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I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)

7.2
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Ratings: 7.2/10 from 2,464 users  
Reviews: 13 user | 6 critic

After fifteen years' service, Henri Boulanger is made redundant from his job. Shocked, he attempts suicide, but can't go through with it, so he hires a contract killer in a seedy bar to ... See full summary »

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(story), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
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Title: I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Margi Clarke ...
Margaret
Kenneth Colley ...
The Killer
T.R. Bowen ...
Department Head (as Trevor Bowen)
Imogen Claire ...
Secretary (as Immogen Clare)
Angela Walsh ...
Landlady
Cyril Epstein ...
Taxi Driver
Nicky Tesco ...
Pete
Charles Cork ...
Al
...
The Killer's Boss
Tex Axile ...
Barkeeper
Walter Sparrow ...
Hotel Porter
...
Frank
...
Guitar Player / Singer
Peter Graves ...
Jeweller
Edit

Storyline

After fifteen years' service, Henri Boulanger is made redundant from his job. Shocked, he attempts suicide, but can't go through with it, so he hires a contract killer in a seedy bar to murder him at some unspecified time in the future. But almost immediately he meets and falls in love with Margaret, a flower-seller, which makes Henri realise that his life has some meaning after all. But when he goes back to the bar to cancel the contract, he finds it has been demolished - and there's no way he can get in touch with the killer... Written by Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Lej aldrig yrkesmoerdare i rivningskaakar!

Genres:

Drama | Comedy

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

| | | |

Language:

|

Release Date:

12 October 1990 (Finland)  »

Also Known As:

J'ai engagé un tueur  »

Filming Locations:


Box Office

Gross:

SEK 358,533 (Sweden)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

, ,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Last cinema film of Peter Graves. See more »

Quotes

Margaret: [Henri has just spend a night with Margaret] What about now? You still want to die?
Henri Boulanger: No no, not anymore.
Margaret: Because you met me?
Henri Boulanger: Yes, that's made me change my mind.
Margaret: Only because of my blue eyes?
Henri Boulanger: Are they blue?
See more »

Connections

Remake of Man lebt nur einmal (1952) See more »

Soundtracks

"Troubla at Midnight"
Roy Brown
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Kaurismaki for beginners
17 August 2010 | by (France) – See all my reviews

Among the few Kaurismaki films I have seen so far, this is the one I think the most accessible and I strongly recommend it. My impression of it is completely vivid as I have just watched it minutes ago from the box I was offered a year ago for my 30's: a great present for movie maniacs. Kaurismaki does not film Helsinki this time, but another capital:London, with the same kind of views, the same urban landscapes, the beauty and the strangeness, the same insisting and passionate obsession than Scorsese with his New York. You still can find the same taciturnity of characters (perfect Kenneth Colley as the killer: I was glad to recognize Admiral Piett from The Empire Strikes Back), the same type of slow narration, though this time, the story is far simpler to understand upon first visualization. It deals with life and its contradictions, the preciosity of it, changes of mind and regrets, how desire between two people can make you see things differently, make you want to live on ; love regardless of social discrimination, that is so beautiful and yet so ideal! Another great point in Kaurismaki's films consists in the appropriate inclusion of a more or less famous rock music: perfect Joe Strummer, RIP. A great moment of poetry in cinema and a perfect film fit for beginners in Kaurismaki.


2 of 3 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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