Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Killing Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 1, 2015

Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956) and "Killer's Kiss" (1955) arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include theatrical trailers; filmed appreciation by British director Ben Wheatley; an extract from the French television series Le Journal du cinema featuring an interview with actor Sterling Hayden; and new video interview with French critic Michel Ciment. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: "A New Boy Wonder: Killer's Kiss', 'The Killing' and Stanley Kubrick's Early Career (2014)" by Peter Kramer; "Lionel White: Hardboiled Master" (2014) by Barry Forshaw; "Snakes and Ladders" (2014) by Ron Peck; contemporary reviews; and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the two film. Region-B "locked".

Let's roll!

The Killing (1956)

The men have decided to rob a heavily guarded race track. If all goes well, they estimate that they will be able to walk away with approximately two million in untraceable bills. After they split the money, the men do not plan to see each other ever again.

Their leader is Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden, The Asphalt Jungle, The Long Goodbye), a fast-talking perfectionist who has thought of everything. This would be the biggest job he has ever done -- and his last one. After it, Johnny will retire.

George Peatty (Elisha Cook Jr., The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep), a cashier at the race track, is one of Johnny’s most important men. His life has been a disaster, but he has been lucky to share it with a beautiful woman, Sherry (Marie Windsor, Force of Evil, The Narrow Margin). George has agreed to work with Johnny for Sherry. With his cut of the money, he will finally be able to give Sherry the type of life he always felt she deserves. However, George does not know that for quite some time Sherry has been secretly seeing a younger man (Vince Edwards).

Mike O’Reilly (Joe Sawyer, Gilda), a bartender at the race track, has failed his seriously sick wife Ruthie (Dorothy Adams). The two never had the life he promised they would when they first met. Mike feels that it is time that he finally delivered on his promise.

Randy Kennan (Ted de Corsia, The Naked City, The Lady from Shanghai) is a patrolman who has agreed to help Johnny because he desperately needs money to cover his massive gambling debts. One of his creditors, Leo (Jay Adler), has just given him two weeks to settle his obligation to him. If he fails, Randy's life will become very complicated, painful too.

Marv (Jay C. Flippen, The Wild One, Hot Summer Night) is an old-timer looking for some excitement in his life. He has loaned Johnny a large sum of money to cover various expenses. Marv’s apartment is where Johnny’s men will discuss their final preparation efforts.

Maurice (Kola Kwariani) is a former bouncer with an impressive police record. He has been hired by Johnny to take care of "half a dozen private dicks". Nikki (Timothy Carey, One-eyed Jacks, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie), a lonely bachelor, has also been hired to help Johnny. He is a terrific shooter who can keep his mouth shut.

On the day of the robbery, a minor detail goes wrong. Johnny’s men are forced to improvise and then, in just a few hours, the entire operation falls apart.

Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, adapted from Lionel White’s novel Clean Break (with dialog by Jim Thompson), is a classic film noir that works with typical genre ingredients -- transgressive behavior, fatalism, and brutal realism. However, its pragmatism often makes it look like an atypical period documentary.

Though Kubrick immediately makes it clear that the main protagonists in the film are doomed, their actions are fascinating to behold, and the finale is quite surprising. A big reason why is Kubrick's decision to fracture the narrative into brilliantly scripted episodes that allow the film to move at an incredible pace, never dragging or overenhancing looks and moods.

A dark sense of humor is very easy to detect, but it is expertly controlled and does not interfere with the film's pragmatism.

The acting is excellent. Hayden leads with authority and very much looks like a seasoned professional who has figured out the perfect plan to get rich quickly. Sawyer and Windsor are very convincing as well. There is a large supporting cast, but all secondary parts are essential.

Killer's Kiss (1955)

A lousy New York City boxer (Jamie Smith, The Faithful City) falls in love with a beautiful nightclub dancer (Irene Kane, All That Jazz). They plan to leave the city and settle down in Seattle, where the boxer’s uncle has a horse ranch. But the singer’s boss (Frank Silvera, Lonnie), an aging gangster, decides to keep her for himself. When she tries to get the money he owes her, all hell breaks loose.

Killer’s Kiss is not so much about the boxer and the nightclub dancer as it is about the underbelly of New York City. It is raw, notably dark and moody, at times overflowing with melancholy. The film has its fair share of flaws, but it offers an interesting look at the evolving style of a young and obviously tremendously gifted director.

