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Movies / On DVD / Kiss of Death
Kiss of Death

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Kiss of Death (1995)

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Reviews Counted:35

Fresh:23

Rotten:12

Average Rating:6.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: KISS OF DEATH opens with ex-convict Jimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso) attempting to distance himself from his shady past. His cousin, Ronny (Michael Rapaport), shows up at his door begging for help... KISS OF DEATH opens with ex-convict Jimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso) attempting to distance himself from his shady past. His cousin, Ronny (Michael Rapaport), shows up at his door begging for help with one more heist, and Jimmy agrees to participate against his better judgment. Things go sour when a detective is shot, and Jimmy is left to take the fall. As Jimmy's hopes for a normal life with his wife (Helen Hunt) and daughter fade, he becomes a pawn of the police in their attempts to bring down a psychotic gangster named Little Junior (Nicolas Cage). Caruso and a pumped-up, supremely menacing Cage highlight a spectacular cast that also features Samuel L. Jackson as the cop who becomes Jimmy's solitary ally and Stanley Tucci as a Machiavellian district attorney. Novelist Richard Price supplies the screenplay, and director Barber Schroeder (SINGLE WHITE FEMALE) ensures that KISS OF DEATH, based loosely on the 1947 film of the same name, unfolds with the grooved precision of a well-made watch while bristling at every turn with the volatile life of a vividly imagined criminal underworld. [More]

Starring: David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Kathryn Erbe

Starring: David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Kathryn Erbe, Helen Hunt, Michael Rapaport, Ving Rhames, Stanley Tucci

Director: Barbet Schroeder

Director: Barbet Schroeder
Composer: Trevor Jones
Screenwriter: Richard Price
Producer: Barbet Schroeder, Susan Hoffman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Kiss of Death

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Gutsy dialogue, atmospheric direction, lots of night scenes and an uninhibited take on the source material.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/19/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What's most effective about the new Kiss of Death is Tucci's marvelously slimy prosecutor.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
09/19/08
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Classy film noir, as you would expect from a team including director Barbet Schroeder, writer Richard Price, and Nicolas Cage...

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/19/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A crackling thriller that feels unusually attuned to its lowlife characters.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/19/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
04/22/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/13/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

An interesting noirlike crime drama propelled by Cage's eccentric performance

comment Comment
04/08/05
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Cage and Caruso strike sparks in this riveting piece of pulp fiction, but it's that first Kiss you'll remember.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
03/07/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

No review available.

comment Comment
11/02/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

Violent crime tale which Caruso hoped would make him a movie star. It didn't.

comment Comment
10/16/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

The real mystery is why Caruso left NYPD Blue.

comment Comment
01/17/04
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Atmospheric yet ultimately hollow exercise in tedium.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/13/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/28/03
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
PopcornQ

It's a sleek, muscular thriller played by a terrific ensemble cast...

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

The real problem with this film is a so-so screenplay: the dialogue is lame, and many scenes lack any real suspense.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
03/23/03
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Unjustly overlooked thriller packs a punch

comment Comment
12/21/02
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Nicolas Cage is a riot. Caruso, immersing.

comment Comment
09/18/02
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

It ain't anything ground-breaking, but it gets the job done, and well.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Latest News for Kiss of Death

October 20, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: Freedomland
From director Joe Roth and screenwriter Richard Price comes "Freedomland," an apparently racially-charged kidnapping thriller that stars Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne... More...

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