British DVD cover for the film Kiss Before Dying (1991).
James Dearden's film Kiss Before Dying (1991) was a remake of Gad Oswald's (1919–1989) Kiss Before Dying (1956), both of which were based on the original book by Ella Levine Ira Levin (1929-2007).
In 1953, Ella Levine was only 23 years old, and he became famous that year with his debut film Kiss Before Death. Hailed as "the three phenomenal detective novels of the West," the work won him his first Edgar Poe Award in 1954.
Image from the film Kiss (1991).
The Poe Award is the most authoritative award created by the Mystery Writers Association of America (MWA) for the world's outstanding detective novelists, and it is not easy to win this award at the age of 23.
In 1967, Ella Levine's wife became pregnant, and based on her pregnancy, he wrote a novel, Rosemary's Baby (1968), which was adapted to the screen by Roman Polanski the following year and became a classic in film history.
Ella Levine, author of the film "The Kiss of Iniquity"
It's hard to say whether fiction made the film or whether it was the film that made the novel, but in 1968, Rosemary's Baby gave the second Allan Poe Award to Ella Levine.
And we'll look at the 1991 version of Kiss, which was adapted by director James Dieldon himself; before that, James Dieldon's Fatal Seduction/Fatal Attraction (1987) was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 60th Academy Awards in 1988.
Stills from the movie Kiss, Matt Dillon
Kiss is co-starring Sean Young, Matt Dillon, Max von Sydow, and James Lasso James Russo.
The music is Howard Shaw Howard Shore, and the photography is Mike Southon.
Dorothy (Played by Sean Young), a young and handsome female college student, is in the classroom, and her heart has already flown out of the window.
She can't contain her joy, and classmate Patricia (Martha Gehman) asks her with concern if she's going on a date with her boyfriend.
She denies it, saying that she made an appointment at noon to have lunch with her father, Saul Carlson (Max von Suddorf).
A personable, gloomy young man, Jonathan (Matt Dillon), is waiting at the door of the marriage registry building. Dorothy greeted jonathan and kissed her, but he urged her to hurry into the building so that she wouldn't be seen by acquaintances.
When they arrived at the marriage registry office, they saw that the door was closed and it was time for a midday break. Jonathan advises Dorothy why not take the opportunity to go to the top of the building for a view. Dorothy obediently came to the top floor.
Promotional photo for the film Kiss (1991), Sean Young (left) and Matt Dillon
Jonathan looked nervous and asked if she had ever told anyone about their relationship. When he learned that not only had she not told her father, but also that she had not revealed half a word to her twin sister Ellen, a subtle sense of ease flashed across his face.
He carried Dorothy to the edge of the porch, pretended to admire her new leather shoes, and took the opportunity to throw her out.
Dorothy screamed and fell from the top of the building to the ground floor, and died of exhaustion. Jonathan coldly threw down his shoes, but took away the lighter inscribed with Dorothy's name.
After the tragedy. The police department immediately found Dorothy's father, Mr. Saul Carlson, and her twin sister Ellen (Sean Young). demand
Er Carlson was the copper king of the United States, but his family life was not very happy, first his wife Louis betrayed him, and soon Louise committed suicide.
Immediately after, his only son, Bobby, died in a car accident. Saul Carlson is a career-oriented, family-minded man who, although he does not have a very good relationship with his two twin daughters, cares about their marriage and secretly sends private detectives to follow them once he discovers that they have a romantic partner.
Stills from the film Kiss (1991), Shaun Young (left) and Max von Suddorf
He must choose the young man he sees as his son-in-law, or else he will have his daughter's inheritance revoked. However, Dorothy was so disgusted by what his father had done that he fell in love in a covert way.
The police department deduced that she had committed suicide based on analysis of the scene and a sad poem left by Dorosi, and the forensic doctor found out that she was pregnant.
Saul Carlson sees Dorosi's death as another scandal in the family, suggesting that the police chief should close the case as soon as possible. But her sister Ellen insists that Dorothy was murdered and asks the police to find out the truth.