The Killing Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratios of 1.66:1 and 1.30:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted 1080p transfers, Stanley Kubrick's The Killing and Killer's Kiss arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The HD master (for The Killing) was produced by The Criterion Collection and delivered by MGM via Hollywood Classics. The digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic audio reels. All picture grading and restoration, as well as all audio work, was completed by The Criterion Collection.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline/Criterion.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Los Angeles.

The HD master (for Killer's Kiss) was supplied by MGM via Hollywood Classics."

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-14: The Killing.
2. Screencaptures #16-24: Killer's Kiss.

The Killing: I don't see any notable discrepancies between the high-definition transfers the Region-B (Arrow Video) and Region-A (Criterion) releases use. Detail, clarity, and image depth are consistently pleasing, with the areas of the film where natural light is in abundance looking particularly good. The most substantial improvements, however, are during the darker footage -- shadow definition is dramatically improved and the flatness that was present on the old R1 DVD release is completely eliminated. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Grain is retained and well resolved. (There are a few areas with extremely light fluctuations, but grain distribution is good). Color saturation is stable and convincing -- the blacks and whites are well balanced and there is a good variety of nuanced grays. There are no large debris, cuts, stains or damage marks. Overall image stability is excellent.

Killer's Kiss: There are some minor framing discrepancies between the high-definition transfers the Region-B and Region-A releases use, but their technical characteristics are virtually identical. Detail and clarity are good, but grain isn't as well resolved as it is on The Killing. Additionally, there are traces of extremely light noise corrections -- most certainly inherited from the master -- that make a few sequences look slightly softer. (I also assume that the available elements were not in optimal condition when the master was prepared, but take a look at screencapture #22 to see what type of softness is present). Lastly, there are no serious stability issues, but a few tiny flecks can be spotted.

(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Killing Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0 (The Killing) and English LPCM 1.0 (Killer's Kiss). Also included is a Music & Effects LPCM 1.0 track. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English subtitles for the two films.

The Killing: At the time when I reviewed the Criterion release of The Killing I did some direct comparisons with my DVD release of the film and was able to immediately tell that depth and clarity were far better. This lossless track has the exact same characteristics as the one found on the Criterion release. There is still some extremely light background hiss that occasionally makes its presence felt, but balance and clarity are very good. There are no pops or digital distortions to report in this review.

Killer's Kiss: Arrow Video have included a lossless track but I could not hear any notable improvements over the lossy track from the Criterion release. The dialog again feels a bit flat -- listen to the phone exchanges around the 00:04:27 mark -- and dynamic intensity is quite limited. This isn't to imply that the audio is problematic, but it is quite obvious that it is somewhat dated and has limitations.

The Killing Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Killer's Kiss - director Stanley Kubrick's 1955 film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

• Trailers - two original trailers.
  
  1. The Killing. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).
  2. Killer's Kiss. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• An Appreciation by Ben Wheatley - in this video piece, British director Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers) explains what makes Stanley Kubrick's films unique, and discusses some of his favorite scenes from The Killing, the framing of different scenes, the basic challenges Stanley Kubrick must have been presented with because of the film's limited budget, the indelible images he created, etc. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• An Interview with Sterling Hayden - presented here is an extract from the French television series Le Journal du cinema in which Sterling Hayden explains how he decided to become an actor, and discusses his time in Hollywood (with Paramount Pictures), his dislike of the character he plays in Johnny Guitar, his troubles with the law, etc. The extract was original screened on November 22, 1970. In French and English, with optional English subtitles for the French dialog and printed French subtitles for the English dialog. (16 min).

• The Evolution of a Master - in this video interview, French critic and of editor of the film magazine Positif Michel Ciment discusses Stanley Kubrick's films from the 1950s and the evolution of his directing style. The interview was conducted in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Music & Effects Track - presented as LPCM 1.0 track.

• Cover - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist.

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: "A New Boy Wonder: Killer's Kiss', 'The Killing' and Stanley Kubrick's Early Career (2014)" by Peter Kramer; "Lionel White: Hardboiled Master" (2014) by Barry Forshaw; "Snakes and Ladders" (2014) by Ron Peck; contemporary reviews; and technical credits.

The Killing Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I like this release a lot. It gives British fans of director Stanley Kubrick and his work the opportunity to own two of his most entertaining films exactly like Criterion presented them in the United States. As usual, the folks at Arrow Video have also included plenty of interesting supplemental features. I especially liked the filmed interview with Michel Ciment. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.