Search - Killer's Kiss on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1955 DVD Release: 06/29/1999 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 7 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 7 Genres: Thriller, Film Noir, Crime Thriller

Stanley Kubrick's second feature film, Killer's Kiss was made on a budget of $40,000, all raised by Kubrick's relatives. The black-and-white drama was shot principally at night in a variety of seedy Manhattan locations. The plot, told in an extended flashback, covers two days in the life of boxer Davy Gordon (Jamie Smith) -- he meets nightclub dancer Gloria Price (Irene Kane); the two fall in love, and decide to make their futures somewhere other than New York City. But Gloria is lusted after by her ex-employer, Vince Rapallo (Frank Silvera), who not only won't take "no" for an answer but has no intention of losing her to a two-bit boxer. His machinations lead to murder, a police manhunt, and revenge in the best film noir fashion -- the very best, in fact, as Kubrick's use of real New York settings (and very ominous and sleazy New York settings at that) gives the action here a startling verisimilitude, as though we're watching a documentary, or the unfolding of actual events. The violence escalates as Davy and Rapallo find themselves going one-on-one, to the death if need be, with a climax in a warehouse filled with department store mannequins and their various component parts. Director-writer-photographer-editor Kubrick wasn't pleased with the studio-imposed ending added by its distributor (United Artists), but that compromise was a lot more logical and satisfying than the filmmaker's intended denouement. Irene Kane, who played the female lead, subsequently achieved success as TV commentator and journalist Chris Chase; also appearing in the film is Kubrick's then-wife Ruth Sobotka. And Frank Silvera, who plays the villain, was among the most prominent black actors working in theater and films during the 1950s, and eventually achieved stardom on television a dozen years later with his role on the NBC series The High Chapparal. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Frank Silvera - Vincent Rapallo
Jamie Smith - Davy Gordon
Irene Kane - Gloria Price
Jerry Jarret - Albert, the Fight Manager
Michael Dana - Hoodlum

Stanley Kubrick's Killer's Kiss came to DVD without a lot of notice in 1999, and it's a shame that more people haven't seen fit to grab it up -- in contrast to his final film, Eyes Wide Shut released posthumously that same year, this is Kubrick at the outset of his career and at his least pretentious, writing his own screenplay, operating his own camera, doing his own editing, and co-producing as well as directing, all on the streets in New York for virtually no money at all. Kubrick was, no doubt, happy to have finished the movie -- how it would look or sound 50 years later was not in his or United Artists' thinking when they purchased the completed film from him. That said, the movie has come down to us looking amazingly good and sounding even better -- either UA was unusually good to this movie by accident, or somebody recognized, probably on about the time the studio had him doing The Paths Of Glory or Lolita for the same company, that Kubrick's movies were worth watching out for and might matter in the future. The 67 minute film retains the amateurish feel that the director aimed for, but the transfer is smoother and cleaner than one has a right to expect -- the smoke from Frank Silvera's cigar 11 minutes in looks like it's being puffed into the same room with you, and you can see the pores on the skin of the boxer in the medium shot at 12:45 seconds into the picture. Even the darkened room shot as 17:15 shows enough detail to be usable in advancing the narrative, and the detail is so sharp, that the window seen in the mirror shot at 18:20 offers useful picture information on the small-screen. In other words, watching this DVD is a lot like restoring the wonder of watching the original release unspool in a theater back when, so many layers of age and wear have been penetrated. Just to prove how much someone at MGM/UA Home Video liked this movie, the 67-minute drama has been given 20 chapters, and the original trailer has been included as well. Indeed, one strongly suspects that, in pure dollar terms, a lot more money was spent transferring this movie digitally and producing the DVD than Kubrick spent making the original picture. The result, when coupled with Kubrick's decision to film on location in New York, in Greenwich Village and such lost locales as the original Pennsylvania Station, is also one of that relative handful of feature films -- which includes Jules Dassin's Naked City, John Cassavetes' Shadows, Jack O'Connell's Greenwich Village Story, and Edward Dmytryk's Mirage -- that give modern viewers a delightful glimpse back to a lost New York City. The fact that Killer's Kiss has been given a $15 list price makes deciding whether or not to purchase this disc practically a no-brainer. The disc opens on a simple menu that is straightforward and very easy to use. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide