The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The Killers
Crime · Mystery · Thriller · 1946
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.
Movie details
The Killers
“She's a match for any mobster!”
1946 Crime · Mystery · Thriller 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.4 / 10
Community rating
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Killers?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Out of the Past
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The peaceful life of a gas station owner is disrupted when a man from his past arrives in town and forces him to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.
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The Last Stop in Yuma County
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While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-gotten fortune.
The Killers
Crime · 1964
A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.
Sexy Beast
Crime · 2001
Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.
The Usual Suspects
Drama · 1995
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
Pulp Fiction
Thriller · 1994
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
The Last Seduction
Thriller · 1994
A devious femme fatale steals her husband’s drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.
Play Dirty
Crime · 2025
Expert thief Parker gets a shot at a major heist, but to pull it off he and his team must outsmart a South American dictator, the New York mob, and the world's richest man.
To Live and Die in L.A.
Crime · 1985
When his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Robert Siodmak
Written by
Anthony Veiller · Richard Brooks · John Huston
Edmond O'Brien
Jim Reardon
Burt Lancaster
'Swede' Andersen
Ava Gardner
Kitty Collins
Albert Dekker
Big Jim Colfax
Sam Levene
Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Vince Barnett
Charleston
Virginia Christine
Lilly Harmon Lubinsky
Court is in session
Put The Killers on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.