Best film/neo noir movies ever?

dr gonzo

Just finished watching Chinatown and im hungry for more as ive always loved those types of Marlowe/Spade type noir films.

Ive seen but now want to rewatch LA Confidential and im told Maltese Falcon is amazing (as two examples), Can anyone recommend some more?

Phony Scott

Sunset Boulevard is my favourite film noir. The use of voiceover is second to none if you ask me and such a twist. The themes of isolation and madness hugely appeal to me. The acting, particularly from Gloria Swanson as Norma, are superb. The ending leaves me heartbroken everytime I see it. Everything about it is excellent, it's so good, even Metallica have a song based on it!

krudler

Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

no really.

The Mad Hatter

I quite enjoyed Brick, from a couple of years ago. Its quick-fire dialogue in particular filled me with joy.

For classic noir, a less-watched one than something like The Maltese Falcon is The Big Sleep. Not one of the finest examples - the plot is an utter mess - but the performances by soon-to-be-married Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall hold it together.

indough

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

For classic noir, a less-watched one than something like The Maltese Falcon is The Big Sleep. Not one of the finest examples - the plot is an utter mess - but the performances by soon-to-be-married Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall hold it together.

try watching the original version. i have seen both but it was ages ago and i cant remember which is better but i know the book has a very good plot and one of the versions follows it more closely than the other. think its the earlier cut

The Mad Hatter

indough wrote: »

try watching the original version. i have seen both but it was ages ago and i cant remember which is better but i know the book has a very good plot and one of the versions follows it more closely than the other. think its the earlier cut

I think the 1946 version I'm talking about is the first version. I haven't seen the later one, but just because a plot is good in a book doesn't mean it'll be good on film. I think a big problem with the plot of the film is that there was far too much of it.

sxt

Mullholland drive

Gotta recommend Odd Man Out. Watched it during a Carol Reed obsession and it's marvellous. James Mason considered it the best performance of his career and I think it's certainly up there.

Johnny McQueen, leader of a clandestine Irish organization, has been hiding in the house of Kathleen and her mother, planning a hold-up that will provide his group with the funds needed to continue its activities. During the hold-up, things go sour: Johnny is wounded, cannot make it back to the hideout, and disappears in the back-alleys of Belfast. Immediately, a large-scale man-hunt is launched, and the city is tightly covered by the constabulary, whose chief is intent on capturing Johnny and the other members of the gang. Kathleen sets out in search of Johnny.

It's also really nice and fairly original to see a noir set in Ireland

duckworth

Here's three of my favourites -

Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043132/

The Big Combo (1955)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047878/

The Reckless Moment (1949)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041786/

They are all creepy and unnerving - The Reckless Moment in particular is one of favourites of all time - a really weird film.

In terms of newer ones, nothing really comes close to Chinatown. I didn't really think Brick was very good - LA Confidential is quite good though.

indough

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

I think the 1946 version I'm talking about is the first version. I haven't seen the later one, but just because a plot is good in a book doesn't mean it'll be good on film. I think a big problem with the plot of the film is that there was far too much of it.

no i just checked and the original was made in 1945. the 1946 one you saw was the one that was changed due to studio interference. there is no problem with the plot at all in the 45 version. and yes a good plot is a good plot and should translate perfectly from book to film unless the film makers decide to mess around with it. this is what they did in this case for the sake of better chemistry between the leads.

humanji

You could always check out the sequel to Chinatown, The Two Jakes. It's been so long since I've watched it, I can't even remember if it's good or not.

Dead Men don't Wear Plaid is one of my favourite Steve Martin films and a pretty good send up of Film Noir.

I also quite like The Good German with George Clooney. It's based after WW2 and was written and filmed in the style of the time. Very moody and atmospheric.

Then there's The Third Man with Orsen Welles and one of the best theme tunes ever. It's a fantastic film and fairly iconic.

And finally, there's Touch of Evil, with Orsen Welles and Charlton Heston.

There's hundreds of great Film Noir movies, but those are my particular favourites and well worth checking out.

edit: Oh and there's also Bad Day at Black Rock, with Spencer Tracy. It's a kind of mix between Film Noir and Western. Quite slow paced with a fairly unnerving undercurrent.

Magic Eight Ball

Check out 'Red Rock West' by John Dahl.

mike65

Was going to mention Red Rock West, also check out The Long Goodbye, The Long Good Friday (UK noir, is that grey?!), Farewell My Lovely (1975), Dark Passage (1947) Lady in the Lake (1947) the latter two use POV filming "Lady..." for the entire film we only see the protagonist in mirrors (luckily the star also directed so he had someting to so)

ztoical

Fritiz Lang's M, Double Indemnity, Touch of Evil, Kiss Me Deadly [has to be put in context of the 1950s cold war otherwise the ending is kind of silly, first time I saw it I was rolling around on the floor laughing] are all classic noir and really worth checking out.

