Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Colleen Gray, Elisha Cook Jr., Jay C. Flippen, Marie Windsor, Sterling Hayden ...( see more  see more... ) , Vince Edwards

Crooks plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.

Flixster Users

90% liked it

15,492 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

25 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Release Date: January 1, 1956

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 15, 2001

Get It:

Stats: 829 reviews

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (829)


  • September 11, 2009
    Fresh out of prison, a career criminal cooks up an ingenious scheme to rob a racetrack. An early film from Stanley Kubrick, and yet another masterclass. He takes to the visual trappings of Film Noir and creates one of the most efficiently told and tautly directed heist films ever...( read more) made. Sterling Hayden is perfect as the straight-talking, street-wise mastermind, as is Marie Windsor's Machiavellian femme fatale who twists doomed sap Elisha Cook Jr round her little finger. So much of this film has influenced some of the best directing talent working today that it still feels remarkably contemporary; Tarantino owes much to the over-lapping timeline in particular, and the mix of off beat characters, violent crime and cruel twists of fate is straight out of a Cohen brothers movie (Vince Edwards actually looks the spit of Peter Stormare in this film!) In fact the only element that dates it is the newsreel style voice over, although it does help fit the pieces of puzzle together quite well. Johnny Clay was a brilliant character whom I would have liked to have learned more about, to the point where you are almost sorry to see him caught. But wishing the film was longer is hardly the most damning criticism! Is there any genre Kubrick couldn't do?
  • September 4, 2009
    A fantastic Heist film noir by the late great Kubrick. The dialogue is brilliant and the characters and acting superb. As always, Kubrick's direction is perfect. It's been a huge influence since its realise and has often been ripped off but never bettered. Brilliant.
    PS. Hands o...( read more)ff Tarantino you tea leaf!!
  • May 31, 2009
    A well planned Robbery that is timed accurately and precise, with many characters involved.

    Enjoyable watch, worthy if you catch it on TV, not quite as impressive as I thought it would be, but an ok film.
  • March 11, 2009
    Kubrick just getting started - fun to compare this to his later work.

    A solid heist movie baby babay.
  • March 1, 2009
    Good early Kubrick. Nice touchs throughout with a satisfying ending. Recommended.
  • December 20, 2009
    The Killing is fantastic. Its very effective, not like most movies nowadays that's wasting celluloid and the audience's time. And the details are great. Sometimes we should look back and really learn something.
  • December 13, 2009
    This flawless caper movie forces you to root for the bad guy. Classic edge of your seat suspense.
  • December 10, 2009
    Classic film noir! Great twists and turns and film techniques that cleary influenced Tarantino, Scorsese and the likes.
  • December 5, 2009
    The Killing is said to be one of Stanley Kubrick's earlier works as a film director. Screenplay was written by Kubrick and James Thompson based on a novel entitled "Clean Break" by Lionel White. It was released in 1956 and was not actually a top grosser but it did well.

    Film Noi...( read more)r

    The Killing is a film noir based on a series of crimes by groups of individuals.

    The Story

    The story basically is about a notorious criminal named Johnny Clay portrayed by Sterling Hayden (he was one of the military officers in the film Dr. Stangelove) and his plans on stealing a huge amount of money from a horse race track bank where tickets earnings from ticket sales and wages are kept. He assembled a team of prospects that are to act as what he had planned. He made careful decisions on how to rob the bank and how to leave no traces of the crime.

    There is no perfect crime.

    Initially, what Johnny had planned was a perfect crime. He would leave no traces of robbing. Brutal and deceiving in nature but they would never get them caught by authorities. Yes. He and his team managed to do everything as what the plans said, and they succeeded. They got the cash, they became popular, because, television kept talking about them and their "marvelous" crime, how they were NOT caught, and how intelligent they were, BUT there's always bad karma. Just watch the movie in good details.

    The last part was pretty hilarious. I never expected it to be that funny.

    The film shows strong characters especially that of Johnny's. It brings us to the matrix of making a crime and it's pretty interesting watching movies like those.

    The film has no linear storylines and it was narrated voice-over eventually. The lights are set to low key black and white. The music, not so impressive, but helps you to feel scenes with intense thrill. The camera angles impressive. Actually, this film is one of those foundations for Kubrick's later films.

    Close to perfect score for a not so perfect crime.
  • November 16, 2009
    I love Kubrick. I should put this near the top of the list but it seems to be a bit of a bore

Critic Reviews


May 1, 2006
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Stanley Kubrick's masterful manipulation of chronology brings an excruciating sense of doom to The Killing, a classical noir about a carefully threaded heist unraveled by the scheming of a fiendish fe... full review

View more The Killing reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • R0L0D3X
    June 29, 2009
    Great, Great, Great, Great Film

    8/10

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Blast of Silence
    Blast of Silence (67%)
  • Heat
    Heat (100%)
  • The Usual Suspects
    The Usual Suspects (50%)
  • Flawless
    Flawless (100%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

The Killing : Watch Free on TV


The Killing Trivia


  • Which "Friday the 13th" had Jason only in a dream sequence, while a copycat "Jason" was doing all the killing?  Answer »
  • This film from the 1950s features a story told out of sequence, a race track robbery and it's in black & white.  Answer »
  • Which Stanley Kubrick film is said to have inspired the convoluted timeline of 'Reservoir Dogs'?  Answer »
  • Which of these films is NOT about the Vietnam war?  Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for The Killing. Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?