jlight-1

25 May 2012

Not bad, but Kubrick fans might be disappointed

A good film noir piece, although it plods along at times, and someof the acting tends to be wooden, particularly from Jamie Smith,who plays the lead role. A sequence in a mannequin factorymakes the movie worth seeing. As well, some good visual effectskeep this film from becoming too dreary. Not too much to suggestKubrick's style, so if you're looking for a gem like A ClockworkOrange or The Shining, you won't find it with this film.

kanerazor

24 May 2012

Not bad...

This movie is nothing remarkable; it's an hour long tale of boy meets girl,boy fights girl's evil boyfriend, boy gets girl. I hope that notconsidereda spoiler. Still, Kubrick shows tremendous promise in his direction ofthis, his second feature and first that most of us can watch (if anyoneknowof a way to get a hold of Fear and Desire please let me know). The movie,in addition to being well photographed, possesses terrific atmosphere,really creating the feeling of being in the slums with characters. Silverais kind of cartoonish as the villain, and all three main characters aresomewhat one dimensional (granted it's hard to develop them in such a shorttime) but they are interesting nonetheless. If you like film noir, youmight want to give this a look, and if you're a diehard Kubrick fan like Iam, definitely go for it. I say 7/10.

Joshua Warren

23 May 2012

Well...Every genius has to start somewhere.

Kubrick may be a genius in the film-making business, but even he madesome less than average films in the beginning. Killer's Kiss is notnecessarily a bad movie, it just isn't that good. It's very typical andkinda predictive. But then again it has some good moment, and some"Kubrick moments". At least this film got him enough attention tocontinue his career, that would make him one of the greatest filmmakersof all time.So for plain film fans, skip this one. For Kubrick fans, sure, butdon't expect to much. I give this film a 6/10.

mbaines@hotmail.com

23 May 2012

An Incredible Film Lacking a Decent Plot

Killer's Kiss is an incredible film technically. The lighting, set andcinematography are nothing short of stunning. The cinematography wasincredible, and the lighting showed only what Kubrick wanted to beseen.Where the film comes up short is in the plot and the characterdevelopment. The character's are boring (a great feet to accomplishwith a title like Killer's Kiss). The audience doesn't really getinvolved in the story. The acting isn't wonderful, but at least it'sbelievable. The plot line is extremely poor.Killer's Kiss, shows us where his talents are: Directing, andCinematographer; and more-so where they don't: Writing. Killer's Kissis a wonderful film to watch if you like to see good lighting andcinematography, or if your a Kubrick fan. Otherwise, it's not worth thehour.

23 May 2012

From small things, big things grow!

This review is from: Killer's Kiss (El Beso del Asesino) [NTSC/REGION 4 DVD. Import-Latin America] (DVD) Despite a limited budget, some average acting at times, one can see the potential that Stanley Kubrick had start to develop into a career of ground breaking and influential filming. The things that stand out in the film include;- Reverse negative shot of the nightmare anticipates the famous "trip" scene in 2001;- Voyerism shots reminds a bit of Rear Window;- Huge shadows reflected on the buildings, similar to The Third Man;- The boxing sequence as good as any around that time;- The final fight to the death amongst the dummies was highly capably staged and filmed;- The seediness of the late night New York stands out;- The chase over the roof tops and the alley ways well edited and flows well.Ignore a bit of corny dialogue, this is where Stanley's brilliant creative genius as a film-maker really begins.

23 May 2012

The kind of film I would have made if only I had the time

Stanley Kubrick's extreme talents finally explode onto the big screen with this remarkable little film about a boxer who saves a young woman from her boss who tries to rape her, he soon falls in love with her and the boss gets incredibly jealous. The plot is not that good at all but thanks to Kubrick, there's plenty of great lighting, suspence and best of all a stupendous fight scene with the arms and legs of dummies. Film go's on for only 68 mins which makes it easy to sit through. See it.

