Killers, The: Double-Disc Set (Disc 1 of 2) (1946) Rating: Starring: John Cassavetes, Albert Dekker, Angie Dickinson, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, Sam Levene, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Ronald Reagan Director: Don Siegel, Robert Siodmak Category: Classics, Classics Studio: Criterion Subtitles: English Length: 196 mins     Two Radically Different Films Inspired By One Classic Story Ernest Hemingway's gripping short story The Killers has fascinated readers and filmmakers for generations. Its first screen incarnation came in 1946, when director Robert Siodmak unleashed The Killers, helping to define the film noir style and launching the careers of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner in an archetypal masterpiece. In 1956, then-film student Andrei Tarkovsky tackled the story with a faithful 19-minute short. In 1946, Don Siegel-initially slated to direct the 1946 version-took it on, creating the first-ever made-for-TV feature, but it proved too violent for broadcast in the wake of JFK's assassination. The Criterion Collection presents all three versions of this classic tale of amorality that asks why a man silently welcomes his fate with the passivity of a man already dead.