The Killers
The Killers
| 07 July 1964 (USA)
The Killers Trailers

A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.

Reviews
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Cleveronix A different way of telling a story
Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Harriet Deltubbo Surprised that their contract victim didn't try to run away from them, two professional hit men try to find out who hired them and why. The story is well told, my only problem with the film was the supporting cast. It's the kind of film that proves that a small story can be much more meaningful than a larger one. A great score and tight editing help. The cinematography is stark and bare, with only the soundtrack adding some effect. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. Watch for Ronald Reagan in an understated role. Verdict comes in at 7 out of 10.
edlion43 I have seen this film many times,and I have never tired of it..considering it was made for TV, somehow the film got into the movies,the cast is top class.It was not even called the Killers in the USA.Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager are contract killers...who get curious about one of their hits,they are breaking the hitmans code ,but smell a big payoff...the cast is classy with the beautiful Angie Dickenson at the height of her powers, throw in Ronald Reagan as the top crook with the superb John Cassavetes as the fall guy and the sparks fly.Clu Gulager was a great actor and in this film plays a very believable second string to Lee Marvins relentless and merciless killer.Throw in some great car scenes,and a cool ending,and you have a very enjoyable movie,with sub themes of greed, betrayal,and unrequited love.All in all a classic,very watchable,and you cant say that about many 1960s made for TV movies ..Super film.
Sean Lamberger A confused hybrid of a film that's got one foot in the future and the other in the past, both in story and in technique. Lee Marvin steals the show as the brains behind a two-man assassination outfit, confounded by the willingness of a recent target to meet his ultimate fate. With time and money at their disposal, the pair decides to investigate what kind of circumstance could make a man happy to see them, ultimately uncovering a complex heist-gone-bad. Marvin and his permanently sunglassed cohort play strongly sympathetic bad seeds, two charismatic characters who aren't afraid to take what they want when they see it. Unfortunately, they also play second fiddle to a series of recklessly crisscrossed flashback sequences that range from redundant to confusing to outright dull, without a central character half as interesting as the killers themselves. Painfully bad special effects, a phoned-in performance by Ronald Reagan (in his final film role) and a flat, unfulfilling ending drop this far short of its potential.
ma-cortes This remake of the classic film with the same name (1946) by Robert Siodmak deals with two hired killers (Lee Marvin , Clu Gulager in similar role to William Conrad and Charles McGraw) who murder a man (John Cassavetes replacing Burt Lancaster) at a blind school . The cold-bloody assassins look into his past and by means flashbacks , attempting to solve leads as to why their victim calmly waits for his death and find tracks to a 100.000 dollars robbery . The gunmen discovering his involvement with crime boss (Ronald Reagan , alike role Alfred Dekkker ) and the gangster's moll (Angie Dickinson in the character of Ava Gardner).This noir film packs action , thrills, suspense, tension , thundering drama and a mighty punch in some exciting scenes . It's loosely based very vaguely on a short story by Ernest Hemingway and originally pretended for television but exhibited to the cinemas due a its lots of violence . This thrilling story with intricate argument plenty of turns and twists , revolves around two assassins revealing surprise after surprise . Noteworthy portrayals come from menacing Ronald Reagan as a racketeer in his last movie, and of course Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager give towering performances as the gunfighters . There's also a magnificent action from John Cassavetes in the pivotal role and Angie Dickinson as gorgeous Femme Fatale and shooting to stardom in one of his first films . Atmospheric musical score by John Williams , subsequently famous as composer of Steven Spielberg films . Rating : Better than average . It's a good film that ensures the nervous intrigue never lets up from the first moment and realized in efficient style by Donald Siegel , then at the peak of his Hollywood career and future author of Charly Varrick, Coogan's bluff and Dirty Harry and sequels. Well worth watching .