Max_cinefilo89

20 May 2012

An interesting early achievement by one of cinemas undisputed masters

Stanley Kubrick famously wound up despising three of his films: Fearand Desire, Killer's Kiss (both for being amateurish efforts) andSpartacus (for being a studio picture on which he was hired after theoriginal director got sacked). And while it's true that Kiss, hissecond feature, doesn't quite match his more famous works, it isundoubtedly a fascinating example of a genius filmmaker learning hiscraft.The most unusual thing about the movie (by Kubrickian standards, thatis) is probably the story, which is very simple and straightforward, asopposed to the more complex, layered studies of human decay thedirector is known for (it is also, alongside Fear and Desire, his onlyoriginal screenplay). The film opens with a man (Jamie Smith) waitingfor someone at a train station. He introduces himself as Davy Gordon, amildly successful prize fighter, and starts telling the audience whatled him there, in a long flashback: it all began when he met GloriaPrice (Irene Kane), a dancer who was being followed and harassed by hermanager (and occasional lover) Vincent Raphello (Frank Silvera). AsRaphello gets more obsessive and violent, Davy decides to help Gloriaand gets increasingly involved with her on a personal level, whichupsets Vincent to the point he asks for help to get the boxer out ofthe way.The transition from romantic drama to hard-boiled gangster movie wouldbe risible in other films, but Kubrick manages to make it look naturaland realistic. Realism also plays an important part in the strongcharacterization and sharp dialogue, which are the main tools thatallow the movie to be engaging despite a not-so-original plot.Moreover, while the picture lacks the technical finesse of his laterwork, the director proves to be at ease with time-shifting narrative,albeit at its simplest (the flashback is completely linear, with noneof the head-scratching jumps made normal by Tarantino and AlejandroGonzales Inarritu).Overall, this may not be Kubrick as we know him (hell, this movie evenhas a happy ending, sort of), but all fans of the 2001 director oughtto give it a look. Amateurial it may be, but there are flashes of realbrilliance throughout.

20 May 2012

Tacky Film Noir.

Viewed: 5/11Rate: 45/11: Even at 67 minutes, Killer's Kiss is quite too long which is typical of a Kubrick picture. Stanley just takes his time way too much covering the aesthetic details without trying to speed up the pacing, so the plot could be a little more interesting. At the end, Killer's Kiss becomes a tacky movie to watch. The story is too silly, and the premise is full of it. Think about the holes in logic. Before a major fight, Davey Gordon saunters his way to the site and reads a silly note that he probably read ten times over before. Then, as he gets to there, he doesn't make an effort to be serious about it. Obviously, he loses the fight in an embarrassing way. If I am him, I would be hiding in shame for a long period of time, but Davey takes it just fine as if nothing happened. Impossible. Even worse, Davey's face looks perfect: no bruises or swelling. Of course, he decides to get together with a woman that happens to have a window next to his, and he falls in love with her in two days. Perhaps he is inconspicuously suffering from internal bleeding of the brain? Either that or he is mentally incompetent to begin with. Or perhaps he was never a boxer to begin with. Obviously, there is absolutely no chemistry between Davey and Gloria, making Killer's Kiss a stupid picture to watch. Kubrick manages to throw in all the too typical elements of a film noir and ends up looking stupid. All in all, Killer's Kiss, although made for impressive $75,000, is a pretty picture to watch but nothing else. However, it's a good starting point for many great Kubrick pictures to come.

19 May 2012

Groundbreaking

The finale in the mannequin factory is unbelievable - arms, heads, torsos everywhere - what's real, what's fake????

John N.

19 May 2012

A touch of inspiration but a very hollow ending

With all the recent Eyes Wide Shut hype, I went back to takealook at this early Kubrick work. Yes, you can see some touches ofinspiration in this period piece, but I think it reallyfellshort. For its day, the boxing sequence was pretty good,thoughI was more impressed by straight ahead camera angles inRequiemfor a Heavyweight. Kubrick's gladiators didn't even seemlikethey were taking hard shots at each other -- not nearly ashardas the sound effects would have you believe.Anyway, I thought Irene Cane did a fine job playing a waywardgirl looking for some purpose in life. She latches ontowhateverlifts her spirit for the moment and then can so easily turnitaway with a casual look. So near the end of the film whenshe'spleading for her life with her offer to leave her new lovertomarry the thug she had seemed to take pleasure in spurning,wejust aren't sure whether she is simply acting desperate orifshe really can recant her affection so easily. And themaincharacter, Davy Gordon, openly considers this too as hedashesthrough the window to save his own neck.If the film just ended right there, with those threds left unresolved, itwould have been a much better movie. Davy couldhave boarded his train to the West never knowing what becameof his two-day girlfriend or the thug she tried to appease.Andwouldn't it have been ironic if she were forced to marrythatman -- like her sister was forced to marry someone shedidn'tlove? That would have been a cruel twist of fate indeed!Yet what we got was neither cruel or unusual or even mysterious.No, we got the standard Hollywood ending to a film which had done a goodjobof breaking a standard Hollywood mold to thatpoint. If it wasn't Kubrick making this film, making thatwomanrun down the stairs into her lover's waiting arms as thebigmusic came up to signal the Happy Ending(TM), I would havejustclicked off the TV and forgot all about it. But this isStanleyKubrick!!!!!! Boy was I disappointed! The only thing I canhopefor was that the movie studio forced him to edit his trueendingand Kubrick wasn't in a position to reject them at thatearlystage in his career.Oh well. See this movie if you're a Kubrick fan, but don'tsayI didn't warn you that the ending is completely Hollywood.

