Kiss of Death (1995/I)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers (WGA):

Eleazar Lipsky (story)
Ben Hecht (1947 screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Little Junor Brown. He rules the streets. He owns the game. But he doesn't own all of the players.

Plot:

A reformed convict goes undercover with the help of an angry detective to ensnare a psychotic mobster.

Plot Keywords:

Queens New York | Betrayal | Car Transport | Gun In Mouth | Car Carrier

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Caruso	...	Jimmy Kilmartin
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Calvin Hart
Nicolas Cage	...	Little Junior Brown
Helen Hunt	...	Bev Kilmartin
Kathryn Erbe	...	Rosie Kilmartin
Stanley Tucci	...	Frank Zioli
Michael Rapaport	...	Ronnie Gannon
Ving Rhames	...	Omar
Philip Baker Hall	...	Big Junior Brown
Anthony Heald	...	Jack Gold
Angel David	...	J.J.
John Costelloe	...	Cleary
Lindsay J. Wrinn	...	Corinna as a Toddler
Megan L. Wrinn	...	Corinna as a Toddler
Katie Sagona	...	Corinna, 4 Years Old

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #33340) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (w) | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Cameo: [Jay O. Sanders]federal agent

Goofs:

Continuity: The item of jewelry on Little Junior's wrist alternates between a gold watch and a gold chain bracelet, sometimes during the same scene.

Quotes:

[at a bar]
Little Junior Brown: See me tomorrow and we'll discuss things.
[goes back to enjoy his drink]
Jimmy Kilmartin: Wait a minute. Why not now?
Little Junior Brown: I haven't been able to find my daughter in a while, and I've already planned the night grieving about it, so you'll just have to see me tomorrow.
Jimmy Kilmartin: No, You see me now.
[takes a tiny gun out]
Jimmy Kilmartin: Tell me now! Go on! I want to hear it.
Little Junior Brown: I ain't going back to jail. I'm tired. They didn't allow me to use silverware. I had to use my fingers. That's right, they didn't even allow me to use plastic spoons, forks, and knives! But I do hate the taste of metal in my mouth. That's why I refused to have braces.
Jimmy Kilmartin: [puts gun on Brown's lip] Tell me what I want to know, or you'll never have a lip again.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of Kiss of Death (1947)

Soundtrack:

Circle On You

Better film than most give it credit for

Everyone agrees that the casting was marque. And that it has great source material. But I feel it gets a bum rap with critics. And Nicolas Cage was exactly what the film needed. I thought so then and I think so now. Color, flash, and style. Something out of the ordinary to give it some desperately needed weight. And Cage makes weight. Literally. That is the strongest look I had seen since Stallone did "First Blood, Part II". Cage is a physical bull and it's impressive. I wouldn't have recognized him if I hadn't seen the trailer with his name on it beforehand. If you never saw this, see it. For no other reason than to be scared of Nic Cage. I was.