Ernest Hemingway's The Killers: The Criterion Collection

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The Killers
Review added by
David Beckett

Why would a man welcome his own murder?
Certificate: NR
Running Time: 196
Retail Price: $39.95
Release Date: 18/02/2003
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
Ernest Hemingway's gripping short story "The Killers" has fascinated readers and filmmakers for generations. Its first screen incarnation came in 1946, when director Robert Siodmak unleashed 'The Killers', helping to define the 'film noir' style and launching the careers of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner in an archetypal masterpiece. In 1956, then-film student Andrei Tarkovsky tackled the story with a faithful 19-minute short. In 1964, Don Siegel--initially slated to direct the 1946 version--took it on, creating the first-ever made-for-TV feature, but it proved too violent for broadcast in the wake of JFK's assassination. The Criterion Collection presents all three versions of this classic tale of amorality that asks why a man would silently welcome his fate with the passivity of a man already dead.

Special Features:
DISC ONE
'The Killers' (1946)
Andrei Tarkovsky's 1956 student film version of "The Killers"
Video interview with writer Stuart M. Kaminsky
Screen Director's Playhouse 1948 Episode # 22 radio adaptation, starring Burt Lancaster and Shelley Winters ending with an interview with Robert Siodmak
Actor Stacy Keach reads Hemingway's short story
Production and publicity stills
Essay by Jonathan Lethem
Paul Schrader's seminal 1972 essay 'Notes on Film Noir'
Siodmak trailers

DISC TWO
'The Killers' (1964)
Reflections by star Clu Gulager
Excerpts from Don Siegel's autobiography
Production correspondence including memos, broadcast standard reports, and casting suggestions
Production and publicity stills
Essay by Geoffrey O'Brien