{ "id": "epp71n0rvg", "slug": "kiss-of-death-1995-film", "title": "Kiss of Death (1995 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.crime-dramas-and-gangster-films", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Crime dramas and gangster films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.crime-dramas-and-gangster-films", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films", "label": "1990s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.crime-dramas-and-gangster-films", "label": "Crime dramas and gangster films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.crime-dramas-and-gangster-films" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Kiss of Death is a 1995 American crime thriller directed by Barbet Schroeder, starring David Caruso as an ex-convict forced to inform on Nicolas Cage's Queens crime boss.", "snippet": "Kiss of Death is a 1995 American crime thriller directed by Barbet Schroeder, starring David Caruso as an ex-convict forced to inform on Nicolas Cage's Queens crime boss.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.crime-dramas-and-gangster-films", "markdown": "# Kiss of Death (1995 film)\n\n**Kiss of Death** is a 1995 American crime thriller directed by [Barbet Schroeder](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbet-schroeder), starring [David Caruso](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-caruso) as an ex-convict forced to inform on a Queens crime boss played by [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage). It is a loose remake of the 1947 film noir of the same name, with a screenplay by novelist Richard Price from a story by Eleazar Lipsky, and it was released by 20th Century Fox on April 21, 1995.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / producers | Barbet Schroeder (director and producer), with Susan Hoffman[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH) |\n| Writers | Screenplay by Richard Price; story by Eleazar Lipsky; based on the 1947 screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH) • [3](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Cash-Box/90s/1995/CB-1995-04-29.pdf) |\n| Principal cast | David Caruso (Jimmy Kilmartin), Nicolas Cage (Little Junior Brown), Samuel L. Jackson (Calvin Hart), Helen Hunt (Bev Kilmartin), Kathryn Erbe (Rosie)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH) |\n| Release | April 21, 1995 (United States), distributed by 20th Century Fox; shown at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH) • [4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/kiss-of-death/) |\n| Runtime / rating | 101 minutes, rated R for violence, nudity and strong language[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Kiss-of-Death) |\n| Box office | $14,942,422 domestic gross on a $40,000,000 production budget; opening weekend $5,317,066 in 1,623 theaters[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Kiss-of-Death) |\n| Critical reception | 68% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 41 reviews; 38% on the audience Popcornmeter[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1060720-kiss_of_death) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nJimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso) is a former car thief and recovering alcoholic in Queens who has gone straight to support his wife Bev ([Helen Hunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/helen-hunt)) and their family.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995) His cousin Ronnie ([Michael Rapaport](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-rapaport)) pressures him into one last job, driving a carrier of stolen cars for the gangster Little Junior Brown. The convoy is surrounded by police, a panicked accomplice fires a shot, and a police officer is wounded; Jimmy is caught and faces a long prison sentence.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/kiss-of-death/)\n\nWhile serving his time, Jimmy refuses to inform on his associates, out of a personal code that treats ratting as an unforgivable sin.[7](https://watch.afi.com/movie/kiss-of-death-1995) Years later, the ambitious district attorney Frank Zioli ([Stanley Tucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-tucci)) offers him a deal: early release in exchange for going undercover to gather evidence against Little Junior Brown, a violent, erratic enforcer for his father Big Junior ([Philip Baker Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/philip-baker-hall)), who operates an auto-theft ring and a strip club called Baby Cakes.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/04/21/kiss-of-death-nicolas-cage-uncaged/b862fd7f-6146-405c-a698-f8f6a93c5230/) Little Junior takes a liking to Jimmy and brings him into his inner circle, which pleases the investigators but leaves Jimmy facing death if his deception is discovered.[7](https://watch.afi.com/movie/kiss-of-death-1995) Detective Calvin Hart ([Samuel L. Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-l-jackson)) works with Jimmy on the infiltration.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1060720-kiss_of_death)\n\n## Relationship to the 1947 film\n\nThe 1995 film remakes *Kiss of Death* (1947), directed by Henry Hathaway from a [Ben Hecht](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-hecht) and Charles Lederer screenplay based on Eleazar Lipsky's Oscar-nominated story, in which [Richard Widmark](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-widmark) played the giggling killer Tommy Udo, a role that made him a star.