The Killing (1956)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Absolutely Fantastic

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The Killing is one of Stanley Kubrick's best films. It was made before he got a big ego. The writing is excellent and the performances are memorable. If you like heist movies or film noir, this is one you should definitely check out.

The Killing is one of Kubrick's early films before he really broke out with Paths of Glory and Spartacus, but the talent is evident. The film is a very straightforward concept, a heist at a horse track, but it lays out the blueprint for making a heist film that is still used today with the Ocean's series. They lay out their plan just enough that the viewer knows what is going on and the general outline of the plan, but it isn't until the climactic heist that it all comes together. The decision to show the heist from each characters perspective non-linearly worked very well and was a bold choice at the time as it was a novel approach.Sterling Hayden gives a good performance, though it is odd to see him as the mastermind when he is usually just typecast as a heavy. Elisha Cook Jr. also does well as the meek clerk who is pushed around by his two timing wife. The characters are given moments of compassion, particularly Joe Sawyer's bartender, to let the audience root for them, while still reminding us that they are criminals.

Stanley Kubrick's First Fully Formed Feature Film is a Vibrating Noir-Heist. It's the Tail End of the Film-Noir Cycle and Kubrick's Homage is Outstanding.The Cast is a Gaggle of Noir Icon's. Sterling Hayden, Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, Jay C. Flippen, Ted De Corsia, and Borned to be Noir Timothy Carey.The Pacing is Hyper Crackerjack and the Cinematography is Gritty, Edgy, and Glaring Outside. Indoors it's Dark, Bleak, Shadowy, Sleazy, and Desperate. The Gun-Play is Striking.The Dialog from Pulp Writer Jim Thompson is Minimalist, Unfettered, and In Your Face. The Music is Serviceable and the Voice Over Narration was Procedural Vogue.Overall, the Ending is a WOW and the Time Displacement and Overlaps, Cutting Edge at the Time are Now Clichés in the Modern made most Famous by Quentin Tarantino's Work.It's a Must See Movie that has Broad Appeal and is as Violent and Unsettling as Anything from the 1950's. It is Truly a Breakout Film from the Director and His Talent, Insight, and Film-Making Prowess was Evident here and almost Everyone Noticed.Note...This is considered Stanley Kubrick's only pure Film-Noir.

I've been meaning to check out the older Kubrick films - I've only seen the ones from 1962 onwards. The Killing wasn't really what I expected, it didn't have the slow pacing and steady shots that I associate with Kubrick, but it was a good crime movie. It's basically a prototype for heist movies like Ocean's Eleven: a ragtag bunch of crooks come together with each their special part to play in a big gig that will leave all of them rolling in cash. The perfect crime in this case is theft of the safe of a horse racing track.The movie is largely dialog-driven, it's clever and thrilling and at times funny. The ending is a standout, really well executed and just for that totally worth a watch. The movie hasn't aged at all.