Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly

2DCS12
Director:Robert Aldrich
Cast:Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez
Premiere:18. November 2022
Length:106 minutes
Genre:Drama

Director: Robert Aldrich  •  Cast: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Wesley Addy

Aldrich's adaptation of Mickey Spillane's popular novel is often referred to as a nuclear or apocalyptic noir. Both adjectives are apt, not only because of the subject matter, which was heavily influenced by the paranoia surrounding the Cold War, but also because of the characters and stylistic presentation. The protagonist is no longer a Chandlerian modern knight with a strict set of moral principles, but an unscrupulous Mike Hammer who revels in violence and whose practices are only justified in part because the people around him are perhaps even more amoral than he is. Aldrich and his collaborators choose to omit the obligatory voiceover and flashback structure, instead driving the narrative forward at an unstoppable pace. On the level of style, they work with a multitude of rakurzes, skewed or deep compositions, night scenes or unusual movements, all of which reinforce the overall impression of unease, confusion and hopelessness.

Length: 106 min

Year: 1955
Local premiere date: 18. November 2022

Country of origin:

  • United states of America

Director: Robert Aldrich  •  Cast: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Wesley Addy

Aldrich's adaptation of Mickey Spillane's popular novel is often referred to as a nuclear or apocalyptic noir. Both adjectives are apt, not only because of the subject matter, which was heavily influenced by the paranoia surrounding the Cold War, but also because of the characters and stylistic presentation. The protagonist is no longer a Chandlerian modern knight with a strict set of moral principles, but an unscrupulous Mike Hammer who revels in violence and whose practices are only justified in part because the people around him are perhaps even more amoral than he is. Aldrich and his collaborators choose to omit the obligatory voiceover and flashback structure, instead driving the narrative forward at an unstoppable pace. On the level of style, they work with a multitude of rakurzes, skewed or deep compositions, night scenes or unusual movements, all of which reinforce the overall impression of unease, confusion and hopelessness.

Year: 1955
Local premiere date: 18. November 2022

Country of origin:

  • United states of America