danielll_rs

17 May 2012

Pretty good, but...

I know, I know. "Killer's Kiss" was one of Stanley Kubrick's first motionpictures and was made with very little money and no great Hollywood star. Iknow that. But if you compare this one to the perfection of "2001: A SpaceOdyssey", the brilliance of "A Clockwork Orange", the frightful suspense of"The Shining", the beauty of "Eyes Wide Shut" or with any other great filmof his, it's kind of a disappointment.Let's go to the story: a fighter falls in love with his neighbor, thegirlfriend of a gangster. This is the plot. Most of the film is predictableand the acting is kind of bland. However, we can see some traces of a youngKubrick. The camera-work is just great, and some scenes can talk forthemselves. There's not much dialogue here, and Kubrick fill this with sometakes that are, if not memorable, at least beautiful.If you haven't seen any other Kubrick picture, this is a very goodbeginning. But if you are like me, a huge Kubrick fan, this is not a greatfilm, just a very good one. But I can't give it less than a 8/10, because...hey! It's Kubrick!

Bolesroor

17 May 2012

The Loaded Gun

Most great directors make a movie early in their careers in which theylack budget, or talented actors, or technical know-how (or sometimesall three) and yet the movie transcends its weaknesses and burns with araw talent that lasts for decades afterward and serves as the promiseof greatness to come. Spielberg had "Duel," Scorsese had "What's A NiceGirl Like You Doing In A Place Like This," David Lynch his"Eraserhead.""Killer's Kiss" is Stanley Kubrick's loaded gun.It's a moody big-city pressure-cooker, and it's far from perfect, butthe film's obvious flaws only serve to highlight the brilliance:masterful photography, confident storytelling, hypnotic visuals... theTimes Square standoff is beautiful, as is the mannequin-finale whichreminded of the Milk Bar in "Clockwork Orange." The rooftop finale andthe visceral boxing sequence stand out- no other film of the era lookedanything like this. This is Kubrick flexing his muscles and stitchingbeautiful photographs together to tell a simmering story of lost soulsin lonely New York.The film's defects: over-reliance on voice-over to tell back-story andexplain off-screen events, a dubbing delay between mouths moving andspoken dialogue, and an extended final battle which may go on just aminute too long. But what you can take from this picture is what youwant to take from any director's loaded gun: the electric directorialstyle and visual eye that points to limitless potential and profoundtalent. Kubrick made good on that promise, and "Killer's Kiss" standsas the first chapter of his masterful career in film.GRADE: B+

Spleen

15 May 2012

A Kubrick film at only 67 minutes - can you believe it?

It's just over an hour long and even so we have the trademark Kubrickopening, where he takes his own sweet time in letting us know what thefilmis about but somehow draws us in all the same. Look: it's an hour long,andit's a slight, hour-long kind of story. Don't expect anything more. Ithink there's also rather clearly a moment when Kubrick realised that hedidn't know how he was going to end it all - to be honest, I have asneakingsuspicion that a similar thing happened on "2001", "Eyes Wide Shut" andeven"Dr. Strangelove". In each of these cases it was the prompt for a daringand unconventional conclusion. I wish I could say that was the casehere.This doesn't prevent it from being involving while it lasts. Kubrick onceagain demonstrates the he could point a camera at anything at all and makeit interesting - the images are amazing, yet entirely functional. If youhave ever loved any black-and-white camera work you'll love this. It'salsoa masterpiece of violence-without-violence, if you know what I mean. Itdeserves to be more well-known than it is.

