Killer: A Journal of Murder

1996 "Liar. Thief. Murderer. He hated all of humanity, himself most of all."
6.3| 1h31m| R| en
Details

Carl Panzram is sent to Leavenworth Prison for burglary. While there, he is brutally beaten by a guard. Neophyte guard Henry Lesser feels sympathy for Panzram, befriends him, and gets him to write his life story. Lesser learns that Panzram's past is much more violent than he thought, but also that he's capable of being a much better person than the rest of the prison staff believes - or so Lesser thinks.

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Reviews

Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
bjerke1972 This is my first post but i felt i needed to when it comes to this movie. First i didn't know anything about the real story behind the movie before i watched it, so i cant take this into consideration. What i can say is that i have seen thousands of movies, and that this is one of my top 10.why? James Woods. He is this movie from start to finish. His performance is breathtaking, and you go from loving him to hating him i 2 seconds. Some of the scenes i have seen so many times and makes me react the same way ever time.I don't want to give anything more away so please go and see this movie, i promise u will not
haildevilman Carl Panzram was a viscous creep with a real life bite-your-face-off attitude. Woods played him to smithereens.Sure he overacted a bit, but Panzram was not the most laid-back guy.The problem with this film is that it couldn't decide if it was a character study or a condemnation of prison conditions. They also managed to throw in religious bigotry and left-wing politics. It did it better than some films would have, but the ending left too much open.Woods owned the film. He had Carl as both Genius and loose cannon. The real Panzram was similar. And many quotes contributed to him are scattered about the film. ("I wish you all had one neck..." "I could hang a dozen men...") Leonard did an adequate job as Henry Lesser but played him a bit to "nice." Most of the guards kept their distance from ol' Carl. With good reason too.Woods fans see this now. Anyone else...your call.
Kataten James Woods is again at his best in this very interesting and captivating movie of one mans flight through life, comes to the sad ending he always thought he deserved. Befriended by only two people in his life, he truly had a heart under what everyone believed to be plain meanness.
culwin This movie seems more relevant today than ever. Prison conditions may have improved since the early part of the century, but prison populations are increasing exponentially and there seems to be no end in sight. Does punishment really prevent crime? Can harden criminals be rehabilitated? Is society to blame? Whatever your opinion, this is a short but must-see film.