 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
My favorite is The Maltese Falcon. Any others?
Might as well beat this to death, huh?
These picks are from Ephraim Katz's "Film Encyclopedia", the ratings come from Halliwell. I'm going to try to view every 4 and 3 star film on here--not promising when. Halliwell is a pretty tough grader judging from his comments on some other films I know.John Huston: The Maltese Falcon(1941) ++++, Key Largo (1948) +++, The Asphalt Jungle (1950) +++
Howard Hawks: To Have and Have Not (1944) ++, The Big Sleep (1946) +++
Michael Curtiz: Casablanca (1942) ++++, Mildred Pierce 1945 ++
Tay Garnett: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) +
Billy Wilder: Double Indemnity (1944) ++++, The Lost Weekend (1945) ++++, Sunset Boulevard(1950) +++, Ace in the Hole/ Big Carnival (1951) +++
Orson Welles: The Lady from Shanghai (1948) ++
Otto Preminger: Laura 1944 ++++, Fallen Angel (1946) + , Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) NR
Robert Siodmak: Phantom Lady (1944) ++, The Suspect (1945) +, Uncle Harry (1945) NR, The Killers (1946) +++, The Dark Mirror (1946) ++, Cry of the City 1948 ++
Jacques Tourner: Out of the Past (1947) ++
Charles Vidor: Gilda (1946) ++++
George Cukor: Gaslight (1944) ++
Frank Tuttle: This Gun for Hire (1942) +++
Fritz Lang: The Woman in the Window (1944) +++, Scarlet Street (1946) ++, The Big Heat 1953 ++
John Brahm: The Lodger (1944) +, Hanover Square (1945) +
Alfred Hitchcock: Spellbound (1945) +++
Lewis Milestone: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) ++
Edward Dymtryk: Murder My Sweet (1945) +++, Cornered (1945) +
Andre De Toth: Dark Waters (1944) ++, Pitfall (1948) nr
Stuart Heisler: The Glass Key (1942) ++
Jean Negulesco: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) +++, Three Strangers (1946) +, Nobody Lives Forever (1946) NR, Road House (1948) +
Anthony Mann: T-Men (1948) + , Raw Deal (1948) NR, Side Street (1950) NR
Fred Zinnemann: Act of Violence (1949) ++
Richard Mate: The Dark Past (1948) ++, D.O.A. (1950) ++, Union Station (1950) ++
Henry Hathaway: Kiss of Death (1947) ++, Call Northside 777 (1948) ++
Robert Rossen: Johnny O'Clock (1947) NR , Body and Soul (1947) +
Abraham Polonsky: Force of Evil (1948) +++
John Cromwell: Dead Reckoning (1947) +, The Racket (1951) +
Robert Montgomery: Lady in the Lake (1947) +, Ride the Pink Horse (1947)+
Delmer Dave: Dark Passage (1947) ++
Robert Wise: The Set-Up (1949) +++, The Captive City (1952) ++
Jules Dassin: Brute Force (1947) ++ , The Naked City (1948) ++++, Thieves' Highway (1949) ++, Night and the City (1950) NR
John Farrow: The Big Clock (1948) +, Alias Nick Beal (1949) +++
Elia Kazan: Boomerang (1947) +++, Panic in the Streets (1950) +++
Edward G. Ulmer: Ruthless (1948) +
Joseph H. Lewis: The Undercover Man (1949) + , Gun Crazy (1950) +
Nicholas Ray: They Live By Night (1949) +, In a Lonely Place (1950) +, On Dangerous Ground (1952) NR
Phil Karlson: Scandal Sheet (1952) NR, 99 River Street (1953) +, Tight Spot (1955) NR
Samuel Fuller: Pickup on South Street (1953) +
Robert Aldrich: Kiss Me Deadly (1955) NR "excruciatingly boring"
Some later films:
Orson Welles: Touch of Evil (1958) ++
Don Seigel: Crime in the Streets ( 1956) +, Baby Face Nelson (1957) +, Madigan (1968) +, Dirty Harry (1971) ++
Roger Corman: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) NR
Peter Yates: Bullitt (1968) ++
Robert Altman: The Long Goodbye (1973) NR "ugly, boring travesty.."
Roman Polanski: Chinatown (1974) +++
Robert Benton: The Late Show ( 1977) +
From American Cinemateque Presents "Side Streets and Back Alleys: The 2nd Annual Festival of Film Noir" (still going? here's what they've run so far):
I Died a Thousand Times
When Strangers Marry
The Spiritualist (aka) The Amazing Mr. X
The Lady in the Lake
Ride the Pale Horse
Act of Violence
The Window
Deadline at Dawn
Plunder Road
The Third Voice
Kiss of Death
The Big Clock
Alias Nick Beal
The Big Steal
They Won't Believe Me
Quicksand
Pitfall
Gun Crazy
The Scarf
The Prowler
Johnny O'Clock
Witness to MurderFrom a documentary on the genre on PBS some time ago, I made the following list of all films mentioned and/or clips shown of:
Force of Evil
Out of the Past
The Big Steal
Detour
The Big Combo
Crossfire
Murder My Sweet
Kiss Me Deadly
Pickup on South Street
Cry of the City
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Gun Crazy
Touch of Evil
Kiss of Death
Asphalt Jungle
Double Indemnity
The Third Man
Night and the City
Body Heat
Criss Cross
Fatal AttractionYep, I know, plenty of overlap between my two lists and your long one as well. I'll be interested to see how many of these are available on home video - I haven't started looking them up in my Maltin guide.