Stills from the film Kiss (1991), Max von Suddorff
Ellen was as beautiful and pretty as Dorothy. The difference is that Dorothy has blond hair, while Ellen has black hair. Ellen is determined to find out the cause of Dorothy's death, even though she spends her days working on charity, caring for the struggling, homeless children.
After Jonathan killed Dorothy, he hid at home and concentrated on collecting and studying the current situation of Saul Carlson and Ellen's father and daughter. Jonathan began his long-planned plan. He left Philadelphia with simple luggage and headed for New York.
Stills from the movie Kiss (1991), Matt Dillon
Halfway through, he hitched a ride in Jay (Adam Horovitz), who had just returned from abroad.
Jay, a talkative young man, told Jonathan that both of his parents had died and that he himself was an orphan.
Jonathan felt that this was a very suitable replacement. So he poisoned Jay.
Soon, Jonathan transforms into "Jay" and appears in the charity where Ellen works.
Ellen found Patricia that day and asked Dorothy who was dating classmate Patricia. But Patricia didn't know who Dorothy was dating that day.
Image from the film Kiss (1991), Sean Young
But she provided information about Dorothy's date with a young man a year earlier and told him that the young man worked in the law library.
Ellen immediately found the young Tommy, but Tommy said that he and Dorosi had broken up half a year ago, but he had seen Dorosi in a club with a male student, whose face was very familiar and could be found in the school's yearbook.
Tommy takes Ellen home to get the yearbook. Ellen tries to go into the room with Tommy, but Is stopped by Tommy.
Tommy claimed that the landlady was not allowed to bring girls into the room after 10 p.m.
Ellen had to wait at the gate, who knew that Tommy was gone. When Ellen called the landlady to open Tommy's room, she saw that Tommy was hanging on the roof and dead. In this regard, Ellen confirmed that Dorothy was murdered.
Ellen is in love, but she is obsessed with the idea that her twin sister Dorothy is suicidal.
While there are many clues about Dorothy, how can you effectively find one? If Dorothy dies in a new shoe he bought, would that be the act of a suicidal person? And the mysterious deaths of Dorothy's former friends and classmates, do they really know some "truth"? Was their death really a "coincidence"?
Stills from the film Kiss (1991), Sean Young (left) and Matt Dillon
Obviously, director James Dieldon did not deduce and amplify the logic of the plot to the audience, and the only people who seemed to be really busy seemed to be Jonathan and Ellen on the screen, and the audience was still not sure which direction to go about the progress of the facts.
"Jay" works charity with Ellen, and he pleases Ellen with his enthusiastic work and care for children. Ellen soon falls in love with Jonathan, who calls himself "Jay."
Soon after, "Jay" offers to see Ellen's father, Saul Carlson. "Jay" meets Saul Carlson, knows that he has a fishing habit, and throws himself into his favor, talking about the fun of fishing with his father when he was a child, and then talking about the importance of harmony between children and parents and the happiness of the family.
The film Kiss (1991) was directed by James Dieldon
Sure enough, all this won the favor of Saul Carlson, who finally accepted the son-in-law. Soon after, "Jay" and Ellen were married.
Despite her happy marriage, Ellen never forgets her sister Dorothy, who continues her investigation.
On this day, Patricia calls for Ellen, but is picked up by "Jay", who says that she has found out who Dorothy was dating on the day of his death, and wants to talk to Ellen in person and leave her address.
"Jay" immediately rushed to Patricia's residence, brutally killed her, put her in a suitcase and threw her into the river.
Patricia's sudden disappearance caught the attention of the police. Based on Ellen's phone number written in Patricia's diary, the police approach Ellen and inquire about Patricia, but Ellen does not know. But she finds this strange, and she tells "Jay" of her analysis, believing that there was a murderer who killed not only Dorothy, but also Tommy and Patricia.
"Jay" spent all day after her marriage eager to take over Saul Carlson's job, coldening Ellen and interfering with the charity work she was engaged in, and inevitably a gap between them.
On this day, Ellen suddenly had a chance to buy a bottle of hair dye and dye her hair yellow, and she became the Dorosi of the past.