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995) • [9](https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2005.1-All-Over-the-Map-Web.pdf) According to director Barbet Schroeder, by the time he began shooting, \"only the title and one plot point remained\" from the 1947 original.[10](https://time.com/archive/6727348/a-kiss-is-still-a-kiss/) The remake also omits the original's most famous scene, in which Udo pushes an old woman in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs; the filmmakers did not ask Cage to compete with Widmark's performance.[11](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/05/01/mr-unnatural) The 1947 story had already been remade once before, as the 1958 Western *The Fiend Who Walked the West*.[12](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25232-KISS-OF-DEATH)\n\n## Production and cast\n\nThe film was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, photographed by Luciano Tovoli, edited by Lee Percy, designed by Mel Bourne, and scored by Trevor Jones.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH) David Caruso, then the early star of the television series *NYPD Blue*, left television to make the film, and it marked his first leading role in a movie.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/04/21/kiss-of-death-nicolas-cage-uncaged/b862fd7f-6146-405c-a698-f8f6a93c5230/) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995) The supporting cast includes Stanley Tucci, Michael Rapaport, Ving Rhames, Philip Baker Hall, Anthony Heald, Hope Davis, and [Anne Meara](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-meara).[13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/kiss-of-death) Richard Price, who wrote the screenplay, appears briefly as a city clerk.[13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/kiss-of-death)\n\nThe film was shown in the Séances spéciales section of the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/kiss-of-death/)\n\n## Reception and box office\n\n**Commercial performance.** Released wide on April 21, 1995, the film opened third for the weekend with $5,317,066 and finished with a domestic gross of $14,942,422, all of it earned in the United States. Against a production budget of $40,000,000, worldwide box office was 0.4 times the budget.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Kiss-of-Death)\n\n**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 68% Tomatometer from 41 reviews, with a critics consensus crediting the ensemble cast and atmosphere while noting that the script provides only sporadic bursts of tension; the audience Popcornmeter score is 38%.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1060720-kiss_of_death) Roger Ebert, writing in the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times), found the film disjointed and criticized Caruso's lead performance as too laid-back to carry the movie, while judging Cage's Little Junior Brown played \"with style and bravado\".[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995) The Washington Post's Hal Hinson wrote that Cage \"dominates the camera, stealing scenes by the sheer intensity of his inimitable strangeness\", and that Price's script becomes muddled once the undercover plot begins.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/04/21/kiss-of-death-nicolas-cage-uncaged/b862fd7f-6146-405c-a698-f8f6a93c5230/) Caruso received a Razzie Award nomination in 1996.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113552/awards/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Kiss of Death (1995), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59941-KISS-OF-DEATH)\n2. [Roger Ebert, \"Kiss of Death\" review, Chicago Sun-Times, April 21, 1995](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kiss-of-death-1995)\n3. [Cash Box film review, April 29, 1995](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Cash-Box/90s/1995/CB-1995-04-29.pdf)\n4. [KISS OF DEATH, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/kiss-of-death/)\n5. [Kiss of Death (1995), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Kiss-of-Death)\n6. [Kiss of Death, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1060720-kiss_of_death)\n7. [Kiss of Death synopsis, American Film Institute](https://watch.afi.com/movie/kiss-of-death-1995)\n8. [Hal Hinson, \"'Kiss of Death': Nicolas Cage Uncaged\", The Washington Post, April 21, 1995](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/04/21/kiss-of-death-nicolas-cage-uncaged/b862fd7f-6146-405c-a698-f8f6a93c5230/)\n9. [Henry Hathaway retrospective notes, Chicago Film Society](https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2005.1-All-Over-the-Map-Web.pdf)\n10. [\"A Kiss Is Still a Kiss\", TIME, May 1, 1995](https://time.com/archive/6727348/a-kiss-is-still-a-kiss/)\n11. [\"Mr. Unnatural\", The New Yorker, May 1, 1995](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/05/01/mr-unnatural)\n12. [Kiss of Death (1947), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25232-KISS-OF-DEATH)\n13. [Kiss of Death, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/kiss-of-death)\n14. [Kiss of Death (1995) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113552/awards/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1990s films › Crime dramas and gangster films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Kiss of Death (1995 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Kiss of Death (1995 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Kiss of Death (1995 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/kiss-of-death-1995-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Kiss of Death is a 1995 American crime thriller directed by Barbet Schroeder, starring David Caruso as an ex-convict forced to inform on Nicolas Cage's Queens crime boss." }