Ten Best Film Noir?

Hell, I wrote one fine essay on Out of the Past back in college -- it was titled "The Elusive Fiction of Kathie Moffat." I think that was in 1989 or so.

Wrote a pretty decent one on Kiss Me Deadly the following year -- it was called "Where Else Can You Go if You're Already at Rock Bottom? Kiss Me Deadly and Generic Meltdown."

Those movies have been well-regarded for quite some time now....

 

I love movies like that. I'll check it out as soon as I can. Thanks.

 

Heck, I didn't know a lot of those movies were noirs until I saw them listed here and elsewhere. Someone here listed Night of the Hunter and I didn't know that was a noir either (if it actually is).

 

IMHO The Night of the Hunter isn't a film noir, as fine a film as it is. I think of it as a great example of American "German Expressionist" cinematography.

 

Did you know Out of the Past as Build My Gallows High?

 

I've been a noir geek my whole life. I dive into anything from the classic period with gusto.
But there is one that so fully represents what the term means that it is the one.

Out of the Past

Definitive. The look. The dialogue. The villain. The pessimism. The fatalism. The femme fatale. The dark tone. It's all there. Mitchum is godlike. THE most manly performance I've ever seen. The best narration dialogue ever recorded.

The Maltese Falcon arguably created the genre and served as the blueprint.
Double Indemnity refined it into the style we know and love.

Then there are countless others that all deserve to be seen, discussed and lauded. Here's just 10 more of them:

Touch of Evil
Lady From Shanghai
Gun Crazy
Kiss Me Deadly
Sunset Blvd.
The Big Heat
Detour
In a Lonely Place
The Killing

and what took me years to see, possibly the most scathing of all noirs (even more so than Lang could get), banned everywhere, locked away for decades, the film whose failure sent Billy Wilder into comedies and is his greatest achievement.

Ace in the Hole


Just dig into this site:
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/noir.htm
As you can see, the genre can be extended into near anything.

 

Some Ray Milland fringe noirs worth seeking out - Alias Nick Beal, Ministry of Fear, The River's Edge, The Thief.

 

“Rififi” (“Du rififi chez les hommes”, Jules Dassin, France, 1955)
“Choice of arms” (“Les choix des armes”, Alain Corneau, France, 1981)

 

I'm saddened to have just read about the passing of Audrey Totter at age 95. She was a fine actress who had many memorable roles in noir films. Here's a list

Lady in the Lake
The Set-Up
The High Wall
Alias Nick Beal
The Unsuspected
Under the Gun
Tension
The Sellout
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Women's Prison
A Bullet For Joey
FBI Girl

RIP Audrey

 

Out of the Past has been a top rated noir for many years. I just watched Plunder Road. I thought it was incredible and with great symbolism. One of my favorites now. Another sleeper is Black Angel, which features a great soundtrack and great casting. There are some really good quips and innuendos in this one if you look and listen for them.

 

I like most all the films listed here. Just watched Point Blank, and Night Moves is next.

Dark City? A cartoon with a Noir cover much like Sin City. Time I want back.

 

Look forward to viewing it today with the commentary by Eddie Muller.
http://www.eddiemuller.com/index.html

I had never seen Betty Grable in a movie before. I find her almost permanent 'pout' attractive.

 

Oops, that should read, "from Cornell Woolrich's book;..."

 

The plot is all over the place. I like it for the athmosphere.

 

Favourite Neo Noir. Bladerunner.

 

I haven't seen Ace in the Hole a/k/a The Big Carnival in years. Can't remember how I first saw it either, but it is a great, dark, bitter movie.

 

was my film professor's fav movie

 

Wish "The Woman In The Window" was on Bluray. The B&W dvd seems pretty expensive.

 

Actually, there's a cheap copy of the R1 MGM DVD (double-billed with The Stranger) going cheap on Ebay at present ($9). Just search 'WOMAN IN THE WINDOW - THE STRANGER'.

 

How did I miss this thread first time around.

Chinatown ''my favorite movie''
Le Passager De La Pluie ''Rider On The Rain''
The Third Man
Key Largo
Mulholland Falls
The Hot Spot
Kiss Me Deadly
The Postman Always Rings Twice ''1981''
Kiss Of Death
Point Blank

 

For noir neo and old, check out:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-long-goodbye.342096/

 

Thank you for the reply, but I got the impression from some reviews of the dvd that 'Woman In The Window' was colorized in this particular edition. I'd prefer to have the B&W

 

I blind bought Ministry of Fear. Fritz Lang, Graham Greene, Milland. It was alright but not sure I'll rewatch it much

 

Saw rififi for the first time last week. LOVED it.

 

Oh, of course. Sorry, I was unaware...

Damned Ted Turner.