tight noir thriller shot entirely on location in nyc area mid-20th century. exceptional performance by richard widmark as criminal sociopath and solid turn by victor mature as the complex criminal with a heart yearning for a moral high ground in an unjust world. beautfully shot, tight and tense. top notch noir.

Kiss of Death is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed and produced by Barbet Schroeder 🍿 It's ok, but I feel mixed about this one 😉 I'd recommend it if you like this genre, but if not then probably give it a miss 👍🏼👎🏼 S Jimmy Kilmartin is an ex-con trying to stay clean and raise a family. When his cousin Ronnie causes him to take a fall for driving an illegal transport of stolen cars, Detective Calvin Hart is injured and Jimmy lands back in prison. In exchange for an early release, he is asked to help bring down a local crime boss named 'Little Junior' Brown. However, he's also sent undercover by Detective Hart to work with Little Junior and infiltrate his operations. As soon as Little Junior kills an undercover Federal agent with Jimmy watching, the unscrupulous DA and the Feds further complicate his life.

Caruso isn't good enough to make it work.

How I never came across this little gem with an all star cast before now is beyond me and can only assume I missed this by just a few years. This film felt pure 90s and reminded me of the predictable plots and cliche over acting that punctuated many of the action thrillers from that era. Where this film stood out though is with the cast, which was one of the best you'll see from that decade featuring names like Helen Hunt, Tucci, Caruso, Samuel L. Jackson, Rappaport, Rhames, Kathryn Erbe, Kevin Corrigan, Philip Baker Hall, and Anne Meara. The MVP however goes hands down to Nicolas Cage who gave an even more unhinged performance than we are normally treated to, taking on the role of Little Junior Brown. Cage was either decked out in an all white tracksuit or white jeans with white tank top, and conducted his business out of a strip club called "Baby Cakes", exhibiting an explosive temperament that appeared to fluctuate by the second, all while serving up banger line after banger line of dialogue. This wasn't a great movie but was still a lot fun if you go in knowing what to expect. The rating would likely be even lower if it was watched with 100% seriousness. 5.5/10 Samuel L. Jackson Binge: It isn't often Jackson will play the most grounded and morally admirable role in a film but with a cast starring David Caruso, Stanley Tucci, and Nic Cage among others, he actually came off as the most quietly reserved here. No one comes to watch Samuel L. Jackson play the straight man though so this role likely won't be too memorable aside from the scene in which he is introduced. *SLJ January #3

No Richard Widmark pushing the old lady down the stairs, WHAT! Having a all star cast it is no all star movie. Blah blah...

not too much to say about this one Cage is the big standout here acting his Cagiest only minor instances of intense thrills the story is a very common one about someone going undercover to bring down a crime boss it just comes in and does its job and that's it

Story/Screenplay: (2.5/5) A crime drama that started strong, but deteriorated badly towards the end. Really silly use of guns by good and bad guys had me rolling my eyes. Just silly. Duration/Tempo: (2.5/5) At 1 hour and 41 minutes, it's a shorter than average movie that felt long. Cast & Crew: (3/5) Nicolas Cage was interesting in a role delivery that I haven't seen from him before. Samuel L. Jackson was good. David Caruso was not. Summary: (2.5/5) The story and cast were just OK and the film felt long. A thumbs down.

Pendant un peu plus de 90 minutes, Kiss of Death semble être un thriller de série, plutôt bien ficelé, avec des rebondissements constants, des dialogues plutôt sympathiques (surtout quand ils sont déclamés par Stanley Tucci en avocat salopard), un David Caruso assez bon en lead, un Ving Rhames monolithique et un Samuel L. Jackson flic bon copain. Ce serait sans parler de la principale qualité du film : Nicolas Cage. En big bad asthmatique complètement allumé (on le voit faire de la musculation en soulevant une strip-teaseuse telle une haltère), Cage fait n'importe quoi constamment et le fait bien, amenant une touche de folie qui, étrangement, marche particulièrement bien dans un film pourtant sérieux. C'est cette étonnante association qui fait du film de Barbet Schroeder un film à voir.

