The Killers/The Killers [2 Discs] [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Prepare to experience two radically different versions of Ernest Hemingway's gripping crime drama The Killers as The Criterion Collection presents both the Robert Siodmak 1946 screen adaptation and Don Siegel's 1964 take on the tale in one feature-packed special edition DVD release. Both films are presented in 1.33:1 full-frame as originally released and offer audio in English Dolby Digital Mono with optional English subtitles. Special features for Siodmak's version include Andrei Tarkovsky's 1956 student film version of The Killers, a video interview with writer Stuart M. Kaminsky, a Screen Director's Playhouse radio adaptation of the tale from 1949, actor Stacy Keach reading Hemingway's original short story, production and publication stills, trailers for other Siodmak films, writer/director Paul Schrader's 1972 essay "Notes on Film Noir," an essay by Jonathan Lethem, and a music and effects audio track. Bonus materials for Siegel's version include reflections with star Clu Gulager, pertinent excerpts from Siegel's autobiography, A Siegel Film, production correspondence including memos from Siegel, production and publicity stills, an essay by Hardboiled America author Geoffrey O'Brien, and a music and effects track. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • The Killers (1946):
  • New digital transfer
  • Andrei Tarkovsky's 1956 student film version of The Killers
  • Video interview with writer Stuart M. Kaminsky (Don Siegel: Director)
  • Screen Director's Playhouse 1949 radio adaptation, starring Burt Lancaster and Shelley Winters
  • Actor Stacy Keach (Mike Hammer) reads Hemingway's short story
  • Production and publicity stills with actor biographies, rare behind-the-scenes stills gallery, original press book, and ads
  • Collection of trailers for Robert Siodmak films
  • Writer/director Paul Schrader's seminal 1972 essay "Notes on Film Noir"
  • Essay by Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn)
  • Music and effects track
  • The Killers (1964):
  • New digital transfer
  • Reflections with star Clu Gulager
  • Excerpts from Don Siegel's autobiography, "A Siegel Film," pertaining to the making of the movie
  • Production correspondence including memos from Don Siegel, broadcasting standards reports, and casting suggestions
  • Production and publicity stills with actor biographies, rare behind-the-scenes stills gallery, and advertisements
  • Music and effects track

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Director - 1946 (Robert Siodmak)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1946 (Arthur D. Hilton)
•     Nominated Best Score - Drama or Comedy - 1946 (Miklos Rozsa)
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1946 (Anthony Veiller)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Foreign Actor - 1965 (Lee Marvin)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1946

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Don Siegel, Robert Siodmak

• Producer:

  Don Siegel, Mark Hellinger

• Screenwriter:

  Gene L. Coon, John Huston, Anthony Veiller

• Cinematographer:

  Richard L. Rawlings, Elwood Bredell

• Songwriter:

  Henry Mancini, Don Raye

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Williams

• Songwriter:

  Nancy Wilson

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Stanley Wilson

• Songwriter:

  Jack Brooks

• Composer (Music Score):

  Miklos Rozsa

• Songwriter:

  Miklos Rozsa

• Editor:

  Richard Belding, Stuart H. Pappe, Arthur D. Hilton

• Art Director:

  Frank Arrigo, George B. Chan, George O'Connell, Martin Obzina, Jack Otterson

• Set Designer:

  James S. Redd, John McCarthy, Russell A. Gausman, Edward Ray Robinson

• Costume Designer:

  Helen Colvig, Vera West

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Bernard B. Brown

• Makeup:

  Bud Westmore, Jack Pierce

• Special Effects:

  David S. Horsley

• First Assistant Director:

  Melville Shyer

• Short Story Author:

  Ernest Hemingway

REVIEWS:

• Adapted (and expanded) by Anthony Veiller and an uncredited John Huston from Ernest Hemingway's story, Robert Siodmak's The Killers (1946) weaves a complex film noir tale of obsessive love and multiple double-crosses. Shrouded in shadows as he awaits and accepts his fate in the opening scenes, Burt Lancaster's ex-prizefighter Swede is already a mystery. Fragmentary flashbacks within flashbacks relate Swede's story to Edmond O' Brien's intrepid insurance investigator from multiple points of view, but they never entirely get inside his head even if they illuminate his fate. Ava Gardner's satiny Kitty Collins is equally, and more dangerously, enigmatic, as her actions become as unpredictably complex as the film's byzantine narrative structure. Stylishly shot, particularly in the opening night-for-night and sustained heist sequences, the film builds suspense through the deliberate accretion of details about a foregone conclusion. Lancaster's film debut as the physically imposing but psychologically devastated Swede made him a star, while Gardner's poisonously beautiful siren turned her into a love goddess on a par with Rita Hayworth. A critical and box office success, The Killers received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
• About a decade removed from film noir's heyday, Don Siegel's remake of The Killers (1946) provided a much-needed jolt of bleak noir sentiment to mid-1960s American cinema. Originally intended for television, the 1964 version was released in theaters due to its violent content. Featuring intricate plotting, Siegel's typically lean direction, and Lee Marvin's wonderfully nasty star turn, The Killers was in many ways a precursor to the more subversive material which emerged later in the decade, such as Bonnie and Clyde and another Marvin vehicle, Point Blank (both from 1967). Marvin is at his steely best here: it's this sort of unmerciful yet peculiarly sympathetic role that highlighted his career. The Killers was also notable as Ronald Reagan's last feature; he provides some of his most impressive work, as a corrupt, wealthy bad guy. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi