Killing

Year: 1956

Grade: A+

Country: USA

Director: Kubrick

Review

my dad and sister were over and we were trying to decide what movie to watch. we were about to settle on rififi when my dad said it’s one of the best heist movies ever. i immediately agreed and then asked sarah if she had seen the killing. she said no. it was settled. “kubrick! jim thompson! gerald fried!” i cried. “we gotta watch it.” dad agreed, i continued. “sterling hayden! elisha cook jr.! timothy carey! marie windsor!” pretty good listing from memory, if i must say so myself, but i neglected to mention: james edwards (criminally underrated), vince edwards, jay c. flippen (a familiar role here), coleen gray, ted de corsia, james harris, and lucien ballard (cinematographer). i don’t really need to say anymore, it’s arguably kubrick’s best film and certainly one of his most taut and important (for what it does with story structure/time). that said, it holds up to the test of time regardless of anything it did first or well for the time. it’s a great story which is told perfectly, it’s got great acting and an amazing script, the music is great (fried works on a leitmotif throughout the picture that explodes in the final scene…really pays dividends), the direction is great, the cinematography is lively, creative and emotive and it’s a fun film. one of my favorites of all-time.