When I finally got access to the internet back in the late ’90s via a 56K modem, the alt user groups became my favorite place to visit. Mostly because they didn’t have any real graphics so I didn’t have to wait 4 hours for AOL to make an image pop up. On the alt, you’d find a subject you were interested in and read posts or make up your own posts. One of my favorite groups was alt.movies.kubrick that dealt with Stanley Kubrick. I learned a lot of odd details about the director of A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut. There’d be listings for his early shot documentary films and films that featured Kubrick like characters. But I swear nobody brought up Strangers Kiss. Even my old boss who collected 35mm prints of Kubrick never had me track down a copy of Strangers Kiss. Why would he? Because Strangers Kiss is a fictionalization of Stanley Kubrick making his second feature film Killer’s Kiss. The film didn’t receive that wide of a release when it came out in 1984 and appears to haven’t had much of an impact in home video. I never saw it on the shelf at Videorama. This was probably part of the reason that by the late ’90s, the movie was obscure even to Kubrick fanatics. But now Strangers Kiss has emerged from the vault with a tale of a director who wants to control his actors beyond the action on the soundstage.
Stanley (E.T.‘s Peter Coyote) is getting ready to direct his next movie. He doesn’t have much money, but he’s got access to a camera and a soundstage that’s only charging him for electricity. He and his producer buddy Farris (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure‘s Dan Shor) plot to work every angle to make a finished film. Stanley finds actors who are willing to skip a real salary in order to be stars on the screen. He casts Stevie (They All Laughed‘s Blaine Novak) as the boxer and Carol (L.A. Story‘s Victoria Tennant) as the dance hall girl in his Film Noir thriller. Carol’s real life mobstery boyfriend Frank (Mean Street‘s Richard Romanus) is willing to be an investor. This good act might bite Frank on the ass. Seeing how both actors are novices, Stanley realizes it’s best that they don’t try to fake things for the camera. He wants the two to get feelings for each other so when they kiss on the screen, there’s real passion being exchanged. Does Stanley have the power to alter his actors’ lives?
Strangers Kiss is not the true story of what went on when Kubrick made Killer’s Kiss. The original film was shot in New York City and not Los Angeles. There was a lot of downtown Manhattan in the movie. You probably saw plenty of clips from the film in old Turner Classic Movie promos. Peter Coyote doesn’t perform an impersonation of Kubrick although his Stanley character shares qualities of the iconic director. He even does his own camera work in the film like Kubrick. The scenes being shot in the movie within the movie are a bit like scenes in Killer’s Kiss and presented in black and white. The good part about this not being biographical is a Kubrick fan doesn’t have to scream “that’s not exactly how it happened.” You can just enjoy the fictional speculation on what went down during the making of the film. The cast is great with Peter Coyote as the director attempting a masterpiece on a shoestring budget. Blaine Novak and Victoria Tennant get into the characters that are so eager for a big break in showbiz that they’re willing to do more than act around each other. Richard Romanus gets into the frustration of a man who wants to help his girlfriend’s career.
Adding to the allure of the film is the score by Gato Barbieri. He was the composer and saxophonist on Last Tango in Paris. He brings a certain lustiness to the scenes as Carol and Stevie push their chemistry when on the screen. He also gives us a bit of danger when Carol returns to Frank and doesn’t want to act like anything is developing on the set.
Strangers Kiss is a fine film that so deserves a revival after forty years. Fun City Editions has given this a stellar presentation. If you like Kubrick films, it adds to your understanding of Killer’s Kiss. If you enjoy TCM’s Noir Alley, you’ll enjoy a Neo Noir about the making of a Noir. Unlike most glitzy inside showbiz flicks, this is an unvarnished vision of the down and dirty business of making a low budget movie. There’s very little glamour on the soundstage. We see the things a director will do to get his shot. I only wish alt.movies.kubrick was still around so I could post a rave about the glory of Strangers Kiss.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The new transfer off the 35mm internegative brings an authentic color to the period piece. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono. The mix allows you to hear around the soundstages and Gato Barbieri sax.
Audio Commentary with Walter Chow gets into how the film is the speculative history of Killer’s Kiss. But Chow gets into how there are parts about what happened during the shooting of Peter Bogdanovich’s They All Laughed. You’ll find out on other bonus features the connection to Bogdanovich.
