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.
Code:
STARS.........: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart
DIRECTOR......: Robert Aldrich
WRITERS.......: A.I. Bezzerides, Mickey Spillane
GENRE.........: Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
TOMATOMETER...: 97
IMDB RATING...: 7.7/10 15,802 votes
IMDB LINK.....: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261
RUNTIME.......: 1h 46mn
SIZE..........: 4.72 GB
VIDEO CODEC...: HEVC (
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BITRATE.......: 6000 Kbps (2-pass)
RESOLUTION....: 1920x1080
ASPECT RATIO..: 1.66:1
FRAMERATE.....: 23.976 fps
AUDIO1........: English FLAC 1.0
AUDIO2........: Commentary with Alain Silver and James Ursini
SUBTITLES.....: ENG
CHAPTERS......: Yes
SOURCE........: Criterion Blu Ray
ENCODED BY....: Sartre
ENCODE DATE...: 2018-07-02
Sample Clip (Download file for actual quality)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EbpzAhOIMs0maFpSKp7sxZcvVyaLfmh3
Extras
• Director Alex Cox on Kiss Me Deadly - The director discuss Mickey Spillane's book, the main protagonists, how the film differs from the book, the unusual ending, etc. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 720p).
• Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane - A documentary film about the life and work of Mickey Spillane, directed by filmmaker Max Allan Collins. The film contains an abundance of video interviews with actors, writers, and book publishers. A postscript, in text-format, is also included. In English, not subtitled. (40 min, 720p).
• The Long Haul of A. I. Bezzerides - A terrific video piece in which screenwriter A. I. Bezzerides, who adapted Kiss Me Deadly for the big screen, Mickey Spillane, and writers Barry Gifford and George Pelecanos discuss the film. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 720p).
• Bunker Hill, Los Angeles - In this video piece, writer and Los Angeles film buff Jim Dawson discusses the history of some of the locations seen in Kiss Me Deadly. The video piece is narrated by writer-actor Don Bajema. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 720p).
• Altered Ending - The truncated ending of the film (the missing shots were reinstated in 1997). In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 720p).
• Theatrical Trailer - The original theatrical trailer for Kiss Me Deadly. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 720p).
• Commentary - An excellent new audio commentary, recorded in Los Angeles in March 2011, featuring film noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini. The two gentlemen discuss the unusual look and character of Kiss Me Deadly, Robert Aldrich's style, Ernest Laszlo's terrific lensing, the editing, Mickey Spillane's book, etc.
