When the awesomely revered director Stanley Kubrick died in 1999, months before the release of his long-awaited Eyes Wide Shut, he was as famous for his obsessively long shooting schedules, the increasing number of years between his films, and his reclusive lifestyle in London as he was as the maker of classic films. The Bronx-born director, who made only thirteen features, is most associated with his nonrealistic works: the doomsday satire Dr. Strangelove (1964); the sci-fi art film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); the futuristic and cautionary Clockwork Orange (1971); and the horror movie The Shining (1980). However, the picture that put Kubrick on the Hollywood map bears little relation to the aforementioned titles. The Killing, a black-and-white piece of unglamorized pulp, is about the planning, execution, and aftermath of a racetrack robbery. Kubrick had already made two movies, Fear and Desire (1953) and Killer’s Kiss (1955), but they were child’s play compared to The Killing, probably the last great work of true film noir. Not only is it a visually arresting movie—something to be expected from a 27-year-old wunderkind like Kubrick—but it’s also lean, fleet, and unpretentious, three qualities regrettably missing from Kubrick’s later work. In Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick’s overly painstaking approach resulted in a deadly movie; his talent seemed all but atrophied and his once prodigious sense of humor—see Lolita (1962) and Dr. Strangelove—dried up. Released by United Artists, The Killing is a film that’s so kinetic, jazzy, and in love with filmmaking that it appears to be the official granddaddy to the oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino. Though prized by film-noir aficionados, The Killing still hasn’t received the widespread attention it merits.

excerpted from John DiLeo’s
Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery
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