Kiss Me Deadly [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Kiss Me Deadly [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Robert Aldrich Cast: Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
, Gaby Rodgers
Gaby Rodgers
, Paul Stewart
Paul Stewart
, Maxine Cooper
Maxine Cooper
Robert Aldrich
Kiss Me Deadly [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Kiss Me Deadly [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Robert Aldrich Cast: Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
, Gaby Rodgers
Gaby Rodgers
, Paul Stewart
Paul Stewart
, Maxine Cooper
Maxine Cooper
Robert Aldrich

Blu-ray (Black & White)

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Overview

Regarded by many critics as the ultimate film noir, and by many more as the finest movie adaptation of a book by Mickey Spillane, Kiss Me Deadly stars Ralph Meeker as Spillane's anti-social private eye Mike Hammer. While driving down a lonely road late one evening, Hammer picks up a beautiful blonde hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman), dressed in nothing but a raincoat. At first, Hammer assumes that the incoherent girl is an escaped lunatic; his mind is changed for him when he and the girl are abducted by two thugs. The men torture the girl to death as the semiconscious Hammer watches helplessly. He himself escapes extermination when the murderers' car topples off a cliff and he is thrown clear. Seeking vengeance, Hammer tries to discover the secret behind the girl's murder. Among those who cross his path in the film's tense, tingling 105 minutes are a slimy gangster (Paul Stewart), a turncoat scientist (Albert Dekker), and the dead woman's sexy roommate (Gaby Rodgers). All clues lead to a mysterious box -- the "Great Whatsit," as Hammer's secretary Velda (Maxine Cooper) describes it. Both the box and Velda are stolen by the villains, at which point Hammer discovers that the "Whatsit" contains radioactive material of awesome powers. The apocalyptic climax is doubly devastating because we're never quite certain if Hammer survives (he doesn't narrate the story, as was the case in most Mike Hammer films and TV shows). Director Robert Aldrich and scriptwriter Jack Moffit transcend Kiss Me Deadly's basic genre trappings to produce a one-of-a-kind melodrama for the nuclear age.

Product Details

Release Date: 06/21/2011
UPC: 0715515081818
Original Release: 1955
Rating: NR
Source: Criterion Collection
Presentation: [B&W]
Language: English
Time: 1:46:00
Sales rank: 8,848

Special Features

Audio Commentary by film noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini; New Video tribute by Director Alex Cox; Excerpts from The Long Haul of A.I. Bezzerides, a 2005 Documentary on the Kiss Me Deadly Screenwriter; Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane, a 1998 Documentary about the life and work of the author; Video Pieces on the Film's locations; Controversial altered ending; Theatrical Trailer; ; Plus: A booklet featuring an Essay by critic J. Hoberman and a 1955 reprint by Director Robert Aldrich

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Ralph Meeker Mike Hammer
Gaby Rodgers Lily
Paul Stewart Eyello
Maxine Cooper Velda
Albert Dekker Soberin
Wesley Addy Pat
Juano Hernandez Eddie,Radio announcer
Nick Dennis Nick
Cloris Leachman Christina Bailey/Berga Torn
Marian Carr Friday,Actor
Jack Lambert Sugar Smallhouse
Jack Elam Charlie Max
Jerry Zinneman Sammy
Percy Helton Morgue Doctor
Fortunio Bonanova Carmen Trivago
Silvio Minciotti Mover
Leigh Snowden Girl at Pool
Madi Comfort Singer
James Seay FBI Man
Mara McAfee Nurse
Robert Cornthwaite FBI Man
James McCallian Super
Jesslyn Fax Mrs. Super
Mort Marshall Piker
Strother Martin Harvey Wallace, Truck Driver
Marjorie Bennett Manager
Art Loggins Bartender
Keith McConnell Athletic Club Clerk
Paul Richards Attacker
Eddie Beal Sideman
James McCallion Super
Leonard Mudie Athletic Club Clerk
Bob Sherman Gas Station Man
Sam Balter Radio announcer
Kitty White Vocalist in Club (uncredited)
Frank De Vol Conductor,Composer

Technical Credits
Robert Aldrich Director,Producer
Jack Moffitt Screenwriter
A.I. Bezzerides Screenwriter
Victor Saville Executive Producer
Jack Solomon Sound/Sound Designer
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