I wanted to see what had been said about the film but there is no thread for Killer's Kiss. My question is, does it come close to The Killing? You watch The Killing, you know right away that a great filmmaker is in action. Do you get that same sense from Killer's Kiss, or is it a novelty, like "look at early Kubrick in action"? I imagine there are at least hints to his greatness, but is it greatness itself?
Hell, I'm just going to go crazy and spend the whole $10. We should start talking about it now.
from Kubrick's Best Film thread..
Quote from: PubrickQuote from: Jeremy BlackmanI'm really curious to know what you'd think of some of his really early stuff, like The Killing & Killer's Kiss...
they hav many similarities, not the least of which is that in both films' plans are ruined/complicated by sluts.
seriously tho, killer's kiss is alright, structurally he does wonderful things with what coulda been a simple plan-gone-wrong story. the big weakness is the ending, and generally crummy acting. it's clear he was just messing around with what the camera and editing could do, one big dance around his true (future) intentions. culminating in that flashback within a flashback where ruth sobotka is doing her ballet. the end is just pussywhipped, and he wishes it did feel right but he knows (and makes us know) it really doesn't, even tho it appears fine.
the killing, 'what a ripper', as aussies would say. kubrick has always been intrigued by time, again he plays with it in a similar convoluted way as killer's kiss. but now intentions and moments match perfectly, he hits all the right notes and the ending is totally the opposite of killer's kiss. just grim reality, the end of the road, very much a "now" moment.
I haven't seen The Killing, but I saw Killers Kiss and I thought it was wonderful. There was a precursor to some of the shots in 2001, with an inverted shot. Black exchanged with white etc, the camera gliding down a street. In black and white, the effect is very haunting.
see The Killing. it's great film noir. a much better film than Killer's Kiss.
Such an interesting movie to watch. It is as to see Kubrick first mouthing the words of pure cinema. It's clearly his worst film, but it's also a fine film noir, with enough Kubrick touches that I wish I could go back and say "This guy is going to be somebody," right after seeing the movie, because honestly, all directors should have a film of this quality be their worst.
My favorite character was far and away old-school New York. I can see Kubrick taking walks with his camera and pre-visualizing Killer's Kiss in all the right places. Times Square. The rooftops. The boxing training area. The mannequin storage area. Of course all of these places are photographed with clarity and ease. The elements of later and greater Kubrick are all here, if not just a bit jumbled and a bit off the mark. There is fluff here and there, excess in other places. A long monologue about a sister dancer seems out of place. A too long final showdown.
I cannot not admit just how much better The Killing is, but it feels so unfair to say that. I cannot not admit that if this movie was the best effort of a director than that director would probably just have this one film in some obscure box set, probably a cheap one, but it feels so unfair to say that too. I do have context and perspective so let me say, Killer's Kiss is a good beginning, as far as I am concerned.
i watched this in class tonight.
the dance hall owner reminded me a lot of the mattress man. anybody else?
Was anyone else blown away by the brutality of the fight in the mannaquin warehouse? Shit, man, that was great.
I'm trying to watch every film and then look at it's section in the Archives.
The section of the film surrounding "Watch Your Step" is up there with anything Kubrick has done in my opinion.
-the first great part is this almost seemless cut from a boxer turning in step to the 'bafoons' playing Oh Susanna on the streets - it's insane - if you slow down the bone/spaceship they're not really in the same spot of the frame, but this is exact!
- the placement of the camera at the top of the checkerboard stairwell and how the actors move through and are placed is brilliant.
- the way he shot the manager getting killed on accident was great as well.
If you haven't seen it:
TCM Reminder:
Killer's Kiss 1955 playing on Sat. November 10, 10:00 AM EST