JohnDoe
Bryn
Brenton36 great Noir Films
August 23rd 2007 02:56
Guns, broads and betrayal or 36 ways great to die the Noir way
Noir Street
Dark alleys, femme fatales and twisting plots that end in major and minor tragedies, it must be a Noir. Defined by its manipulation of shadows and dark brooding atmosphere these are underground stories of the criminal mind.
Intricately weaved, predominantly centring around a lone tough guy P.I or a complete sap who gets turned rotten to the core by lust. A heist gone wrong and the best friends sells out his buddy, good men seek vengeance, all tell tale signs you are trapped in the cinematic land of noir.
The Maltese Falcon
John Doe still remembers staying at his grandma’s when from about 4 years old and watching old Humphrey Bogart films like:
-The Maltese Falcon
-The Big Sleep
-The Dark Passage.
Hardboiled stories that always seemed to surprise with their intricately weaved deceptions, the black atmosphere of impending doom captivating the young Doe. Usually to the strains of moody Jazz score everyone smoked, pimps, cops and hoods underscored by a moral ambiguity and inferred eroticism.
The world weary male lead voice over always ready with a stone wall retort or tough guy insult, the cool thief with the plan who doesn’t speak unless imperative. The women, never to be trusted, sexual predators with greed in their veins, if not they are victims of unspeakable abuse or callous psychological damage.
This was the classic era that became the foundation for an aura that would permeate into:
-Robert Alderich’s Kiss Me Deadly
-Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard
-John Huston’s The Ashpahlt Jungle
-Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing
-The Postman Always Rings Twice
-Orson Welles A Touch of Evil
-Jacques Tourneur’s Out of The Past
-Otto Preminger’s Laura
-Henry Hathaways Kiss of Death
-D.O.A.
-Robert Siodmak The Killers
-Carol Reed's The 3rd Man
-
Out of The Past
Revisionist Noir
-Robert Altman The Long Goodbye
-Hammett
-Alan Parker’s Angel Heart
-Mike Hodges Croupier
-John Boorman’s Point Blank
-Coen Brothers Blood Simple and The Man Who Wasn’t There
-Rian Johnson’s Brick
-Paul Verhoven's The 4th Man
Croupier
Modern Noir
-Peter Medak’s Romeo is Bleeding
-John Dahl’s Red Rock West and The Last Seduction
-Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat
-Roman Polanski’s Chinatown
The Last Seduction
Tech-Noir
-James Cameron’s The Terminator
-Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner
-Alex Proyas’ Dark City
Dark City
Foreign Noir
Jules Dassin Rififfi
Jean Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai and Bob La Flambuer
Akira Kurosawa’s Stray Dog
Le samourai
Not a definitive list, but certainly a great place to start. You may wonder why JD chose such an odd number as 36 for his list, well he didn’t know where to conclude, so once the titles he loved stopped spewing from his head he decided that was where to stop…..THE END
A cool little Noir compilation with smokin dialogue
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I love noir myself, as you know ...
So what's the difference between "revisionist" noir and "modern" noir ...?
I would've thought Chinatown was revisionist ... and Blood Simple was modern ...
There's actually another sub-category called Film Soleil ... films such as Sexy Beast, Reservoir Dogs, The Underneath, U-Turn ... and I'd have included Red Rock West, The Hot Spot and The Grifters in that category (basically noir set mostly in daylight)
Comment by Chic Critique
My favourites - The Big Sleep, Bladerunner, Le Samourai.
Damn fine and very cool.
Cheers
CC
Comment by Nina
TV Babble
Comment by Dustin
Film Noir could always use a little more love.
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Great list! I'm putting it on Reddit!
Comment by DuskDevi
Rucks and Rolls
Rugby World Cup 2007
I've seen most of your Revisionist, Modern and Tech Noir picks.
A very noir post JD. Hope you are well...
Dusk
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
I loved the Last Seduction. Great film.
Kylie
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
In my eyes Modern Noir works within the framework of the classic structure....Revisionist Noir reworks the traditional staples and uses the ingredients to expand the scope. (I agree on the Blood Simple/Chinatown thing, could go either way, The Coen's was the deciding factor...funnily enough I meant to write Miller's crossing but the whole thing was done in a bit of a rush)
As for Lightness instead of darkness in Noir, it all works for me and all the films you mentioned are favourites, would also add Soderbergh's The Limey..
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Fine choices and thanks for dropping by.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Better get on it, this is just the tip of the noir blade. Still so many greats I left out, glad to point you in the right direction.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
You haven't seen Brick? If you click teh title you can read my review for it...It takes the Noir elements and places them with a high school backdrop. Joseph Gordon Levitt stars and its Directed by Rian Johnson who edited May.
Really good to have another honest to goodness knowledgable movie geek on hand, great to see you.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I will get around to reviewing all of them, but i like to mix up genre reviews so they are staggered, no more Noir till next month.
Thanks for the reddit nomination thats fantastic!.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Nice you recognized the style, do you have a favourite from the genre?
Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
What was your take on Sin City?
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
A rainy Saturday night is the perfect atmosphere to enter the world of noir, the later the better.
I will be posting a review of The Last Seduction soon because I just watched it again last week.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I grew up reading the Frank Miller Sin City graphic novels so the source was close to my heart. With that in mind I loved the film adaptation and thought Rodriguez did amazing work visually and with his actors...Mickey Rourke was born to be Marv and Carla Gugino left my jaw on the floor.
Will get around to reviewing it soon because I have seen it at least 20 times now..I just get in the mood for its ultra violent comic book noir style
Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
Yeah, I've fallen behind a bit--lots of road gigs for the band lately. I always catch up though!
Comment by Wynona Lavota
Generation Y Life
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Glad to help, what are some of your favourite films?
Comment by Wynona Lavota
Generation Y Life
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD