Can you recommend some great Film Noir. Any language. Any era.

As the title says, can you please recommend some great film noir, any language, old and new. I'm looking for the best and don't mind subtitles.

IMDB is a good source but I'm sure there are plenty masterpieces that have been underrated or overlooked.

Make sure you see Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil. There are almost too many good ones to name, really.

Along the vain of conspiracy theories...

I recommend Oliver Stone's movie "JFK".

www.imdb.com...


a great eye opening movie....if you have never seen it of course.
It was released in 1991 but due to it revealing the truth of what wasn't disclosed by the MSM it only received luke warm reviews by the MSM...

I often wonder why ?

reply to post by wigit


I can recommend a link...lots of great suggestions here:

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression.en.wikipedia.org...

The Big Sleep
Lost Weekend
Key Largo
Laura
Notorious
Double Indemnity

Here is a movie for anyone that cares to explore the medium further. I like examples.


Enjoy the film folks. Great topic for a rainy day.
Don't forget to S&F your OP on the way out.

This is one of my favorits, wierd, funny and very different...But it's not overlooked.
Anyway...

www.imdb.com...

Other movies from the same director, with the same wierd world of wierd.

www.imdb.com...

Originally posted by Mianeye
This is one of my favorits, wierd, funny and very different...But it's not overlooked.
Anyway...

www.imdb.com...

Other movies from the same director, with the same wierd world of wierd.

www.imdb.com...

I saw Delicatessen. It was wonderful!

Thanks very much for your suggestions. I've just built a big collection of South Korean films, and started an Aussie movie pile, but I wanted to move to another genre altogether, and I've always liked oldies. I have Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity to watch tonight and Ace in the Hole and Angels With Dirty Faces to watch over the weekend. Seen them before but I can watch great movies over and over. I'll definitely try watch Delicatessen. It sounds awesome.

The Stranger (Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson)
Chinatown
'M' (silent with Peter Lorre)
Maltese Falcon
The Desperate Hours
The Third Man
Plunder of the Sun
5 Steps to Danger
Sealed Cargo

Originally posted by wigit
As the title says, can you please recommend some great film noir, any language, old and new. I'm looking for the best and don't mind subtitles.

IMDB is a good source but I'm sure there are plenty masterpieces that have been underrated or overlooked.

Personally, I'd go with Dark City. It has a very interesting sci-fi plot and as per it's name, it's dark. Very dark.

Cheers - Dave

As mentioned above: watch Double Indemnity as soon as you can. Awesome movie.

Next, watch Brick. One of my favorite movies of all time and it was made pretty recently. The plot sounds dumb because it involves high school kids, but this isn't some kind of Hardy Boys thing. It's dark and serious. Not just one of the best noir movies of recent times, but one of the best EVER. Seriously, if you've already seen Double Indemnity, go watch Brick right now. It's on netflix instant.

Someone up above mentioned Chinatown. Right on, total classic.

Noir is kind of hard to narrow down, so if some of the rest of these don't fit into your idea of noir, sorry. My operating idea for these suggestions is that a noir movie contains the following elements: Crime, mystery, dark themes, a flawed main character(s), a world that has been upset, and (usually) the idea that some sort of knowledge can set that world right (in my mind, noir and gnosticism have a lot in common). Noir also has an indescribable feel that means something can have all those elements, but not feel like noir.

LA Confidential- Based on the great James Ellroy book. Three LAPD detectives try to solve a case that keeps going deeper and deeper. Great performances, great characters, solid movie all around. Made in 1997.

The Long Goodbye- Based on the book by Raymond Chandler. Elliot Gould is a real rough around the edges PI who seems barely interested in his work at times. This is a Robert Altman movie and Altman is weird because he focuses primarily on character instead of plot. Plot is the stuff around his characters. Good movie, but a weird entry in the genre. 1973. On Netflix instant.

The Parallax View- A reporter investigates the slew of deaths that befell witnesses to the assassination of a senator. He begins to uncover a conspiracy revolving around the Parallax Corporation, a group that might be training assassins. This one is pretty slow, but if you dig on conspiracy stuff I definitely recommend it. Some critics absolutely hated it. It really picks up towards the end. Made in 1974.

