A determined student murders his pregnant secret girlfriend and moves onto her twin sister who gradually becomes suspicious of her new lover.
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Title: A Kiss Before Dying (1991)
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2 wins.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 |
James Bonfanti | ... | Young Jonathan |
|
|
Sarah Keller | ... | Lecturer |
| Sean Young | ... | Ellen / Dorothy Carlsson | |
| Martha Gehman | ... | Patricia Farren | |
|
|
Lia Chang | ... | Shoe Saleslady |
| Matt Dillon | ... | Jonathan Corliss | |
|
|
Yvette Edelhart | ... | Screaming Lady |
| Max von Sydow | ... | Thor Carlsson | |
| Jim Fyfe | ... | Terry Dieter | |
|
|
Lachele Carl | ... | Reporter |
| Briony Glassco | ... | Waitress | |
| Shane Rimmer | ... | Commissioner Malley | |
| James Russo | ... | Dan Corelli | |
| Diane Ladd | ... | Mrs. Corliss | |
| Adam Horovitz | ... | Jay Faraday | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Realising his secret girlfriend Dorothy's pregnancy will sour her relations with her ultra-rich father, career-minded Philadelphia student Jonathan Corliss coolly murders her, making it look like suicide. He then moves to New York to woo her twin sister Ellen. All seems to go well for him, although Ellen's continued investigations into what she is convinced was not a suicide forces him to kill again. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Taglines:
Loving him was easy. Trusting him was deadly. See more »Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for areas of strong violence, graphic sensuality, and some language | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
26 April 1991 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Un beso antes de morir See more »Filming Locations:
Brocket Hall, Lemsford, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$15,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$4,348,165, 28 April 1991Gross USA:
$15,429,177Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$15,429,177Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
See more »
Written by Justin Langlands & David Henley
Performed by Blood Brothers
Courtesy of Big World Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Actress Sean Young sports blond hair in this film when playing the supporting role of Dorothy Carlsson. In her other role as Ellen Carlsson, Young is seen with her usual dark hair. See more »Goofs
When Ellen looks out at the railroad tracks just prior to the final confrontation, she sees a freight train with a long line of cars with bright green Carlsson Copper logos. The logos, however, are printed on fake-looking prop fabrics draped over the cars. See more »Quotes
Nurse: She's got two broken ribs, a broken jaw, and a bad concussion. We're going to keep her overnight for observation.See more »
Connections
Referenced in At the Movies: That's Entertainment III/3 Ninjas Kick Back/Being Human/Dream Lover/Kika (1994) See more »Soundtracks
TransfusionWritten by Justin Langlands & David Henley
Performed by Blood Brothers
Courtesy of Big World Records
See more »
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A remake of the 1956 film of the same name, A Kiss Before Dying is directed by James Dearden and Dearden adapts the screenplay from Ira Levin's novel. It stars Sean Young, Matt Dillon, Max von Sydow, Dianne Ladd and James Russo. Music is by Howard Shore and cinematography by Mike Southon.
Story has Dillon as a troubled young man who murders his pregnant girlfriend (Young) and then hones in on her twin sister (Young again obviously) for further psychotic shenanigans.
It's just about an average thriller at best, where even if the plot line and character motivations are intriguing enough to hold the attention to keep one interested to the ending, even there the outcome is rushed and unsatisfying. From the negative reaction at the initial test screenings, to Golden Raspberry awards, and tales of rewrites and re-shoots et al, this noir reboot is messy.
The tie-in to Hitchcock's Vertigo is glaringly "not" homage worthy, and not just content with that, director Dearden tries to use some of Hitchcock's macabre black humour to unintentionally "not" witty results. So with Young on hilariously bad form as well, the thriller aspects strain to get resuscitated for dramatic worth.
Dearden does show some nice touches with his camera-work, and there's a lurid quality to Southon's colour lenses that pay respect in heart to Levin's source material, but ultimately it's hard to recommend seriously to noir fans and the 56 version (itself not without problems) is still the way to go. 5/10