The younger brother of an assassinated president uncovers a vast conspiracy surrounding the murder, one which involves his own prestigious family.
The 1970's were rife with paranoid thrillers, including All the President's Men, The Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor, The Conversation. Winter Kills arrived at the end of the decade and at times seems to be a satire of the genre itself, while paving the way for the kitchen sink conspiracy approach taken by Olver Stone over ten years later with JFK. The Kennedy family history, while not mentioned by name, is clearly the inspiration for many characters and events in the film.
The story behind the making of Winter Kills is perhaps almost as strange and fascinating as the film itself. The script managed to lure a number of talented and famous actors, even though the film was independently financed and directed by a first-timer. The production ran out of money and stopped several times, and on one extended two-year hiatus the director and members of the cast completed a whole other film overseas to raise more funds. The producers turned out to be drug dealers, one of whom would be murdered by the mob, the other eventually winding up in prison.
While the film was positively received by critics, it failed at the box office. Many involved with the production believe the film was intentionally suppressed to avoid scandal, or due to pressures from the government, the Kennedy family, or other business interests.
A young Jeff Bridges stars alongside notable names such as Anthony Perkins (Psycho), John Huston (Chinatown), Sterling Hayden (Dr. Strangelove), Eli Wallach (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), Toshiro Mifune (The Seven Samurai), as well as Elizabeth Taylor in a brief cameo. The film's striking and atmospheric visual style is a result of contributions from two legendary contributors, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and production designer Robert Boyle.
Winter Kills runs approximately 90 minutes.
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