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Gideon CoeΒ permalink
Best Film Noir/Movie
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Message 1.Β
Posted by Hue_&_Cry (U1148595) on Monday, 10th December 2007
One of our fellow listens was writing a essay/thesis on that beloved genre of film known as 'Film Noir'. I'm a fan of said genre, has anyone got any good movies I can watch over the 'Holiday Season' as the Americans say.
Please not just the old Black/White movies we all know and love. Would welcome some 'left-field' suggests, from my fellow listeners.
However if any movie has 'blown you away'
why do people us these terms? Anyway if you have seen a movies that has so impressed you please say, any genre welcome.
I can tell you that 'Brick' is modern noir that all fans of the genre will find of passing interest. Some like myself may even thinks it's very good. It's not without faults the 'femme fatal' and hero didn't have the 'spark' that is necessary for the noir genre to completely work but he actors were very young and didn't have the emotional maturity to make that work on the screen.
H&C -
Message 2
Posted by junkiecosmonaut (U9049347) on Monday, 10th December 2007
millers crossing(1990) written and directed by the coen brothers starring gabriel byrne, albert finney, john tutturro
ace -
Message 3
Posted by TarTrillian (U9040351) on Wednesday, 12th December 2007
Memento (2000) directed by Christopher Nolan is fantastic if you haven't seen it.
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Message 4
Posted by laurencea (U4486044) on Thursday, 13th December 2007
if you after 'noir' then anything by Fritz Lang. you can also look out for 'in a lonely place', staring Bogart and Gloria Graham - a classic.
a more modern film, Delicatessen. very dark humour from the man that bought you Amelie. -
Message 5
Posted by knerak (U10680579) on Tuesday, 18th December 2007
Two for the Seesaw
Robert Mitchum - dude
Shirley MacLaine - dudette
lots of walking the streets with his collar turned up, not sure if its noir but I am sure it's good -
Message 6
Posted by David Jennings (U983176) on Tuesday, 18th December 2007
"The Hot Spot" directed by Dennis Hopper and staring Don Thingy from Miami Vice + Virginia Madsen (both at their best, though I admit I'm not familiar with all Don's work).
Based on an old '50s pulp novel by Charles Williams, and... AND with a soundtrack by John Lee Hooker and Miles Davis. Can't say fairer than that. 1990ish. -
Message 7
Posted by BockingfordKid (U10730195) on Thursday, 27th December 2007
None of the above are authentic period noir, although many are good tributes.
Robert Mitchum is the King Of Noir, and my favourite is Out Of The Past (sometimes called Build My Gallows High') -
Message 8
Posted by peppermintpatti (U1472081) on Friday, 28th December 2007
You have to watch 'Miracolo a Milano' ("'Miracle in Milan) - Vittorio De Sica - fantastic film from 1951. You'll love it!
Plus we watched The DEVIL's BACKBONE recently which was excellent.
If yu get a chance go and see BIG HANDS by GERALD TYLER when it tours the UK; it got 5 stars for this performance piece that is Film Noir hamage, very, very good. -
Message 9
Posted by knerak (U10680579) on Sunday, 30th December 2007
Build my Gallows High
1st January 2008
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ2 at 2.10am - no regional variation
still got time to practice setting the DVD recorder
managed to miss the end of The Curse of the Cat People and the whole of I Married a Witch
ever tried, ever failed, no matter, try again, fail again, fail better
that reminds me, resolutions..... -
Message 10
Posted by peppermintpatti (U1472081) on Wednesday, 9th January 2008
Check out an excellent Italian film, The 'consequences of love', a modern Film Noi.
