Search - Kill Me Again on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Profanity, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1989 DVD Release: 12/19/2000 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Thriller, Post-Noir (Modern Noir)

In his film debut, novice director John Dahl (who would later make The Last Seduction), weaves a quirky tale of love, murder and deception. Jack Andrews (Val Kilmer), a seedy private detective is hired by Fay Forrester (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer), to help her fake her own death in a clever scheme to escape from her mob pursuers, whom she double-crossed stealing money she had been sent to pick up, and are now intent on killing her. There then ensues a series of complicated plot-twists, double-crosses and surprises as Fay and Jack race each other to escape the mobsters, who have found them, and to get the money before the other does. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Val Kilmer - Jack Andrews
Joanne Whalley - Fay Forrester
Michael Madsen - Vince Miller
Jonathan Gries - Alan Swayze
Pat Mulligan - Sammy
Nick Dimitri - Marty
Michael Greene - Lt. Hendrix

Kill Me Again relies heavily on atmosphere and mood, but these aspects suffer on DVD because the picture is cropped. Widescreen transfers are becoming fairly standard issue these days, which makes the absence of one on this disc all the more frustrating. The overall transfer is mediocre, with no major drawbacks or positives. A significant amount of defects exist, including some graininess and muted colors. However, the outdoor scenes remain fairly bright and clear, with well-defined images in the foreground and background. The 2.0-channel Dolby Surround soundtrack functions well in conveying the sordid mood and tension of the film. While the sounds fail to move remarkably well from left to right, the end results are clear and efficient. Though this is a fairly obscure MGM catalog title, the lack of any noteworthy extras is still irksome. Even a short section of production notes or cast information would have helped. This disc does contain the original theatrical trailer in the full-screen form; it succeeds in conveying the dark, shady nature of the film without giving away the entire plot. Overall, though, the lack of extras, combined with the full-screen transfer, shows MGM's minimal interest in promoting this film on DVD. ~ Dan Heaton, All Movie Guide