Not great but not bad, Caruso is fine as the criminal trying to turn his life around but the supporting cast really makes this film. Great turns by Sammuel L Jackson, Ving Rhames, Michael Rapaport, and of course Nicholas Cage in one of those insane Cage performances which left me counting down the minutes until he got on screen again.I would have liked a film about just his character.

An above average mid '90s movie before Nic Cage and Sam Jackson became cartoon versions of themselves. And when we all thought David Caruso was going to be a star.

good another lost review

can't stand David Caruso, can't act

David Caruso is shit amongst all other great performances from the likes of Nic Cage, Sam L Jackson, Ving Rhames, Michael Rappaport, and Stanley Tucci

The 1990's were a great decade for crime dramas, and "KIss of Death" is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated gems there was. This smartly written, complex thriller is a real joy to uncover, loosely based on the 1947 film of the same name that updates the plot in all the right ways. Screenwriter Richard Price not only makes the material relevant for more modern times but he also intricately layers the plot so the film surprises at every turn and keeps it fresh and worth following. It also features one of the best ensemble casts of the year, with a terrifically maniacal performance by Nicolas Cage at the center of it all. He doesn't play villains very often, which is something he should reconsider after seeing his rage-filled, adrenaline-fueled performance in this. The film stars David Caruso, fresh off of "NYPD Blue" starring in his first feature and astonishingly enough holding his own against the big boys. He looks smaller and carries himself modestly, but in the scenes requiring him to act tough (especially opposite Cage), he pulls off convincingly. It's a shame he never really became a major player. Director Barbet Schroeder coupled with Price to give the film the cold, hard edge it needed to be successful. "Kiss of Death" is a remarkable film, elaborately plotted, wonderfully acted and completely lacking a sense of humor. In this case, that's a compliment.

Pretty good movie!! It was intense, sometimes engaging, had some action, and entertaining here and there!! The film will not keep you on the edge of your seat because of how boring it can be at times!! There are times where there is absolutely nothing going on and it lags!! When there is action, it could have been longer!! The cast was outstanding, especially Nicolas Cage and Stanley Tucci!! They gave the most engaging performances and helped excel the film!! If you like action movies with little tension, than you might like this!! If you like action-packed movies where it isn't boring, than I highly recommend you look elsewhere!!

exciting and entertaining. David caruso stand out as does Nicolas cage in a werid pyschotic performance as Junior Brown and Samuel L. Jackson is good as the hard to nails detective who needs David to help him take down the mob.

Good movie. Pretty entertaining, great performances from its leads, especially Cage.

2013-10-11 couldn't watch it all because the recording was interrupted 3x by dish disruptions. missed the last 15 min or so, at the point where Caruso pulls a gun on Cage. Finished it 2013-10-25.

Good crime thriller that felt uniquely told. It wasn't really, but it felt like it. Good main performance from someone I never heard of and Nicolas Cage as an amazing villain. Jackson had a spectacular introduction. Good movie with style and atmosphere. Could easily watch this again too. Very odd, entertains easily and has a brain.

Overall, Kiss of Death is pretty unimpressive. In spite of its large, well-known cast, much of it falls flat as it tries to do too much and winds up doing nothing. Nicolas Cage is awesome here, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, but otherwise, it is largely mailed in. The direction is pretty poor and the story seems pretty aimless. Things happen just to happen and, hand in hand with that, the writing is quite poor. Overly Hollywood where there has to be a bad guy that goes down and a happy ending, things wrap up far too nicely for how poorly they could have wound up. Ultimately, these characters seem more like robots who lack real emotion and when they should show emotion, they are incapable of doing so. Sad to watch a good cast fall apart due to poor direction and writing, but that is the case with Kiss of Death.