"THE CONSEQUENCES OF LOVE / LE CONSEGUENZE DELL'AMORE -Italian website/trailer
Dir. by Paolo Sorrentino, 2004; 100m - IMDb rating: 7.8 (out of 10)
Mini-review: Extremely low-key drama first introduces the character of 'Titta' as a hotel-bound man who's entire existence is one of boredom. He seems to be a mute witness to his surroundings and often fails to respond to the courteous greetings of the hotel staff. As the man receives various strange deliveries and visitors the plot deepens progressively and reveals a web of deceit which the man chooses to abandon when he falls in love with the hotel waitress (played by the granddaughter of legendary Anna Magnani with much of her forebear's beauty). However, your entire enjoyment of the film will depend on how quickly you accept Tony Servillo's meticulous performance as 'Titto', the money laundering non-entity who chooses to risk everything for love and then must suffer the eventual consequences. " -
Message 11
Posted by hatekitty (U8585578) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
For something a bit different you could always watch:
Truth or Consequences N.M (Kiefer Sutherland and Vincent Gallow) - modern style gangster type flick where nothing will go the way it should on a simple plan. Darkly humuorous.
Buffalo 66 (Vincent Gallow) - backwards romance story of a kidnapped girl falling for the put-upon kidnapper.
Trees Lounge (Steve Buscemi) - quirky film about one of lifes trodden on people. Directed by him also. -
Message 12
Posted by jennifertaylor (U10804637) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
For an entirely different take on the genre, you could try Dennis Potter's television mini-series, "The Singing Detective" (though take care to steer clear of the Hollywood remake starring Robert Drowsy Jnr). It's sharply written and superbly acted.
For some good, old fashioned French stuff, try Clouzot’s "Les Diaboliques". -
Message 13
Posted by junkiecosmonaut (U9049347) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
obvious one is 'blade runner'
the recent box-set contains all of the versions and is a fantastic set -
Message 14
Posted by domster07 (U7027879) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
A lot of good films recommended here, but not many that I would call noir, in the classic definition of the term. I've recently got into the classic film noirs, here are some of the best I've seen:
- Build My Gallows High, as already mentioned;
- Double Indemnity (the original with Barbara Stanwyck & Fred Mc Murray)
- The Big Sleep
- The Maltese Falcon
- The Big Combo
- Rififi (French film noir and my all-time favourite) -
Message 15
Posted by flyingstr8 (U10807559) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
my favourite film noir is melville's le samourai
i can't recommend it highly enough. it is a fairly preposterous film - wonderfully aloof, pungent with machismo. -
Message 16
Posted by jasonaparkes (U3653332) on Friday, 11th January 2008
There's a lot of modern spins on film noir and stuff that would have been tagged neo-noir (e.g. Blood Simple). But for actual film noir you might want to track down Paul Schrader's key essay on it - it's a pretty great definition and looks at the genre from the 30s to the 50s. That was film noir...wish the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ had shown more examples than they did. My faves are:
*The Big Sleep
*Out of the Past/Build My Gallows High
*The Maltese Falcon
*Detour
*In a Lonely Place
*The Blue Dahlia
*The Big Heat
*Shadow of a Doubt
*The Woman in the Window
*Gilda
*The Killers
*The Spiral Staircase
*The Lady from Shanghai
*They Live By Night
*The Set Up
*DOA
*House of Bamboo/The Third Man
*A Kiss Before Dying
*The Harder They Fall
*The Killing
*The Line Up
*Touch of Evil
*Night & the City
The best films influenced by film noir include Shoot the Pianist, A Bout de Souffle, Alphaville, Blade Runner (original), Blood Simple, Se7en & Fargo... -
Message 17
Posted by jennifertaylor (U10804637) on Friday, 11th January 2008
Also worth mentioning are Kiss Me Deadly and the "neo-noir", Chinatown.
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Message 18
Posted by Stevieramone (U10811531) on Friday, 11th January 2008
It has to be 'Kiss Me Deadly' (1955) totally classic noir.
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Message 19
Posted by pclowes (U9248817) on Friday, 11th January 2008
I rather enjoyed the original "D.O.A" from 1950
Edmond O'Brien plays a guy who is trying to uncover some murderers, they murdered him!
