Saturday, May 28, 2016

The Killers (1946)

The Killers is a 1946 Robert Siodmak film noir starring Burt Lancaster (in his film debut), Ava Gardner (in her first major role), Edmond O'Brien, Sam Levene and featuring William Conrad in his first credited role. A classic noir, this is well-done.

trailer:



Slant Magazine says, "Robert Siodmak's The Killers is a thing of formal beauty —a significant title in our blossoming awareness of collected stylistics that are now called "film noir."" FilmReference.com concludes, "Siodmak's work occupies a central niche in the history of film theory, in film noir , and in the relations of cinema and literature."

The NYT has a review from the time of its release. DVD Talk calls it "definitely a top-ten title in the noir canon".

FilmSite.org describes it as "an intense, hard-edged, stylish film noir of robbery, unrequited love, brutal betrayal and double-cross". Criterion calls it an "archetypal masterpiece". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 100%.

2 comments:

  1. I have to chuckle--watched the trailer and then a movie called The Hitch-Hiker (1953) came up afterwards and I am going to watch that in a little while. Directed by Ida Lupino and based on a real psychotic murderer. :)

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    1. She was the first woman to direct a film noir. She was a real presence. I've never seen The Hitch-Hiker and really should. Thanks for the heads up :)

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