The Killing
List Price:
Our Price: $7.21
You Save: $7.77 (52%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.13 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Coleen Gray, Elisha Cook Jr., Jay C. Flippen, Sterling Hayden, Vince EdwardsBrand: HAYDEN,STERLING
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-06-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Killing
Movie Review: "I know you like a book. You're a no-good, nosy, little tramp."
Summary: 5 Stars
While not his first film, I do believe The Killing (1956) was the first film by writer/director/producer Stanley Kubrick to really showcase his talents and earn him the public, critical, and professional accolades that would eventually lead to bigger, more lavish productions like Spartacus (1960) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Based on a novel called "Clean Break", by Lionel White, the film was co-written and directed by Kubrick (Jim Thompson, who wrote the novel "The Grifters", wrote the dialog). Starring in the film is Sterling Hayden, whom I'll always remember best as the character of Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper from one of Kubrick's later films, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), and his stance on fluoridation (he was against it). Also appearing is Jay C. Flippen (Oklahoma!), Elisha Cook Jr. (House on Haunted Hill, Rosemary's Baby), Marie Windsor (Support Your Local Gunfighter), Vince Edwards ("Ben Casey"), Coleen Gray (The Leech Woman), Ted de Corsia (20000 Leagues Under the Sea), Joe Sawyer (The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin), Timothy Carey (One-Eyed Jacks), and Kola Kwariani, former professional wrestler `Nick the Wrestler' and chess expert, in his only silver screen appearance.
The story here details that of a `daring and methodical' heist of a horseracing track, which begins as we meet the principal participants...there's Johnny Clay (Hayden), the brains of the operation, Marvin Unger (Flippen) the money man, George Peatty (Cook) and Mike O'Reilly (Sawyer), both inside men (meaning they actually work at the track), and Randy Kennan (de Corsia), a crooked cop, who rounds out the core group. Each man is your fairly average Joe type (except maybe for Clay, who just spent a nickel in the joint), drawn into the plan by their own, particular circumstances, for example, George, a somewhat spineless weasel of a man, is married to a real manipulative piece of work named Sherry (Windsor), who becomes a pivotal part of the story later on...anyway, the setup is solid, but things become complicated as George, perhaps in an effort to prove his manhood to his generally disinterested wife, lets loose with some of the details, to which she relates to her even more manipulative gigolo boyfriend Val (Edwards), with the intent being on taking George's cut after the score and running away together, but Val's got the greedy eyes for the bigger prize...the job does end up going down as relatively planned, just like clockwork, but the major complications develop afterwards, proving yet again the hyperbole "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley"...that last bit basically means `often go wrong'.
All in all The Killing is a most excellent film, featuring some really innovative direction in terms of non linear storytelling, a style which people may often associate with director Quentin Tarantino's films, particularly Reservoir Dogs (1992) and/or Pulp Fiction (1994), but it's a technique that's been around for awhile, one that he basically copied, and quite well...come to think of it, much of his stuff is copied from other films, but I digress...the main difference between one of Tarantino's films and this one, to me, is the near seamless quality in switching between timeframes. Here it feels completely natural, and doesn't disrupt the flow of the story. In the other examples I mentioned, it's a bit more hectic and random, which isn't a criticism but an observation (I dig Tarantino's stuff immensely, but I do get annoyed when people seem to believe he actually developed they very stylized techniques displayed within his films). Within the notes, it's actually stated, after Kubrick finished this film, he was pressured to edit the film in a more linear fashion, which he did, and, after viewing the newly edited version, it confirmed to him his original version was much stronger, and that's what ended up getting released. This non-linear aspect isn't present throughout the entire film, but rather primarily used during the actual heist sequences. One aspect that is present through much of the film is narration, providing details and a bit more depth to a particular action or character. I'm curious how this film would have played out if there'd been no narration. The movie plays out extremely well, feeling a little like a documentary given the narrative and blending in of stock racing track footage with the shot footage. The performances were strong all around, especially Sterling Hayden as the no nonsense brains of the operation. It did feel a little strange near the end that he should have thought of everything so very carefully only to miss out on a key detail with regards to that cheap suitcase (if you've seen the film, you know what I mean)...I know it sets up for the wonderfully ironic ending, but it still, it felt a little out of character. Check out the scene where Johnny Clay nails Sherry to the wall with his astute and completely accurate observations with regards to the type of person she truly is...another performance I really liked was Marie Windsor's character of Sherry, acid tongued, wife to George. She knew exactly how to work him, but then the suffered the exact, same treatment from her boyfriend Val...as the worm, turns, I suppose...she also had some of the best lines in the film, none of which I'll post here as there's no way I can duplicate the delivery, which is just as vital as the lines themselves. One most excellent scene to watch for is when George's wife is caught snooping as the gang is reviewing their plans, and, in a effort to find out how much he shared with her, one of the members gives George a much deserved, massive slap upside his fool head (it looked pretty realistic to me), all in a beautiful close up shot. Check out the startled, moonfaced expression on George's face...and then pause it on that frame...I may get a print of that and put it on a t-shirt. If you like strong, stylish, no nonsense crime dramas, this is one definitely worth seeking out. I've watched it twice so far, and it was just as good the first time as it was the second.