Far superior to the remakes (Dennis Quaid in one from the 90's) -
Message 20
Posted by sergeantblahblahblah (U10826785) on Sunday, 13th January 2008
Hi,
It seems as tho we are all forgetting the early works of Sam Raimi, which I would consider good candidates. And what about Tarantino (have I mispelled his name?) B movies, movies that you would love to see at a Canadian drive-in cinema -- can we include these in this discussion?
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Message 21
Posted by NickPGSmith (U10830085) on Sunday, 13th January 2008
If you haven't seen these, you MUST
Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Superb, not least for the small but luminous part Marilyn Monroe plays.
Farewell My Lovely (1944) (US title: Murder My Sweet)
The best Chandler, IMHO. Superior to the later version with Bob Mitchum.
Gilda (1946)
A dark film, and you'll never forget when Rita Hayworth peels off her gloves. -
Message 22
Posted by Onedaypast (U10806904) on Sunday, 13th January 2008
Lift to the Scaffold, classic. and one of my best favorite films.
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Message 23
Posted by rjbanks (U550642) on Tuesday, 15th January 2008
Lift to the Scaffold (Ascenseur pour l'eschaffaud) definitely. If only for the Miles Davis soundtrack.
Also, one of the best neo-noir thrillers is "Bound".
Of the American classics, go for the Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep. -
Message 24
Posted by robx69 (U10838426) on Tuesday, 15th January 2008
I still think Blade Runner is the ultimate neo noir Movie but No Country For Old Men,The Grifters,Bound,U Turn,Dead Mans Shoes,Eastern Promises,Taxi Driver,Blood Simple,LA Confidential,After Hours,Body Heat,The Last Seduction,Blue Velvet,Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me,The Lost Highway,Mulholland Drive,and loads more have "blown me away" in recent years.
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Message 25
Posted by jackcrompton (U5299906) on Wednesday, 16th January 2008
This isn't authentic noir - it's too late, 1969 I think. But it is in black and white. 'The Honeymoon Killers' - strong stuff. This director's only film I believe. Seems rather amateurish to start with - he's going for a docudrama style (it's based pretty closely on true events), but bear with it, you'll be gripping the edge of your seat by the end.
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Message 26
Posted by Comrade-Wolfie (U10850688) on Wednesday, 16th January 2008
I reckon you could add The Postman Alway Knocks Twice to that list - the original 1946 version with Lana Turner of course ....
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Message 27
Posted by xxxmilk (U10853981) on Thursday, 17th January 2008
Some great films mentioned already. How about these too:-
Sunset Boulevard - with the magnificent Gloria Swanson. Probably obvious as are all those Bette Davis and Joan Crawford films.
Sweet Smell Of Success - Cynical and hard-hitting power and corruption story. Burt Lancaster is fantastic and Tony Curtis was never better.
Brute Force - Dassin's classic prison drama with Lancaster as a hardened con.
Night Of The Hunter - Robert Mitchum as a scary down south preacher.
Night and The City - already mentioned I think. Richard Widmark is superb in Dassin's tale of a small-time hustler.
Not exactly noir but also worth a look - Carnival of Souls with it's surreal and creepy scenes of the dead waltzing in an abandoned fairground. -
Message 28
Posted by Onedaypast (U10806904) on Friday, 18th January 2008
Another must - Le cercle rouge (the red circle in English?). Such a fantastic film with real tough guys including Alan Delon. One memorable scene after another.
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Message 29
Posted by bert_feldman (U10871970) on Saturday, 19th January 2008
If we're talking about examples of the film noir genre transposed to a modern/unusual setting, then I can't believe noone's mentioned "Brick" yet.
All my friends are pretty split on it; in fact the majority probably dislike it, but I thought it was a brilliant film. There were bold and witty moves made in transcribing the basic story from a traditional film noir scenario to that of a high school - the school principal role replacing the role of a police chief being one of them.
