Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14505 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-22
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 228 minutes

Synopsis
Includes the Stanley Kubrick films THE KILLING, PATHS OF GLORY, and KILLER'S KISS. In THE KILLING, Johnny Clay is released from prison and he plans a scheme to steal $2 million from a racetrack in which no one will get hurt. However he does not plan for the machinations of one of his gang's wife and her boyfriend, who have their own plans for the money. PATHS OF GLORY is based on a true incident during the Great War and is a powerful anti-war statement, revolving round the wrongful court martial of three trench soldiers. KILLER'S KISS tells the story of a down-and-out boxer who falls for a comely female neighbour, leading to kidnapping and murder. Davey Gordon has seemingly fought his last fight after being pummelled by Kid Rodriguez in the first round. Gloria Price is the hard-luck dame whose window faces Davey's. A dancer at Pleasureland, Gloria is trying to break up with her boss, Vincent Rapallo, but he would rather see her dead before allowing her to be with another man. So when Davey and Gloria start a steamy romance, it isn't long before murder enters the picture.

Customer Reviews

Fine Kubrick starter-pack
This bargain "collection" features three of Stanley Kubrick's earliest feature films: Killer's Kiss, The Killing and Paths of Glory.

Killer's Kiss (1955) was, after the barely-released and now-unavailable Fear & Desire, the first of Kubrick's movies to see the light of day. It draws heavily upon a short boxing documentary which Kubrick produced earlier, called "The Day of the Fight", but is none the worse for that, and certainly has its moments. Look out for the scene amongst the shop dummies and the chase through the streets near the end which is eerily prescient of the much later "2001: a space odyssey" (1968).

The Killing (1956) is a giant leap forward, and tells its story in an unconventional way, which Tarantino acknowledged as a prime source for his "Reservoir Dogs" debut. The characters are well-developed and we really care what happens to them in this tense story of a racetrack heist.

Paths of Glory (1957) can be seen as the first of Kubrick's anti-war trilogy, the others being "Dr Strangelove..." (1964) and "Full Metal Jacket" (1987). It has the finest cast of these three films and features Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, a French commander in the trenches during the First World War. He is ordered to undertake an impossible task with his platoon by his general (George Macready)who is trying to impress his own superior officer (Adolphe Menjou). When it inevitably goes wrong he insists on holding a court-martial for those involved... The cinematography is especially impressive, featuring wonderful "backwards" tracking shots through the trenches in front of the advancing Dax, and gleaming shots of the generals' palatial surroundings. The final tear-jerking scene features Kubrick's future wife as the young singer.

There are very few DVD extras, but the films themselves are what you will return to time and again. Highly recommended for those who love cinema but haven't seen these films.

Superb blasts from the past
As a dedicated Kubrick fan, I was instantly drawn to watch his earliest three films (excluding Fear and Desire, which is completely unavailable!). It was fascinating to see some of Kubrick's now trademark devices beginning to flourish yet these three movies are simply brilliant films in their own rights. Killer's Kiss is a truly excellent thriller which feels way ahead of its time. The Killing is an intriguing crime story which one can see why it helped to inspire Quentin Tarrantino to make Reservoir Dogs. Paths of Glory is perhaps the strongest of the three, however. It serves as an unsubtle yet powerful anti-war movie which I challenge anyone to watch without feeling angered or shaken by the events on-screen. In conclusion, you are getting three classic and brilliant films on the cheap. Each one would be worth the price but here they come together! You know what to do...
(in case you're wondering, the package comes as a cardboard DVD case which contains three slim DVD cases - ie. slimmer than standard cases)

Kubrick reminders...
The three discs are brilliant reminders of what was to come later in the master's life. 'Killer's Kiss' is a tight, raw early work - with a beautifully inventive action finale. 'The Killing' is a fantastic heist movie - it really stands up as a work well ahead of its time. See it and find out where Tarantino gets most of his ideas! 'Paths of Glory' - prepare to despair, not at the film but at the story it portrays so emotionally. A super box set and terrific value for money.