The killing (1956) (Criterion Collection)

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The Killing is tough, taut, tense—and one of the greatest crime thrillers ever made. With fascinating detail, legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange) lays bare the inner workings of a bold racetrack robbery. Among the crooks are Sterling Hayden (The Asphalt Jungle, Naked Alibi) as the deadly cool mastermind, Elisha Cook Jr. (The Maltese Falcon) as a shy teller and Timothy Carey (Paths of Glory) as a puppy-loving sharpshooter. The plan is set. Nothing can go wrong. Or can it?

Stanley Kubrick`s account of an ambitious racetrack robbery is one of Hollywood`s tautest, twistiest noirs. Aided by a radically time-shuffling narrative, razor-sharp dialogue from pulp novelist Jim Thompson, and a phenomenal cast of character actors, including Sterling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove), Coleen Gray (Red River), Timothy Carey (Paths Of Glory), and Elisha Cook Jr. (The Maltese Falcon), The Killing is both a jaunty thriller and a cold-blooded punch to the gut. And with its precise tracking shots and gratifying sense of irony, it`s Kubrick to the core.