More recent I would place films like Taxi Driver, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway in that noir group. Films like Bladerunner and Dark City [1998 not the 1950's Hesston film though that too is noir] I'd count as noir as well but with the sci-fi elements.

spiritcrusher

The Maltese Falcon is an absolute must for film noir, amazing film.
I really enjoyed The Big Sleep, the plot is quite famously convoluted but knowing this beforehand meant I paid extra attention and, to be honest, didn't find it too hard to keep track of.
Possibly my favourite noir would be The Third Man. What a film! Cotten is such a wonderfully muddled character and the plot's descent from a relatively straightforward noir to something altogether more murky and sinister is wicked.
Also have to agree with Sunset Blvd, another absolute gem. Very tense film, the feeling that something really isn't right persists the whole way through, constantly waiting for something to set everything in motion.

Cazale

I would recommend the following three films which are all less than 85mins so they are ideal if your looking for a quick watch.

D.O.A. is one of my favourites. Its about a man trying to solve his own murder.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042369/

Stanley Kubrick's The Killing

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049406/

Bad Day at Black Rock

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047849/

Chad ghostal

Pick up on south street is one of my favourites and one of the best film noirs imho.

I like this description (robbed from wikipedia):

Bosley Crowther wrote:

this highly embroidered presentation of a slice of life in the New York underworld not only returns Richard Widmark to a savage, arrogant role, but also uses Jean Peters blandly as an all-comers' human punching-bag. Violence bursts in every sequence, and the conversation is slangy and corrupt. Even the genial Thelma Ritter plays a stool pigeon who gets her head blown off...

marienbad

-Double Indemnity- Unrivalled noir with Barbara Stanwyck as the femme fatale and fred MacMurray as the sap , set the benchmark and still unrivalled although Body Heat with Hurt and Turner comes close.

Laura - a tale of obsession , never bettered , with the luminous Gene Tierney and a memorable music score by David Raksin

The Glass Key - Alan Ladd Veronica Lake and a couple of gay villains put this one years ahead of its time

In A Lonely Place - later and lesser known Bogart film , but one of his favourites , brilliant literate script , did he or did'nt he do it. Keeps you guessing and shows how great an actor he really was in a not very likeable role.

The Killers- Ernest Hemingway story, why would a man just wait for his Killers to arrive ? Why indeed ? Two versions - 1950 Robert Siodmak B/W with Burt Lancaster -classic noir and the 1960's remake by Don Siegel, originally made for tv ( dont let that put you off) but deemed too violent. The great Lee Marvin and Ronald Reagan in his final movie, just a great film. There is an outstanding criterion boxset with both movies.

I have to mention that great homage to noir- Chinatown, just the best of everything- Polanski's best, Jack Nicholson at his finest , Lovely Faye Dunaway and a Robert Towne script to die for , topped off by one of Gerry Goldsmiths finest scores.

fitz

Surprised no-one's mentioned Bladerunner yet...
+1 on Brick, well worth a look.

ztoical

fitz wrote: »

Surprised no-one's mentioned Bladerunner yet...
+1 on Brick, well worth a look.

I did mention bladrunner . Brick I have a love hate relationship with as it was sold to me as this great noir style film but while I really like it as a film I wish it hadn't been pushed as noir film as I just don't think it is and it annoyed me when watching it.

purple_hatstand

Aside from some of the excellent films already suggested, I would add Hitchcock's 'Notorious' and 'Rebecca' as well as John Huston's 'Key Largo' and 'The Asphalt Jungle'. 'The Big Lebowski' is one of my favourite noirs, also.

marienbad

fitz wrote: »

Surprised no-one's mentioned Bladerunner yet...
+1 on Brick, well worth a look.

One of my all time favourite movies, but I just would'nt class it as noir

jollygreengiant

I dont know whether it could be classified as a film noir movie but sin city is a modern day version of film noir. brilliant visual style any way though

eddyc

"House of Games" is pretty good, its about a woman who gets mixed up with a group of conmen, excellent twist at the end as well. Oh and Joe "Fat Tony" Montegna is in it.

Butch Cassidy

Some people might like to check out this box set:




The Killers;
Double Indemnity;
The Big Steal;
Crossfire;
Out of the Past;
The Blue Dahlia;
The Glass Key;
This Gun For Hire;
Murder, My Sweet

I saw it in Golden Discs for about €25


Blade Runner has been mentioned and that is indeed neo-noir - a Phillip Marlowe case set in a future world of Philip K Dick's mind. Minority Report I think took place in a kinda parallel universe.

The Terminator was classed as "Tech-noir" as a joke by the director since it was kind of noir-ish but sci-fi but not quite sci-fi.

Red Rock West is certainly worth a watch. It's a bit like them old westerns when the guy strolls into town and is mistaken for the hitman the local police chief had hired to kill his wife and then all hell breaks loose when the real hitman shows up!

Payback deserves a mention I think. Inspired by Point Blank and quite bleak - well the director's cut where they kill the dog is. This is probably Mel Gibson's last great acting role. The studio thought the picture was far too dark so they chopped out the third act and added in a new one. Definitely seek out the director's cut if you can (region 1 DVD or the bluray).

If we're talking noir Rififi must get a mention. It's a French heist film that was cool before George Clooney got Eleven Oceans.

fitz

ztoical wrote: »

I did mention bladrunner . Brick I have a love hate relationship with as it was sold to me as this great noir style film but while I really like it as a film I wish it hadn't been pushed as noir film as I just don't think it is and it annoyed me when watching it.

Oops!
Brick has none of the visual characteristics of noir, but the character types, storyline, dialog...very much noir I thought.