Killer's Kiss – Kino Lorber (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1955
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Howard Sackler
Cast: Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, Irene Kane, Jerry Jarrett, Mike Dana, Felice Orlandi

Release Date: June 28th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 66 Minutes 56 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Down-and-out New York City boxer Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith) strikes up a romance with nightclub dancer Gloria Price (Irene Kane). Their budding relationship is violently interrupted by Gloria’s boss, Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera), who has eyes for his employee. When Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative."

Killer's Kiss comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 49.1 GB

Feature: 41.7 GB

The source used for this transfer looks excellent, and when compared to its previous home video releases, it's hard to imagine Killer’s Kiss looking any better than it does here. Image clarity, contrast, and shadow details are solid; there are no issues with compression; and the grain looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH. The fact that the soundtrack was completed in post-production has no effect on the overall quality of the track. The audio is in excellent shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and range-wise, ambient sounds and the score are well-represented.

Extras:

The extras for this release include a limited-edition slipcover, an audio commentary with film historian Imogen Sara Smith, and theatrical trailers for Killer’s Kiss (1 minute 46 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), The Killing (1 minute 46 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), and Paths of Glory (3 minutes, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles).

Summary:

Even at this early stage in his career, Stanley Kubrick’s ability to create visually arresting moments is evident. And though Killer’s Kiss was made quickly, that is not to say that it lacks Stanley Kubrick’s meticulous tendencies that would become synonymous with his later films.

Killer’s Kiss is a story about two characters that are in bad situations who come together and try to find a way out of the troubles they find themselves in. From there, the narrative follows them as they wrap up any loose ends on their way out of town. With a sensational finale in a warehouse full of mannequins, that sees the protagonist fighting for his life against a jealous former lover of the woman he’s about to leave town with.

Though all the sound for Killer’s Kiss was done in post-production, Stanley Kubrick was able to get three strong performances from his three main actors: Jamie Smith in the role of a boxer named Davey Gordon; Irene Kane in the role of Gloria Price, a woman who’s looking for a way out of her current situation; and Frank Silvera in the role of Vinnie Rapallo, a crime boss who’s infatuated with Gloria. In the case of the latter of these three actors, he delivers the most memorable performance.

From a production standpoint, Killer’s Kiss is a well-made film that has many of the hallmarks that would become synonymous with the cinema of Stanley Kubrick. Killer’s Kiss features a strong narrative that is mostly told via flashbacks, and even at this stage in his career, Stanley Kubrick uses voiceover narration to further flesh out the narrative. Another strength is composer Gerald Fried’s score, which does a superb job of reinforcing the mood. He would go on to compose the scores for The Killing and Paths of Glory. Ultimately, Killer’s Kiss is a solid crime film that fans of film noir should thoroughly enjoy.

Killer’s Kiss makes its way to 4K UHD via an excellent release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an exceptional audio commentary that is filled with insight about Killer’s Kiss and Stanley Kubrick, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer