Killers, The | Blu-ray

Directed by Noir cinema workhorse Robert Siodmak and starring Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster, it's no surprise that the 1946 version of The Killers tends to get most of the attention of the two movies included in this set. I would argue, however, that it's the much less interesting between them.

Initially made for television, Don Siegel's adaptation of the Earnest Hemingway short story catalogues a key point in the development of action cinema. Siegel himself would later truly codify the genre with the most notable picture of his career, 1971's Dirty Harry, but the development of the form can be seen all across his filmography, from his start making classic noir films, to violent prison and war thrillers.

Starring formative action star Lee Marvin, and featuring the incomparable John Cassavetes, Siegel's picture is a brutal, stylish thriller featuring stark moments of violence. The formal conventions aren't all quite in place yet to separate it from other crime thrillers of the day, but for fans interested in tracking cinema's evolution these two interpretations of the same story paint a compelling picture.