11-28-2008     <B><I>The Killers</I> (1946)</B> 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), <I>The Killers</I> is all mood and fatalism.<p> <p> <B><I>The Killers</I> (1964)</B> 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. <I>--Tom Keogh</I> Reader Reviews 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 to light up the screen and herald him as a force to be reckoned with. Ava Gardner, as the sultry Kitty Collins, makes for a lethal femme fatale. Lancaster and Gardner may get top billing here but the film's real star is Edmond O'Brien as the dogged insurance investigator who's trying to sort out all the strands of the mystery that is the murder of the inconsequential Swede. Don Siegel's 1964 remake, if it existed in a vacuum, would be an OK film but, alas, it has to be unfortunately compared to the far superior original. Siegel's film breaks no cinematic ground. One interesting conceit here is that the inquisitor role has shifted to the hired gunmen played by Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager. Marvin, as always, in his trademark hardbitten style is terrific. Ronald Reagan, in his final big screen role, is compelling as the film's heavy. John Cassavetes and Angie Dickinson, however, are no substitute for Lancaster and Gardner. I recommend this set highly, however, as an example of changing film styles.

The Killers - Criterion Collection Available from Amazon Price: $34.99 Updated on 11-28-2008.

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