365 Days. 365 Films.

The Killing is an early example of Stanley Kubrick’s work following the story of a gang of men planning a $2 million racetrack robbery.
I am a fan of Kubrick – I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan, but I think he’s a brilliant director and The Shining happens to be one of my favourite films, but this is not the best example of his work at all. The story is wafer-thin and so there’s not a lot to go on, but even so some of the editing is messy and I got the impression that Kubrick was not entirely comfortable with the cameras yet. It’s not a bad film, just slightly disappointing and boring.

Hints of his genius are definitely evident within the cinematography and generally how he directs his actors, however this is not even half his full potential that he achieved not too many years after. On the subject of actors, they were probably the best part of it. The last fifteen minutes or so, for example, was very melodramatic and brilliantly played – exactly what you want from a 1950s black and white movie.
I don’t think this is worth a watch unless you are a die hard Kubrick fan, but having said that, it’s probably not any more enjoyable even if you are.