Blue Velvet- Not for the faint of heart. Directed by David Lynch, has uncomfortable stuff like abuse to women and non-consensual sex (I hesitate to call it rape, but that word kind of fits). If you can get over that, this movie is tremendous. A young man comes home to visit his hospitalized father. While walking home, he finds an ear and even though the police are taking care of it, his curiosity gets the best of him. Soon, he meets the insane Frank Booth, one of the best characters in movie history. Made in 1986. You might also want to check out the show Twin Peaks, also by Lynch, not really noir, but definitely a memorable detective show. Mulholland Drive is another Lynch movie that has some detective and mystery stuff in it. It's an incredible strange and surreal movie that should be watch, but, again, hard to call it noir. Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks are on Netflix instant.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang- A comedy that plays with all the noir and detective tropes. One of the funniest and most clever movies ever made. Robert Downey Jr is a small-time thief who goes to Hollywood and, naturally, sees something he shouldn't have seen causing him to get caught up in the crime. Made in 2005.

The Limey- An ex-con from Britain comes to LA to investigate the death of his daughter. File this under "Old Guys Being Badass." Terrence Stamp plays a great tough guy but also projects a lot of sadness and regret. Made in 1999.

Miller's Crossing- Not really noir, but such a great movie I'm throwing it on here. Coen Brothers movie about an Irish mob advisor who ends up between his gang and the rival Italian mob. Set during the Prohibition Era. Incredible movie all around. I don't even have the words to describe it. Made in 1990. The Coens also did the black-and-white movie The Man Who Wasn't There which plays with a lot of noir conventions. A bit slow, but a very good movie as well.

You might also want to consider (not lesser films, but I'm running out of space):
Memento
The Conversation
Maltese Falcon
Se7en
Alphaville (can't vouch for all of Alphaville, haven't seen it all, but it's a light sci-fi French noir that took a familiar stock character called Lemmy Caution and put him in a dystopian future)
Blade Runner
The BBC's newest Sherlock Holmes TV movies (not really noir, but still great)

Thanks again guys. I intend to watch every movie mentioned here so far.

I watched new K movie The Unjust the other night. I has some nice noir elements thoughout. Brilliant movie. Recommended watch. Subbed not dubbed.

OK let me preface this by saying Im not all that confident I know the correct definition of noir. Also being that you are savvy enough to be into Korean cinema you might already have seen these.

-Animal Kingdom(Australia): Teenager goes to live with his bank robbing family after his mother ODs

-Give em Hell Malone(US): A parody of the hardboiled detective flick. French Stuart is hilarious as Frankie the Crooner

-Pornostar aka Tokyo Rampage(Japan): A misanthropic teen takes on the yakuza and other perceived wrong-doers with a duffel bag full of knives

-Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai(US): Forest Whittaker plays a hitman who follows the code of bushido. Sorta a remake of le samourai in some ways but it retains its own style and motifs.

-Bal-can-can(Macedonia): It is actually for the most part a comedy but also a journey through the Balkan underworld. highly suggested either way.

reply to post by FEDec




I used to think noir was what you called a black and white movie, But now I think it's just stylish thrillers, which I enjoy. They usually have nicely framed shots, slanted camera angles, shadows, almost constant background tune, and lots of tension. That's my view on it anyway. And they got to have a good story. I'm not an expert, I just watch lots of movies 'cos telly is the pits these days.

I have Animal Kingdom, good movie. I'll look the others up, thanks.

reply to post by wigit


Hi there Wigit,

We have this place here in Montreal called "La Boite Noire"...They have movies in that place that you just can't find anywhere else ! They rent, sell and have an online buying website. Here is the link, it's in french though...

www.boitenoire.com...


Have Fun !!

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it...and it's probably not strictly 'film noir'...
Dead Man with Johnny Depp

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Akushla

reply to post by SaulGoodman


LA Confidential is awesome. Rolo Tomasi must be one of the best characters that NEVER appeared on screen. Very clever story.

That's on my top 10 list of all time great movies.

reply to post by wigit


If you ever get the time, I recommend reading the book too. It's different enough from the movie and there are a ton of subplots that got dropped to make it worth the read even though it's a good adaptation.

Let me know what you think if you see any of the other recommendations on my list.

reply to post by SaulGoodman


Will do. I have Brick ready to watch right now and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for supper tonight. Many thanks

I just looked in my kindle library and found James Ellroy- L.A. Noir. Is that an alternative title to Confidential? I googled it and no further forward

Cancel that -I just found out it's a trilogy of 3 other novels.

Has tere been a thread posted on Korean cinema? I'd love to pick your brain on the subject wigit.

reply to post by FEDec



No sooner said than done.