Événement

NOIR CITY 15: THE KILLING / CRUEL GUN STORY

Monday, January 23

The price of admission gets you into the double bill.

7:15
THE KILLING
(USA, 1956. United Artists (Park Circus). 85 min.)

Screenplay by Jim Thompson and Stanley Kubrick, from a novel by Lionel White
Produced by James B. Harris. Directed by Stanley Kubrick

You'll think you've died and gone to hardboiled heaven. Or is it hell? Kubrick was only 28 when he unleashed this twisty and twisted masterpiece, studded with diamond-hard dialogue courtesy of pulp master Jim Thompson. Sterling Hayden arranges a clockwork racetrack robbery only to learn the hard way what happens to the best-laid plans. Kubrick proved his noir bona fides by casting genre stalwarts Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, Coleen Gray, Ted de Corsia, Jay C. Flippen -- and unforgettable wild man Timothy Carey. Presented digitally

9:00
CRUEL GUN STORY (Kenju zankoku monogatari)
(Japan, 1964. Nikkatsu Studios (Janus/Criterion). 87 min.)

Screenplay by Hisataka Kai and Haruhiko Oyabu
Produced by Hideo Sasai. Directed by Takumi Furukawa

Jo Shishido, the chubby-cheeked superstar of Japanese noir, toplines the crown jewel from Nikkatsu, the studio responsible for the country's best crime films. Smart-mouthed Togawa (Shishido), contentedly doing time for taking vengeance on the man who paralyzed his sister, is sprung from jail by a gangster who wants him to boost 120 million yen from an armored car following the Japan Derby. Only his benefactor isn't telling Togawa everything. The title doesn't lie: there's cruelty and guns galore and a finish that's almost apocalyptic. Presented digitally