The Killers (1946)
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- MichaelB
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The Killers (1946)
THE MAN WHO WANTED TO DIE…
Ernest Hemingway’s spare, laconic short story about two professional killers and their encounter with a mysteriously unresisting victim was significantly expanded into this all-time film noir classic, which Hemingway said was the first adaptation of his work that he really admired.
As washed-up boxer turned hitman victim Ole ‘Swede’ Andreson, Burt Lancaster made his screen debut, and was catapulted to instant stardom, not least for the screen chemistry that he showed opposite sultry Ava Gardner, whose Kitty Collins is the very personification of the femme fatale.
German émigré Robert Siodmak was one of the directors who helped create film noir, and Woody Bredell’s high-contrast cinematography, all harsh lighting and long shadows, elevates the film far above a conventional crime drama. But even on that level it’s a first-rate demonstration of how to maintain narrative tension, with the flashback structure withholding crucial details until almost the very end.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Newly restored High Definition (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by Universal
• Original uncompressed PCM mono 1.0 audio
• Isolated Music & Effects soundtrack to highlight Miklós Rózsa’s famous score
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
• Frank Krutnik on The Killers, a video piece by the author of In a Lonely Street, which introduces the film and offers a detailed commentary on four key scenes
• Heroic Fatalism, a video essay adapted from Philip Booth’s comparative study of multiple versions of The Killers (Hemingway, Siodmak, Tarkovsky, Siegel)
• Three archive radio pieces inspired by The Killers: the 1949 Screen Director’s Playhouse adaptation with Burt Lancaster and Shelley Winters; a 1946 Jack Benny spoof; the 1958 Suspense episode ‘Two for the Road’ which reunited original killers William Conrad and Charles McGraw
• Stills and posters gallery
• Trailers for The Killers, Brute Force, The Naked City and Rififi
• Reversible sleeve featuring one of the original posters and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw
• Collector’s booklet containing new writing by Sergio Angelini and archive interviews with director Robert Siodmak, producer Mark Hellinger and cinematographer Woody Bredell, illustrated with original production stills
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- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:33 am
Re: The Killers (1946)
I'm in.a 1946 Jack Benny spoof
- Drucker
- Your Future our Drucker
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Re: The Killers (1946)
That cover is fantastic.
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- Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:05 am
Re: The Killers (1946)
What's the release date for this now?
Moviemail & Zavvi have it as December 1st, whilst Amazon still have it as a November 17th release.
Moviemail & Zavvi have it as December 1st, whilst Amazon still have it as a November 17th release.
- EddieLarkin
- Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am
Re: The Killers (1946)
This looks fantastic, and the cover is great. Just checking: does this count as a James White 2K original or did Universal do the work?
- MichaelB
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The Killers (1946)
December 8th - it was a casualty of the massive Corman/Poe box workload. If I'd used bought-in extras instead of creating brand new ones I might have managed it, but ultimately something had to give. (The two big extras run 54 and 32 mins respectively.)
And Universal did the scan, while James and the Deluxe team did the cleanup. It's exactly the same master that's on the Carlotta BD - in fact, Carlotta and Arrow jointly funded it.
And Universal did the scan, while James and the Deluxe team did the cleanup. It's exactly the same master that's on the Carlotta BD - in fact, Carlotta and Arrow jointly funded it.
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- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:33 am
Re: The Killers (1946)
O'Brien's profile, with Gardner's, isn't that right?Drucker wrote:That cover is fantastic.
- manicsounds
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- antnield
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- MichaelB
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Re: The Killers (1946)
Beaver:
Another impressive, Criterion-like, package from Arrow who just continue to improve marking themselves as tops in the industry. With their advanced supplements (including isolated score, optional English subs, collector's booklet) the Arrow Blu-ray of The Killers is distinguished as the best purchase for fans of this iconic, must-own, film. Our highest recommendation!
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
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Re: The Killers (1946)
dvdcompare:
[T]his new Blu-ray easily improves upon the already impressive Criterion DVD, and fans of film noir should find Arrow’s new Blu-ray to be an essential part of their collection.