After having seen The Iceman, I wanted to see an interview with Kuklinski I saw years before. It was fascinating to listen to him talk and you could imagine him killing people without much thought. I had no idea where I had seen the interview, so I headed over to Youtube to try and see if there would be anything there. To my surprise it had the three complete interviews he did which HBO: The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer (1992), The Iceman Confesses: Secrets of a Mafia Hitman (2001) and The Iceman and the Psychiatrist (2002). I decided to watch them all in one go and it was a captivating watch.
The interviews were all done while he was in prison and as he states him getting into jail made him care about anything anymore. The only thing which was important to him was his wife and children and since he doesn’t have those anymore he can only hate. As you are watching these documentaries it is clear he is willing to answer anything that’s asked, whether that’s about some of the details of his murders or the way he feels (or rather doesn’t) about what he’s done.
The three short documentaries occasionally cover the same ground, but each one has more information that allows the viewer a look into the previous life of a hitman. Of the three the last one, The Iceman and the Psychiatrist, is the most interesting one. Dr. Park Dietz talks with him about a great range of subjects including his childhood, crimes and family life and is not afraid to ask difficult questions, which actually makes Kuklinski annoyed with him. Still he continues to talk and is very interested in the conclusions the psychiatrist comes to.
If you have seen the Iceman this is a good addition as it to me gave more structure to what I saw in the movie. The movie changed some details, but has used a lot what Kuklinski tells. Even if you are not planning on seeing the movie, but are interested in crime and want to know what makes a hitman, then these are interviews you don’t want to miss.
Good work covering this Nostra. I own the dvds for the interviews, and the books. Whilst I think he exaggerated a lot with regards to who and how many he killed, its still a fascinating and chilling insight.
Thanks Tyson. Do the books cover the same ground? He could have exaggerated as he had nothing to lose anymore, but still even if he killed only half the people he claims that’s still a lot.