Which is your favorite(1) FILM NOIR and why?

... has the original soundtrack ever made it to wide release on CD? ... I know Varese put out a rerecord ... and there was a limited edition CD release before that ...

... it has its flaws ... but one of my favorites ... I wish that Varese would re-release that soundtrack ... I missed it first time around ...

 

Laura. I just love the feel of the movie, and Gene Tierney is awesome.

 

Have you seen the Italian caper-comedy "Big Deal On Madonna Street" on Criterion? It is even funnier if you have seen "Rififi". Claudia Cardinale is beautiful, but still hadn't reached the peak of womanhood of "Once Upon A Time In The West" and "The Leopard".

I have "Le Samourai" pre-ordered at criteriondvd.com for only US$20.95!

 

Same here!

Clifton Webb steals the show with his character of Waldo Lydecker. And Gene Tierney just may be the most beautiful face ever to be preserved on film, IMO.

Another great little Noir is "Angel Face," starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons (1952).

 

I've been wanting to see this for a while. It's never on TV and the DVD is expensive. I've heard about the coffee scene.

 

Great movie. My favorite also.

 

Let's see some screen captures. DVD #1 for the Fox Film Noir series

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews10/laura_.htm

 

Some really great ones mentioned already.
Out Of The Past - almost perfect
The Killers

Also.... Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster

Almost kinda pretty much film noir:
The Petrified Forest
To Have And Have Not

 

Out of all of them, I still have to say that "The Maltese Falcon" is the standard by which all others are judged. While I have watched most of the mentioned, some several times, I watch the "Falcon" probably at least once a year.... maybe twice even. Bogart was dazzling.....

The other characters are as indelible.... Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook, Jr., Ward Bond, Barton MacLane.... all of them were just inspired casting. The only bad choice, or maybe I should say there could have been a BETTER choice, was that of Mary Astor. I'm not sure who would have been a better choice, maybe Ava Gardner, Claire Trevor or Joan Fontaine... Astor, for my money, just didn't have the allure necessary to pull it off.

Of course, this is just IMHO.

 

Check out Night and the City. It's one of the most grim noirs I've seen. Richard Widmark is great as a totally unsympathetic character. Gene Tierney has a smallish role. The cinematography is breathtaking.

It's only available as an expensive Criterion, but you can rent it from Netflix like I did.

Doug

 

"The Set-Up," a 1949 Noir starring the outstanding Robert Ryan as a washed-up boxer may have been one of the best ever!

 

Rest In Peace, Robert Wise

 

The Maltese Falcon is the ultimate fun in film noir. But....

I The Lady From Shanghai.

 

Has anyone mentioned "Sunset Boulevard" yet?

James

 

No....but I'm ready for my close-up.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by pjaizz
... In terms of contemporary ones, Body Heat reigns supreme! Lawrence Kasdan's first feature is flat out amazing, with William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Ted Danson. ...


... has the original soundtrack ever made it to wide release on CD? ... I know Varese put out a rerecord ... and there was a limited edition CD release before that ...

Nope, just that Label X/Southern Cross release. One of my most prized Lp/cd's! The Varese release that was redone is very good too.

 

Zazabb, I tend to agree - The Maltese Falcon is stunning in every way. As far as I know, it has not been remade either... how could anyone match the Huston/Bogart version? While I love The Big Sleep too, I think The Maltese Falcon has a different kind of magic that is hard to describe. Just thinking about it makes me want to go and watch it right now...

 

It is indeed great, and not just because it was filmed in New Orleans.

I have to go with The Third Man as my favorite noir. The Criterion DVD rocks. I'm completely hypnotized with every viewing. Vienna, Alida Valli, the zither music, Orson Welles, that ferris wheel...mmm mmm.

Jason

 

I think they've all been mentioned already, but here's my list:

The Big Sleep (The double sided DVD, original edit)
Maltese Falcon
The Lady From Shanghai
Out Of The Past
Kiss Me Deadly

 

L.A. Confidential

 

" Laura " from 1944

 

I'd have to go with Maltese Falcon.

It strikes me that Taxi Driver is in the noir tradition.

 

KISS ME DEADLY certainly gets my vote for just about the strangest film noir ever made. One thing to be cynical, perverse, violent, even sadistic; but that ending! Goes beyond weird.

 

Where does one start ...

Many of the films mentioned are my favorites like The Third Man and The Big Sleep. I should also mention Touch of Evil (prefer restored version) and Lady from Shanghai.

However, if I had to pick one it would be the Maltese Falcon. How I envy anyone who has not seen this film, the ending is a shear joy and the character are just that, characters. A true masterpiece of film making by John Houston.

I must also mention Houston's The Asphalt Jungle, which is a great peice of Film Noir and one which I just saw recently for the first time.

How about Jules Dassin's Rififi (french 1955) a wonderful film with probably the best caper (hiest) sequence you'll ever see.

There are so many.

 

The night of the hunter Mitch at its top....

Jaques becker le Trou

A lot of Jean Gabin stuff