Comradeship and Love (24:36) gets Matthew Chapman to confess that he gained his budget for his first film with a criminal act. He doesn’t say which one. The film (starring Bruce Robinson of Withnail & I fame) got him enough notice to make Hussy with Helen Mirren. He talks about the barbecue that got the movie on the rails. It was a party at Rachel Ward and Darryl Hannah’s house. Barely two months later, they had wrapped production. He also credits Victoria Tennant with helping get the film made. He brings up how the deferment made everyone on the set push themselves since they were an investor in the movie. They wanted it successful as much as the director and producers. He praises the work of Misha Suslov as director of photography. He enjoyed using the older lamps on the soundstage that gave the film a proper ’50s feel. We get a few stories about Gato Barbieri creating the score. We also get the piece of advice that Jack Nicholson gave him that paid off. He does give us Stanley Kubrick’s reaction.
It Felt Magical (23:58) allows Victoria Tennant to recount how showing up for a backyard barbecue led to her being part of the movie as Matthew Chapman and her met Blaine Novak and Doug Dilg. They talked about Killer’s Kiss as the basis of the film. We get to see the write up from the Z Channel magazine. She actively helped in recruiting crew people to work for a share in the film instead of salary. They even got a sushi place to cater for free. They also had a barbeque. She talks about working with Peter Coyote. They have been friends ever since. Victoria Tennant appears to be talking in an Alamo Drafthouse theater.
An Enemy of Cliche (24:28) catches up with Blaine Novak. Has Novak talk about his early days working with John Cassavetes on distribution before he met with Doug Dilg. They did well on their first films including getting Hester Street three Oscar nominations (including one for Carol Kane). He ended up meeting Kubrick while working with Jack Nicholson on Goin’ South. Novak’s tales of living with Peter Bogdanovich ought to be a movie. He gets into how They All Laughed went out of control like a New York City based Heaven’s Gate (Novak also worked on Heaven’s Gate). Things went bad when days after the shoot wrapped, Dorothy Stratten was murdered. He points out that his boxing gloves in Strangers Kiss were Robert De Niro’s gloves from Raging Bull. The actor loaned them. He almost had Jack Nicholson playing Stanley. He is thrilled that Strangers Kiss has been recovered because the movie was his idea.
Distributor To Producer (32:33) sits down with Doug Dilg. He talks about how he got hired in non-theatrical film distribution after running his college’s film booking. He met Blaine Novak at a conference and became friends. They set up their own film distribution company called The Film League. Their specialty was instead of acquiring films, they would have the filmmakers find them to distribute. They released the long cut of 1900. They got more into production with Peter Bogdanovich for They All Laughed. This was an unusual experience because star Dorothy Stratten had been killed by her husband. He mentions how Blaine Novak was inspired to write Strangers Kiss when he saw Kubrick’s Killer’s Kiss on the legendary Z Channel. Later that day, Blaine was at a party with Victoria Tennant and director Matthew Chapman. Blaine pitched his movie and suggested Victoria and himself as the leads. He wanted to make the movie for the same budget as Kubrick did on his film. Chapman went for it. The film came together extra fast and low budget. He explains how deferment pay worked out on the shoot. He wasn’t pleased with how Orion Classics released the film.
Stanley’s Film (9:40) is a video essay by Chris O’Neil. He gets into how Strangers Kiss is not even close to what went on during the shooting of Stanley Kubrick’s Killer’s Kiss. We get to see the trailer from Killer’s Kiss just to see how scenes were adapted. We do hear how the Strangers Kiss reflects elements of Kubrick’s approach to his film. There’s a big warning to not watch the piece before seeing the movie so I won’t mention anything else.
Theatrical Trailer (2:37) is from Orion Classics. They have quotes from the film to illustrate the clips. We get sense of the forbidden passion brewing between the two leads and the danger.
Image Gallery (2:23) includes the press photos, behind the scenes shots and the movie poster.
Booklet with an essay by Peter Tonguette and the original L.A. Times Review.
Fun City Editions present Strangers Kiss. Directed by Matthew Chapman. Screenplay by Matthew Chapman & Blaine Novak. Starring Peter Coyote, Victoria Tennant, Dan Shor, Blaine Novak, Richard Romanus, Linda Kerridge & Carlos Palomino. Running Time: 94 Minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: June 25, 2024.
