It is not a good sign when you check how much more time is left on a film and discover you have only been watching for half an hour. Despite being only 67 minutes in total, this film feels much longer. Part of the problem is that aside from the climax, almost nothing happens on-screen. The slight story mostly moves forward in voice-overs and off-screen dialogue in between artistic visuals.
Stanley Kubrick wore almost all the hats for this film: co-producer, director, writer, editor, and most importantly, cinematographer. Unfortunately Kubrick the cinematographer unequally overshadows all the other roles. Visually the film is an endless string of incredible images, worthy of an art exhibit of still photographs. Unfortunately so many great visuals distract from, rather than enhance, the story. If the story or characters had been fleshed out enough to hold a viewer's attention, this could have been a great film.
This film is Kubrick still experimenting with style, and so you need to come to it with the right expectations. It has been packaged like a quick B-movie noir, but if that is what you are looking for, it will disappoint. If on the other hand you want to watch it because the director was a young Stanley Kubrick learning his craft, then you might find some interesting moments in this film. In particular there is the boxing match, filmed from a boxer's tight, almost claustrophobic point of view, ignoring the more standard point of view of the spectators.
Most importantly, Kubrick obviously did learn things making this film. After Killer's Kiss, Kubrick would go on to direct a string of classics, starting with another, much better, noir film, The Killers.
Stanley Kubrick wore almost all the hats for this film: co-producer, director, writer, editor, and most importantly, cinematographer. Unfortunately Kubrick the cinematographer unequally overshadows all the other roles. Visually the film is an endless string of incredible images, worthy of an art exhibit of still photographs. Unfortunately so many great visuals distract from, rather than enhance, the story. If the story or characters had been fleshed out enough to hold a viewer's attention, this could have been a great film.
This film is Kubrick still experimenting with style, and so you need to come to it with the right expectations. It has been packaged like a quick B-movie noir, but if that is what you are looking for, it will disappoint. If on the other hand you want to watch it because the director was a young Stanley Kubrick learning his craft, then you might find some interesting moments in this film. In particular there is the boxing match, filmed from a boxer's tight, almost claustrophobic point of view, ignoring the more standard point of view of the spectators.
Most importantly, Kubrick obviously did learn things making this film. After Killer's Kiss, Kubrick would go on to direct a string of classics, starting with another, much better, noir film, The Killers.