wow - this movie is mind-blowing in so many ways... it's on a ranking with the best of world cinema, and is not merely transgressive (though be aware -- it is extremely transgressive). The two female leads personify commitment to an acting role, and along with the male lead go all out for their art. This movie is an integral piece - a complete cinematic vision, from the stellar black and white cinematography (with "deep focus" throwback to Gregg Toland, the man-with-the-print waxed enthusiastically to me about) to the noir overtones and the hard-boiled detective, the "Laura" musical theme interwoven throughout -- to the perverse erotic aesthetic. Plus it takes all this to an operatic level - as fully constructed as a Greenaway film but without the arty label. This movie lays on the sexual taunts and the threat of death in ever-increasing doses. It is ending from the very beginning -- but it takes a long, increasingly loaded ordeal before it finally hits us with the tragic conclusion. You will not have seen anything like Singapore Sling -- it is a work of beauty though it bears repeated viewings to assimilate everything it has to offer.