Stills from the movie "The Kiss" (1991), Sean Young
Back at home, "Jay" sees Ellen's hair, which is very sensitive and irritable. In order to improve his relationship with Ellen, "Jay" invited Ellen to a restaurant for dinner. Just as he was pretending to give Ellen a necklace with a picture of the two of them, someone suddenly shouted at him "Jonathan".
He looks back and sees it's college classmate Terry (Jim Fyfe). Terry was especially happy to be reunited. Jonathan coldly says he doesn't know Terry, which adds another layer of confusion to Ellen.
Ellen pondered Terry's words and remembered that Tommy had to check the school yearbook. So she went to the school to look for the yearbook, and sure enough, she saw that under the photo of the person who called herself "Jay", it was clearly written: Jonathan Corris.
Ellen also thinks of finding Jonathan's mother, and learns that Jonathan, in order to achieve his own goals, will not hesitate to fake a suicide pretense to deceive the police and his elderly mother.
In Jonathan's room, Ellen found not only Dorothy's lighter, but also Jonathan's collection of newspapers and magazines about carlson's family. Ellen finally understood Jonathan's approach to Dorothy and her intentions.
At this moment, Jonathan suddenly appears and tells Ellen that he killed Dorothy because he had not yet been recognized by Saul Carlson, and Dorosi was pregnant, so that she could be disqualified from the inheritance, and he could not realize his plan, as well as Tommy, Patricia, and the unlucky egg Jay.
He pounced on Ellen.
Ellen unexpectedly stabbed the knife in Jonathan's shoulder and took the opportunity to escape the room and run up the hill, but unexpectedly, a train rushed in, blocking her way, and she ran toward the tail of the train.
Jonathan chased after him. Ellen was about to be killed, the train drove by, and she ran toward the tracks. Another train roared in, and she crossed the tracks at once, and Jonathan happened to be knocked down by the train, his sinful body collapsing in a pool of blood.
James Dieldon's new film noir, Kiss, is at best an ordinary thriller from the current point of view, even if the plot and motivation of the characters are very fascinating, it is very attractive to attract the attention of the audience, and it also makes the audience extremely interested in the ending, but this ending does not seem to be welcomed by the current audience, and this punishment of evil and goodness is resistant to the values of some current audiences.
"Evil Kiss" truly reflects the American concept of money first, desire expansion and general disillusionment, not only reveals the serious consequences of the vicious expansion of self-interest, but also exposes the universal evil corrosive and poisonous effect of the money-oriented American lifestyle on people.
When we criticize it, who doesn't want money to "hit"? This is a true human reaction, and it will not deform in any form. The form of exploitation has always existed in situations that we can see, but may not be able to "resist", which is contrary to some of the "truths" that we have been educated about.
In fact, the story in this movie will not be outdated in any form of society, and it is also a cautionary. After all, no one wants to be destroyed and exploited in "996", but when they are old, they have nothing, so the practical significance of this film is always there.
Promotional photo for the film Kiss (1991), Shaun Young (right) and Matt Dillon
Even if all people polish their eyes, there will always be some people who will wrap their desires in places you can't see, pay attention to you, maybe you can feel some uneasiness, but sometimes see how you go to "turn a blind eye".
If the film had to be associated with Alfred Hitchcock 's (1899–1980) Ecstasy/Vertigo 1958 , it would obviously be disrespectful to Alfred Hitchcock , but James Dieldon tried to use some elements of black humor in Alfred Hitchcock 's films to achieve some of the witty effects he thought were somewhat witty , but the result was the opposite. And, because Sean Young's distinction as a sister is clearly much worse than Kim Novak's.
Matt Dillon life photos
Kiss is Matt Dillon's first film after Drugstore Cowboy (1989), through which he once again proves that he is one of the best actors in the film industry.
Matt Dillon had never been trained as an actor, and when he first appeared as a junior high school student in the movie Over the Edge of the River (1979) at the age of 14, he had already proved that he had a natural affinity for the camera.
For a while, he was very confused by the burden of an idol, and the only people who debuted at about the same time, and now appear on the screen are Tom Cruise and Sean Pan Sean Penn.
Title: A Kiss Before Dying By Ira Levin Publisher: Carroll & Graf Year: 2003-04
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