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    About This Item

    Unique ID Code: 0000103229
    Added by: David Beckett
    Added on: 13/5/2008 12:51
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    Ernest Hemingway's The Killers: The Criterion Collection

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    Why would a man welcome his own murder?
    Certificate: NR
    Running Time: 196
    Retail Price: $39.95
    Release Date:
    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

    Video Tracks:
    1.33:1

    Audio Tracks:
    Dolby Digital Mono English

    Subtitle Tracks:
    English HoH

    Directed By:
    Robert Siodmak
    Don Siegel

    Written By:

    Starring:
    Burt Lancaster
    Ava Gardner
    Edmond O'Brien
    -----------------------
    John Cassavetes
    Lee Marvin
    Angie Dickinson

    Distributor:
    Criterion

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