I found the film captivating for this reason, and also for the good performances and its visual originality. However, everything else about the film is arguably one big homage to the archetypal film noir, which might be what puts some people off. -
Message 30
Posted by BillSoro (U10885641) on Monday, 21st January 2008
The basic elements of film noir: relationships' wrought by dire circumstances; complicity with the potential for betrayal; survival, can be found reflected in any Tango based film.
Just like 'The Maltese Falcon', it's a fine dance we lead; and it's a dance that becomes transcendant through subtle and shifting balane of power and colusion. It takes two to Tango!
Kiss of the Spider Woman, written by Manuel Puig, is a great example of this. The recent German movie; 'Die Falscher', (The Counterfieters), again shows this fine balance.
'Pepe Le Moko', with Jean Geban (not sure of the spelling there). 'Body Heat', with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, is a great example of Film Noir/Tango. Then there is the styleised and deceptively profound: 'Naked Tango'. Great Film Noir!!! -
Message 31
Posted by knerak (U10680579) on Monday, 21st January 2008
"relationships wrought by dire circumstances"
I'll say, I've just watched Gilda and yes, big up the gloves but couldn't they have got it together first time round - exhausting, so much angst.
Wouldn't have made such a great film though. -
Message 32
Posted by BillSoro (U10885641) on Monday, 21st January 2008
One of my favouitr lines of all time is from Gilda:"I wanteded to see them alone together when there's no-one watching".
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Message 33
Posted by MAY-BEE (U10490039) on Sunday, 2nd March 2008
I've come very late to this thread and have never posted here before, but a few postscripts if I may, since it's a genuine enthusiasm of mine...
Of the classics that have been mentioned, a few omissions spring to mind -
Wilder's "Double Indemnity" and Fuller's "Pickup On South Street".
And a trio of Preminger classics - "Laura", "Whirlpool" and "Where The Sidewalk Ends"
(Indeed, a case could be made for two other Premingers - "The Man With The Golden Arm" and "Anatomy Of A Murder")
I'd say it's a toss-up between Preminger and Lang as regards who is the master of this genre.
I think that many of the more modern "neo-noirs" are so mannered and self-conscious that they verge on pastiche.
Good though they are, I think that applies to the likes of "The Hot Spot", "Millers Crossing" and others that have been mentioned.
For instance, for me "Body Heat" is less a sensual, sultry experience - and more a sharp writer/director doing a calculated, clever reworking of "Double Indemnity".
And Kathleen Turner is no Barbara Stanwyck!
One major off-shoot of the "film noir" tradition that hasn't been mentioned is the collection of early to mid-70s studies in post-Watergate paranoia.
Coppola's "The Conversation" and Penn's "Night Moves" - both starring Gene Hackman.
Pakula's two masterpieces - "Klute" and "The Parallax View".
And I guess you could throw in Altman's version of Chandler's "The Long Goodbye.
And Pollack's "Three Days Of The Condor"
For those genuinely interested, could I recommend a brilliant book by the novelist/critic David Thompson called "Suspects"
It's written in the form of mini-biogs of all the major "film noir" characters.
But then the films start to "bleed" into each other; and characters "bleed" (sometimes literally) into a different film.
To give just one example -
Norma Desmond (from "Sunset Boulevard") gives birth in the asylum - and her son grows up to be the American Gigolo.
It's a great read for any fan of these dark, resonant movies. -
Message 34
Posted by sleepytigercub (U11190397) on Wednesday, 5th March 2008
Blood Simple. It's hot and sweaty.
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Message 35
Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Wednesday, 5th March 2008
The Big Lebowski?
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Message 36
Posted by Kimey (U11417280) on Wednesday, 2nd April 2008
Interesting thread. Back when I was at uni I did an essay comparing two modern Noir movies: Seven and The Man who wasn't there with the old classics. Seven in particular has many visual references: Morgan Freeman researching in the library similar to The Big Sleep and near the end when the characters are in the desert the open spaces are very reminisent of North By North West.
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