FILMS. 4th EDItION THE KILLERS The killers it were a memory too traumatic to be named, figures as a central abyss gunmen at the other end of the counter, bewildered by what he sees, of violence gnawing at the surrounding fiction. 22 lap dissolves thro Nick Adams directs his words both to the killers and the spectator the narrative into a configuration of overlapping surfaces. Astonished, he exclaims, ""What's the idea? To which the hefty thug Narrative intricacy aside, the film is a masterful exercise in the (william Conrad) snarls (off) in the direction of Adams and the creation of subjectivity that political scientists call"interpellation, viewer, " There isnt any idea. The riposte orients the eye away from the forces that determine the human being as a social subject. No metaphysics or invisibility of language to a richer play of prismatic other film noir-save Siodmaks Phantom Lady ( 1944)or Crisscross form. The moment also shows how, second, the violence of history (1949)makes such sustained use of voice-off as instances of will be scripted onto the surface of the tale. In the first flashback that interpellation. Figures on frame are continually"marked by depicts Nick Adams's reconstruction of the victims last days, told to operatives, off, having no discernible visual origin. They leave an the insurance investigator, the camera frames the protagonist(Burt eerie effect matched by back lighting that makes the characters Lancaster), standing in front of the Tristate Station. He is visibly ill shadows more revealing than their persons. The resulting fragmenta- at the sight of the return of his repressed, the gangster Jim Colfax, who tion and doubling of figures, along with rifts of voice and image, show will now set a price on his life. Standing under the marquee above where the film theorizes the conventions its narrative seems to him, Lancaster nods and puts his hands to his stomach. His head shifts develop so patently. The films broken synchronies not only give position over the letters STATE STATIC (the O of"statio evidence of what film noir is and how it is effected; like Citizen Kane carefully cut in half by a pole). His head blocks and iodmak's film anticipates future experiment in European and Ameri- letters"ATE STATIC. The wording scripts the fate of a character as can cinema it figures a global malaise of narrative and political stasis in 1946. Three sequences are noteworthy. In the re-enactment of Heming. Adjacent to a sign that spells tires in acrostic to his left, Lancaster is ways tale, script and deep focus are used to truncate cinematic a figure worn down-fatigued-by history and fate. He is not only illusion and ideation. Seated in contrapuntal relation to the twoFILMS, 4 THE KILLERS th EDITION 633 The Killers it were a memory too traumatic to be named, figures as a central abyss of violence gnawing at the surrounding fiction. 22 lap dissolves throw the narrative into a configuration of overlapping surfaces. Narrative intricacy aside, the film is a masterful exercise in the creation of subjectivity that political scientists call ‘‘interpellation,’’ or the forces that determine the human being as a social subject. No other film noir—save Siodmak’s Phantom Lady (1944) or Crisscross (1949)—makes such sustained use of voice-off as instances of interpellation. Figures on frame are continually ‘‘marked’’ by imperatives, off, having no discernible visual origin. They leave an eerie effect matched by back lighting that makes the characters’ shadows more revealing than their persons. The resulting fragmenta￾tion and doubling of figures, along with rifts of voice and image, show where the film theorizes the conventions its narrative seems to develop so patently. The film’s broken synchronies not only give evidence of what film noir is and how it is effected; like Citizen Kane, Siodmak’s film anticipates future experiment in European and Ameri￾can cinema. Three sequences are noteworthy. In the re-enactment of Heming￾way’s tale, script and deep focus are used to truncate cinematic illusion and ideation. Seated in contrapuntal relation to the two gunmen at the other end of the counter, bewildered by what he sees, Nick Adams directs his words both to the killers and the spectator. Astonished, he exclaims, ‘‘What’s the idea?’’ To which the hefty thug (William Conrad) snarls (off) in the direction of Adams and the viewer, ‘‘There isn’t any idea.’’ The riposte orients the eye away from metaphysics or invisibility of language to a richer play of prismatic form. The moment also shows how, second, the violence of history will be scripted onto the surface of the tale. In the first flashback that depicts Nick Adams’s reconstruction of the victim’s last days, told to the insurance investigator, the camera frames the protagonist (Burt Lancaster), standing in front of the ‘‘Tristate Station.’’ He is visibly ill at the sight of the return of his repressed, the gangster Jim Colfax, who will now set a price on his life. Standing under the marquee above him, Lancaster nods and puts his hands to his stomach. His head shifts position over the letters STATE STATIC (the O of ‘‘station’’ carefully cut in half by a pole). His head blocks and uncovers the letters ‘‘ATE STATIC.’’ The wording scripts the fate of a character as it figures a global malaise of narrative and political stasis in 1946. Adjacent to a sign that spells TIRES in acrostic to his left, Lancaster is a figure worn down—fatigued—by history and fate. He is not only a victim of a tri-state tryst, but also of a political atmosphere, a cold