The film is present in full screen, which I do believe is keeping with the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and the picture is very sharp and clear with no noticeable flaws. The Dolby Digital mono audio is strong and comes through extremely well. As far as special features, there is an original theatrical trailer, along with a four-page booklet insert highlighting the making of the film, along with providing details with regards to Kubrick's style, technique, and creative vision. Pretty skimpy, but know this film was released to DVD sometime ago (I think in 2001), and the inclusion of special features weren't as prevalent than as it is now, or, at least that's my opinion. The film alone is worth getting this DVD, and if you're really interested in learning more, your local library, or the Internet, are both viable sources of information.
Cookieman108
By the way, I'm most definitely not an advocate of animal cruelty, but, if I were the character of Johnny Clay in this film, the urge to throttle that ugly, little dog (and its owner), featured near the end, would have been undenialable.
Summary of The Killing
When ex-con Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) says he has a plan to make a killing, everybody wants to be in on the action. Especially when the plan is to steal $2 million in a racetrack robbery scheme in which "no one will get hurt." But despite all their careful plotting, Clay and his men have overlooked one thing: Sherry Peatty (Marie Windsor), a money-hungry, double-crossing dame who's planning to make a financial killing of her own...even if she has to wipe out Clay's entire gang to do it! Directed in a revolutionary story-telling technique by the legendary Stanley Kubrick, The Killing is tough, taut, tense and one of the greatest crime thrillers ever made!Stanley Kubrick's third feature, and first screen classic, is one of the great crime films of the 1950s. The Killing was written in collaboration with Jim Thompson, who penned pulp novels like The Grifters, The Killer Inside Me, and Pop. 1280, all of which were made into classic films. This time writing directly for the screen, Thompson joined with Kubrick to concoct a story about a desperate gang of lowlifes led by a grim, determined Sterling Hayden. Together they devise and execute a complex racetrack robbery, but inner tensions and the iron fist of fate work against them. The cast is uniformly superb, with Hayden, Jay C. Flippen, Timothy Carey, Marie Windsor, and Elisha Cook Jr. fleshing out characters torn between grandiose ambition and petty desire. Cinematographer Lucian Ballard fashions distorted, starkly lit interiors that reflect the psychological tensions of the characters. He and Kubrick also create one of the most memorably ironic final sequences in film history.
The Killing is a perfect introduction to the art and joys of film noir, and its bizarre narrative structure has been copied many times since. For a terrific double feature, see it with John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, another noir masterpiece featuring Hayden; or Paths of Glory, Kubrick's next picture, again cowritten with Thompson; or even Jackie Brown, in which Quentin Tarantino pays homage to the ways this film leaps around in time. More commercial than some of Kubrick's later work, The Killing remains a tour de force by one of the world's finest filmmakers. --Raphael Shargel
Similar DVD Movies
Killer's KissSILVERS,FRANK; Release date: 1999-06-29; DVD
Best price: $5.46
The Phantom Carriage (Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-09-27; DVD
Best price: $17.10
Price in other shops:
Sweet Smell of SuccessLANCASTER,BURT; Release date: 2001-06-19; DVD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
The Rules of the Game (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2004-01-20; DVD
Best price: $20.49
Price in other shops:
M (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2004-12-07; DVD
Best price: $20.74
Price in other shops:
Island of Lost Souls (Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-10-25; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Kuroneko (Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-10-18; DVD
Best price: $18.57
Price in other shops:
12 Angry Men (50th Anniversary Edition)Sony; Release date: 2008-03-04; DVD
Best price: $7.05
Price in other shops:
Kiss Me DeadlySony; Release date: 2001-06-19; DVD
Best price: $5.45
Price in other shops:
Paths of GloryDOUGLAS,KIRK; Release date: 1999-06-29; DVD
Best price: $4.52
Price in other shops: