With "Kiss Me Deadly," I remember thinking how trashy it was,
the first time
I saw it. Yet it's stood up better to repeated viewings, to
my mind -- the
ultimate "Atomic" picture. (And those head credits, yeah!)
There's also a
"new" version that recently surfaced, with the "real" ending
-- actually one
shot of Mike and Velda escaping the inferno at the end.
Whether this
constitutes a drastic rereading of the picture, I'm not
sure.
Dave
Mark Sullivan wrote:
> Enrique,
> Murder My Sweet is great, my favorite Marlowe
(Chandler's too, for that
> matter).
>
> I'm curious, however, about why you found Kiss Me
Deadly unsatisfying.
> I really like that movie quite a bit. You are
definitely right, it is
> not your usual Hammer, this one is something of a
cad, using Velda to
> sucker husbands into compromising pictures, while he
seduces the wives,
> depending upon who the client is in the particular
divorce case. I
> really loved the cynicism of the film, plus the
"modern" gadgets, such
> as his reel-to-reel answering machine, that now look
so outdated.
>
> In its messing with an established character, it
reminds me of Altman's
> Long Goodbye. The first time I saw it, I was
infuriated by the
> liberties it took with Marlowe. I set my
preconceptions aside, though,
> and saw it again. On its own terms, it was very
satisfying. Leigh
> Brackett updated the PI story brilliantly, holding
Marlowe's 40s code up
> against 70s reality.
>
> Anyway, I'm curious what you found missing in Kiss Me
Deadly.
>
> Mark
>
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