15 May 2012

Shows what a master craftsman can do on a small budget

The five stars are more in appreciation of the limits of big budget. On pocket change Mr Kubrick knocked off a clever liitle film that acts as a " prequel " to the astonishing things to follow. It's interesting to watch this again after the seminal Eyes Wide Shut. Mr Kubricks world view never deserted him. Love the goldfish bowl shot, the street buskers and the mixed up rendevous in the street, the fight in the fashion dummy factory shows that even then Mr Kubrick could ellicit astonishingly real performances. Great little movie. Don't miss it.

13 May 2012

Good enough for TCM intro clips

Stanley Kubrick's KILLER KISS deserves attention for providing so many of the little black & white intro film clips that have been a mainstay on TCM since its beginning. The "ticket seller in the ticket booth", the "floor man at the dance ballroom" and "the black-bra clad blonde taking off her earrings" are all scenes snipped from KK. To me that's enough to watch this movie because I suspect there may be some more I haven't picked up on yet. All in all I respect this little gem which doesn't have a bright luster, but is good enough to stimulate the senses. Frank Silvera, so good in character roles in many TV and movie productions, really steals the acting honors, but the whole thing is done on a shoestring and with Kubrick in charge that is all you need to make it worthwhile. The final knock-down, drag-out fight on the warehouse floor filled with mannequins has the power to linger on in your mind, but not as much as those TCM accessories. If they liked it that much then it must be good.

13 May 2012

Kubicks direction saves this one

Poor Stanley. He got stuck with a pretty lame script for this one. Lucky for him he's possibly the most brilliant director ever. His beautiful shooting in this picture would keep an audience thrilled even with an Eszterhas script. This film is a short sweet morsel of joy.

12 May 2012

Kubrick=Genius (simplest formula in the world)

If you're debating whether or not to go rent this movie I would highly suggest doing so. The camera angles and placement are just pure genius. A great example is when the boxing match begins and the camera is placed beneath the seat of our hero, and when the bell rings and he gets up to fight his opponent you really get a sense of Kubrick's plain genius. Definately a 5 star film for anyone who really appreciates a good movie, because it has everything a good story, good acting, and the best director ever to live.

12 May 2012

Many, many interesting aspects

This is an heroic film; with very little budget, Kubrick delivers so many interesting and innovative things. It might be very rare that something like the electrifying box combat was filmed before or after. A veritable photographic "tour de force"! The sequence of the ballet dancer is quite something as well. The history, quite short according to the limited time of the film, is nevertheless vivid. Atention to detail and great photography creates environments very efectively, like the dance club, the evening in downtown, the modest appartments, and the noticeable upward shots in the railway station.

rooee

11 May 2012

Punchy

Killer's Kiss isn't a great film by any stretch of the imagination.It's poorly acted on the whole, often incredulous, and full of abyssalplot holes. But it's essential viewing for all Kubrick aficionados.Apart from anything, it's a logical starting point, given the fact thatFear And Desire is unavailable (at the director's own behest).This is film noir in its true sense: made on a shoestring budget withno permit to film, Kubrick was forced into the dim back alleys of NewYork to tell the story of a failed young boxer (Jamie Smith) who fallsfor Gloria Price's gangster's moll. In doing so he garners theattention of the fearsome Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera, returning towork with Kubrick after Fear And Desire). Following a well-stagedrooftop chase, the movie culminates in a memorable battle in amannequin warehouse.It's clear to see a skilled film-making talent blossoming here - themovie is brilliantly shot and atmospherically lit, while the openingboxing match is undeniably powerful, cleverly choreographed and packedwith punchy cuts. The post-dubbing (whereby all the sound and dialoguewas laid on afterwards) was, shall we say, a 'learning' experience forthe director, although it does not detract from what is essentially avisual experience with a paper-thin plot.Well worth a purchase for Kubrick completists and noir enthusiasts.

RJGodin

10 May 2012

Very easy to see why Kubrick got bigger pictures

This early feature by Stanley Kubrick is compact, efficient and expertlymade. The camera, editting and foley work are excellent. The story is anoir classic; palooka at the end of his run falls for dance hall girlwithmob influences.Fantastic NYC locations including old Penn Station, old Madison Sq.Garden,rooftops of downtown westside piers/warehouses. Pacing isgreat.Loads of well done noir techniques; voice over, flashbacks, low keylights,odd camera angles, double cross, night locations, punched out boxer.Doesn'thave the action of "The Killers" or the cinematography of "The Big Combo"but certainly an A list noir.Very easy to see why Kubrick got bigger pictures and budgets after seeingthis early cheapy.