Ernest Hemmingway's The Killers

The Earl Of Slander · 11.17.2009, 07:23 AM

I recently got the Criterion set of both the adaptations of this out of the university library, along with the original short story, and had a marathon Killers session. It was ridiculously good fun, and I recommend that everyone do the same. The first, from 1946, is Burt Lancaster's first movie, also starring Edmond O'Brian and Ava Gardner, and it was fucking great! Seriously one of the best "straight" film noirs ever.

The second version (from 1964) though was the real surprise gem to me. Directed by Don Siegel and starring Lee Marvin, Clu Gulager, John Cassavetes and Ronald Reagan, and even though it bore basically no resemblance to the original story, it was a total dirty pulp classic! I mean sure it was kind of generic in some ways, but it was also just massive amounts of fun and totally bad ass in a lot of ways. Also you get to see Ronald Reagan play a master villain and slap a woman in the face!

They're both different enough that watching them together isn't predictable or boring, so yeah, check them out!

Tokolosh · 11.17.2009, 07:33 AM

Seconded. I prefer the first one, though.
Film Noir forever!

ilduclo · 11.17.2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tokolosh

Seconded. I prefer the first one, though.
Film Noir forever!

yes, and Reagan gets shot by a dying Lee Marvin as he tries to run away with a suitcase of $$, and the money blows all over the ground. Angie Dickinson is pretty sexy in that, too....

Lamont Cranston · 11.17.2009, 05:27 PM

The double release is really neat. They did that for The Lower Depths as well.

The 1964 film was originally intended for television, but they pulled out of that in the wake of the JFK assassination.

11.17.2009, 07:23 AM	#1
The Earl Of Slander the end of the ugly Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,156	I recently got the Criterion set of both the adaptations of this out of the university library, along with the original short story, and had a marathon Killers session. It was ridiculously good fun, and I recommend that everyone do the same. The first, from 1946, is Burt Lancaster's first movie, also starring Edmond O'Brian and Ava Gardner, and it was fucking great! Seriously one of the best "straight" film noirs ever. The second version (from 1964) though was the real surprise gem to me. Directed by Don Siegel and starring Lee Marvin, Clu Gulager, John Cassavetes and Ronald Reagan, and even though it bore basically no resemblance to the original story, it was a total dirty pulp classic! I mean sure it was kind of generic in some ways, but it was also just massive amounts of fun and totally bad ass in a lot of ways. Also you get to see Ronald Reagan play a master villain and slap a woman in the face! They're both different enough that watching them together isn't predictable or boring, so yeah, check them out! __________________ The toothaches got worse, she dreamed of disembodied voices from whose malignance there was no appeal, the soft dusk of mirrors out of which something was about to walk, and empty rooms that waited for her. Your gynaecologist has no test for what she was pregnant with.
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11.17.2009, 07:33 AM	#2
Tokolosh invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Plaza de Toros Posts: 6,731	Seconded. I prefer the first one, though. Film Noir forever! __________________ Anything you can /imagine is real
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11.17.2009, 05:27 PM	#4
Lamont Cranston 100% Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 725	The double release is really neat. They did that for The Lower Depths as well. The 1964 film was originally intended for television, but they pulled out of that in the wake of the JFK assassination. __________________ This is how it will all end: not with floods, earthquakes, falling comets or gigantic crabs roaming the Earth. No, doomsday will start simply out of indifference.
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