Film Noir Movie Recommendations

vintagesnaps · Oct 21, 2015

There was a link for the class for movies that are in the public domain, if I can find it I'll post it. I didn't use it because TCM had noir on Fridays over the summer, all day, all night... more than I could watch!

edit - Guess I didn't bookmark it. The Open Culture site has some but not exactly many of the best ones; probably a lot of those have been licensed so would be shown by a network and/or available on DVD. This site has some resources. Film Noir Foundation

terri · Oct 21, 2015

ooo, ooo - I have to mention Body Heat, which is a kind-of remake of Double Indemnity. Kathleen Turner and William Hurt - a nicely done, more modern film noir.

runnah · Oct 21, 2015

The third man still holds up today.

LA confidential was a good modern noir film. If you want a super stylized noir film you could always see Sin City.

terri · Oct 21, 2015

runnah said:
The third man still holds up today.

LA confidential was a good modern noir film. If you want a super stylized noir film you could always see Sin City.

I remember LA Confidential! Good call.

limr · Oct 21, 2015

I had the chance to see The Third Man in an actual movie theater a little while back, and it was even more impressive seeing it on the big screen. I've been thinking about that movie ever since this thread started. It's just so damn good! I am going to need to watch it again this weekend.

Hey Soulful, watch The Third Man soon so we can all talk about it!

Derrel · Oct 21, 2015

The Black Dahlia might resonate with a person in Colton's age bracket...

runnah · Oct 22, 2015

A few more.

Blood Simple (Cohen bros)
Chinatown (great ending)
The Big Sleep
No Country for Old Men (kinda noir)

runnah · Oct 22, 2015

As a side note it's depressing that nobody is really working in this genre anymore.

SoulfulRecover · Oct 22, 2015

limr said:
I had the chance to see The Third Man in an actual movie theater a little while back, and it was even more impressive seeing it on the big screen. I've been thinking about that movie ever since this thread started. It's just so damn good! I am going to need to watch it again this weekend.

Hey Soulful, watch The Third Man soon so we can all talk about it!

Tonight I have tax class right after work so I wont be free to watch it tonight unfortunately. Man I hate this job BUT I will for sure watch it.

Derrel said:
The Black Dahlia might resonate with a person in Colton's age bracket...

Going to go find the trailer for it now!

runnah said:
As a side note it's depressing that nobody is really working in this genre anymore.

I completely agree! It would be a nice twist in the industry for someone to make a modern noir. If it was done right, it could be a huge success.

oldhippy · Oct 22, 2015

Must mention

http://www.amazon.com/Maltese-Falcon-Humphrey-Bogart/dp/B003ZEQMH8?SubscriptionId=AKIAIH6BKLR7M6KSMDGQ&tag=aboutcom02classicfilm-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003ZEQMH8/ref=as_at?tag=aboutcom02classicfilm-20&linkCode=as2&

SoulfulRecover · Oct 22, 2015

Boss just left for the day. Time to watch a movie

KenC · Oct 23, 2015

I agree with everything posted and was relieved as I read through this that someone finally mentioned The Big Sleep. Here's a kind of offbeat one that I didn't see in here: Blade Runner. Yeah, it's a sci-fi movie, but definitely done in that style with some great narrative over some of the scenes. Interestingly, the Philip K. Dick novel this was based on (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) had no hint of that atmosphere. I don't know if it was a screenwriter or the director (Ridley Scott) who came up with that but I love it.

Jim Walczak · Oct 24, 2015

While there are some very good suggestions here (including Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and Blade Runner...love both of those!!!), I'm a little surprised that no one mentioned Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard. Sunset Boulevard was arguably one of the definitive movies of the noir genre...it was certainly a must see when we covered noir in Film Appreciation back in college!

Jim Walczak · Oct 24, 2015

KenC said:
I agree with everything posted and was relieved as I read through this that someone finally mentioned The Big Sleep. Here's a kind of offbeat one that I didn't see in here: Blade Runner. Yeah, it's a sci-fi movie, but definitely done in that style with some great narrative over some of the scenes. Interestingly, the Philip K. Dick novel this was based on (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) had no hint of that atmosphere. I don't know if it was a screenwriter or the director (Ridley Scott) who came up with that but I love it.

Ok, it's been years since I've seen the commentaries on that movie, however as I recall, they had REALLY struggled with the screen play for that one and I seem to remember they went through several drafts (and a few different writters) over the course of a year or two before they finally ended up where the did. You right in that the movie really has very little to do with the book...at least beyond some suggestive metaphors (although personally I feel both stand up well). On the other hand, it's a screenplay...they're not always intended to specifically represent the original piece they're based on. The Will Smith version of "I Robot" for example, certainly had nothing to do with the classic Isamov novel, LOL! Unfortunately, books don't always translate well into film and vice-versa.

The interesting thing about Blade Runner is that Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott both fought the studio over the voice overs...the very thing that gives the movie it's noir feel (in my opinion at least). In fact I've seen the director's cut where Harrison's voice overs were removed and I felt the film came up lacking as a result. It's one of those rare moments in film making history where I had to agree with the studios regarding the production values.

jaomul · Oct 25, 2015

I originally thought Blade Runner was rubbish because of the voice over, so much so I gave up on it after about 40 minutes. Later when the directors cut came out I gave it another go and loved it. I read afterwards that neither Ridley Scott or Harrison Ford wanted the narrative in, but that it was thought by the film company that the film needed extra explaining to the audience. As a result Harrison Ford apparently admitted years later that he did the narrative in as dreary and boring a voice as he could possibly do without making it to obvious, in the hope that they would not use it.