Ernest Hemingway's The Killers (1946)

Location: Home (DVD)
Seen Before: No
Rating: 5.0

There hasn't been a film noir that I've watched and haven't thoroughly enjoyed, but there are films noir that I've seen and that've left me completely floored--Double Indemnity; Sunset Boulevard; Kiss Me Deadly; The Big Heat. Experiencing the opening moments of Robert Siodmak's 1946 adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short story, I knew The Killers was destined to proudly sit alongside my favorites of this captivating style.

The opening sequence belongs in a time capsul--two ominous hitmen walk into a smalltown lunch counter and begin bossing a few locals around. The tense, dark mood created clearly paved the way for later progenitors of the threatening--Mr Tarantino and Mr Cronenberg, you've been found out. Congratulation, Killers, you may have introduced me to my favorite opening of all time.

While we have a film that is chock full of great performances and writing, director Siodmak is clearly the film's indispensible asset. His absolutely spellbinding use of lighting, shadows, and contrast--as well as scenes dripping with his background in German Expressionism--create a noir stamp that is of the best I've seen.