In 1999, Kiss Me Deadly was inducted into the National Film Registry which requires the film to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Personally, I think it was for sure aesthetically significant, in the last scene especially. Who would have thought that in 1955 they had the technology to film a flaming screaming box?!
Robert Weston has a nice sum up of why it could possibly be a perfect film noir,
"Frankly, it's got everything. The predominance of darkness and nighttime? Check. Morally ambiguous protagonists? Check. Existential underpinnings? Check. Dramatic compositions influenced by German Expressionist artists and filmmakers? Check, check, check."
I think that if for nothing else, the film should be acknowledged because of the crazy low budget it had, with respect to how well known it has become. With a budget of only about $400,000 it's one of few, besides maybe Monty Python and the Holy Grail ($400,000) and Napoleon Dynamite ($400,000), that has become so successful and known to film people all over.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
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