Kiss of Death Movie Review 1994

Very loose contemporary remake of the 1947 film noir classic of the same name. Jimmy Kilmartin (Caruso) is a paroled car thief turned informant. He soon finds himself trapped in a web of deceit involving corrupt district attorneys and ruthless hoodlums like Little Junior (Cage, pumped up and playing against type), with no one to trust. Crime drama keeps the far-fetched genre conventions in check until the end. Caruso makes the transition from TV cop on "NYPD Blue" by not straying far from his small screen persona. Cage's standout performance may not be as chilling as Widmark's unforgettable debut in the original, but he's able to convey a level of mercilessness and depth that'll make you wince.

Distribution

Fox Home Entertainment, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, Phone: (310)369-3900, Toll-free: 888-223-4FOX, Fax: (310)369-5811, URL: http://www.foxmovies.com/index1.html, Remarks: Also known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Available on VHS
Running time 100 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Grand Theft Auto, Undercover Cops, Organized Crime, Revenge, Contemporary Noir, Strippers, Cousins, Ex-Cons

Screenplay

Richard Price

Cast

David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Hunt, Stanley Tucci, Michael Rapaport, Ving Rhames, Anthony Heald, Anne Meara, Hope Davis, Kathryn Erbe, Philip Baker Hall, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Artura, Jay O. Sanders, Joe Lisi

Director

Barbet Schroeder

Music

Trevor Jones

Producer

Barbet Schroeder, 20th Century-Fox