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1946
version: Robert Siodmak
1964 version: Don Siegel |
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1946
version: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien,
Sam Levene
1964 version: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes,
Ronald Reagan, Clu Gulager |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Doctor: He's dead now, except
for he's breathing.
An investigation uncovers why a man
failed to run from killers hired to murder him.
 Ernest
Hemingway's short story The Killers is an open-ended twelve-page
miniature masterpiece that draws heavily on Hollywood gangster movie
tropes and figures in its tantalizing glimpse of a man who for reasons
unknown won't run from a pair of hired killers. It's a unique and
justly celebrated piece of literature that has reulsted in an even
more unusual bit of film history, as three celebrated filmmakers
have adapted the story for film, in vastly different ways. The only
one to have remained completely faithful to the story itself was
Andrei Tarkovsky, who directed a twenty-minute film together with
some fellow students while in film school. His short piece makes
for a memorable introductory short to the double feature from directors
Robert Siodmak and Don Siegel.
Both feature-length pictures use the story's setup as the springboard
for an investigation into the events that went before. Siodmak's
film became a film noir masterpiece: a brilliantly structured
and gorgeously shot high point of the genre. Siegel's later effort
is also a film typical of its time, originally made for TV but exhibited
theatrically as it was deemed overly violent for TV in the wake
of JFK's assassination. It's also a film with many strong points,
including standout performances from Lee Marvin and Ronal Reagan,
but as a film, it hasn't dated as well as the 1946 version, which
only seems to get better with each passing year. They remain fascinating
companions however that make for a double-bill totally unique to
film history. |
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Released for Region 1 by the Criterion
Collection in a two-disc double-feature box set.
Both films are framed at their
original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. The video transfers for
both movies are impressive without being quite flawless. The heavy
black-and-white contrast in the 1946 version is presented very strongly,
with only some minor wear and tear to the source print distracting
occasionally. The 1964 film has the vivid, brightly lit colors of
TV productions of its era, and carries even less print damage or
graininess.
Both
original mono sound mixes are presented in Dolby Digital 1.0. The
soundtracks have been clenaed up quite nicely, and are rendered
without any noticeable hiss or other annoyances.
The extras on both discs in this
set are presented in the form of a case file on the various adaptations
of Hemingway's essential short story. Most notable among them is
the inclusion of Andrei Tarkovsky's student film, a rarely-seen
and highly faithful Russian-language adaptation of the story. The
parts are played by co-students (including Tarkovsky himself in
a small role), and seeing these tender-aged faces donning fedoras
and acting like hard-boiled American gangsters (in Russian!) has
an unintentional comic effect. But it's an essential and highly
worthwhile addition for both Tarkovsky fans and Hemingway completists.
The other supplements are fairly scattershot but overall quite good.
Neither feature film is accompanied by audio commentary, but the
excellent video interview with Don Siegel biographer Stuart
M. Kaminsky offers sufficient background on both pictures. A regular
supplement with Criterion releases of classic Hollywood pictures
is the radio adaptation, in this case starring Burt Lancaster
and Shelley Winters in an hour-long condensation of the 1946 film's
narrative. It's introduced by director Robert Siodmak and makes
for an enjoyable listening experience. Another audio supplement
on the first disc is actor Stacy Keach's reading of Hemingway's
original short story, which can also be found here in a series
of text pages. It's unfortunate that the text hasn't been reprinted
in either of the two accompanying booklets, as it's rather uncomfortable
to read literature like this from a TV screen. Similarly, writer/director
Paul Schrader's seminal 1972 essay Notes on Film Noir
would also have been a more conveniently accessed supplement in
printed form than it is in the selection of text screens we find
on the disc. An enormous collection of image galleries houses
numerous production and publicity stills with actor biographies,
rare behind-the-scenes stills gallery, the original press book and
ads for both films. Finally, a collection of trailers for
Robert Siodmak films rounds out the extras on the first disc.
 The
second-disc supplements are slightly less impressive than those
on the first. Lee Marvin's co-star Clu Gulager rambles fairly incoherently
about his recollections of the shoot, filmed from distractingly
unusual angles on videotape by his two sons in a 20-minute interview
session. He is candid almost to the point of embarrassment, but
doesn't come across as a particularly reliable narrator of events,
and his memories are so unstructured that it's a little hard to
keep paying attention.
Equally candid but far more gripping and convincing is the chapter
from Don Siegel's autobiography that deals with The Killers.
It's included as an audio supplement , pleasingly read by an actor
named Wolf Wolverton and divided into twelve chapters. His intelligent
observations and recollections are completely enthralling and will
have more than a few listeners ordering their own copy of the entire
book, as this short extra leaves one wanting more. There's also
a lot from Siegel himself in the collection of textual supplements
that includes script notes, memos, suggestions from NBC's standards
and practices department (the film was eventually deemed too violent
for television in the wake of the JFK assassination and shown theatrically
instead), casting suggestions, an essay by Siegel, and more lengthy
cast and crew biographies. This section actually offers the most
in-depth look behind the production, with lots of fascinating correspondence
about story problems and suggestions, including several alternate
endings. Gallery items include publicity and behind-the-scenes
stills, newspaper ads and one-sheets, and a trailer. The
animated menu screens on both discs are similarly but distinctly
designed.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
March 28, 2003
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