Thanks. Have we got this subject covered? Next thing is where to find them?I have been able to purchase some off the wall flicks from "Sinister Cinema". Two tapes of their tapes waiting to be watched: "The Hitchhiker" (obscure noir) and "Wages of Fear" (classic, since remade). Sinister is on the web, sinistercinema.com????, not sure on the url.
If you know of anyone on the web who sells noir, foreign, etc. flicks, let us know.
Try this, you'll either love it our hate it (I loved it): Bad Influence. The first time I decided that Rob Lowe actually COULD act (he plays THE "bad influence" on James Spader's character).
.
do you mean black and white films. I only know what noir means with my limited french.Anyway, if so, then I have had my share of a few free good Bogart movies in an American centre in a foreign underdeveloped country and a lot of Charlie Chaplins as a kid the latter giving me a headache because the print quality was bad.
I saw the Maltese Falcon, Night of the Iguana, .... and so so many others in black and white some of which you may have seen in colour.
Probably not a nostalgia driven answer though.
Well, kuma pretty much explained it further down the thread:"Although the 'film noir (dark film in French) started in the late 30's in France, the genre in the US film did not blossom till 40s.
Usualy with moody/high contrast cinematography with lots of downbeat/corny characters such as Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon often parodied in urban settings."In my reply down there, I mentioned some other things about it. Yes, black and white seems important, here. Night time too. The antihero (loser). The big try for money, or whatever it is the character thinks will have every thing coming up roses. A sense of desperation and futility. Squalidness searching for a way out. The underbelly of the American Dream. Gosh, surprising anyone would want to watch isn't it?
Is it a fascination with evil and the darkside, which we can encounter safely? Whatever it is, a lot of us enjoy it.
Wow, never knew so many of us are into this! I now have a substantial list of both books and films. All I need is more leisure time! Er, maybe I could spend a bit less time on this site....
nt
Never saw the Asphalt Jungle. Is it about teenagers?I'm aware that the Lost Weekend stars Ray Milland in a film about alcoholism. Pretty depressing ordinarily. What about "Lost Weekend" do you like?
the movies soundtrack.The fight against addiction and coming back from the edge.I guess some movies I enjoy some people would consider depressing.I love film noir.The mood.The style.I wonder,would Taxi be considered film noir?I enjoyed Laura also but Clifton Webb' performance was a little over the top.Maybe I'll see if local video store has This Gun For Hire.YECH
Yes, I should see "LW". I only saw the beginning of it. What about Asphalt, any commments on that one?Taxi, I've not seen. Taxi Driver sure does have some noirish aspects. Funny how many more recent movies are noirish. I guess LA Confidential comes to mind. And, oh yes, one of my favorite Sci Fi's "Dark City", well, hey, "Blade Runner" is too for that matter. How about "Midnight in the Garden..." I didn't see it, but my wife visited Savannah and commented on it.
Asphalt Jungle is a must see.A jewel heist gone awry.It was on AMC a while back.I just can't rave enough about Sterling Hayden.One of my all time favorite actors.Sam Jaffe,from Ben Casey TV fame,Marilyn Monroe and directed by John Huston.Sorry I spazed on ya about Taxi.I Did mean Taxi Driver.With those night shots of the wet pavement,very noir.Dark City does have a noir feel to it.Have not seen Midnight In The Garden.Yep,sometimes I think I was born 30 years too early. YECH
Well, this is another one to see! Have you seen Hayden in "The Killing"? Another great tough guy role.I think next week, I'll devote myself to just watching some of these old movies. Got to get out the Chandler books too.
The Big Sleep. Chandler by way of Bogart and Bacall.
Thank god for AMC and Turner Classic Movies.The local Family Video doesn't even have Sunset Blvd.YECH
I'm not sure if we have Turner Movie Classics on our cable. Does it have commercials interrupting?Out here in the wilderness, we're starving for some of these old videos, well, a very few of us, actually. There used to be a great video store in a city about 30 miles away, but, alas, they closed. They had every video imaginable, even foreign. I sometimes think I'd be in my element running a specialty video store. Trouble is around here, the folks are very short term oriented. If it's older than 2 o 3 years forget it. Foreign films---you gotta be kidding!
NT
you gotta read the book.
Or i'll plug ya! Seriously, i like film noir. But i love
the best detective writers with a passion. Raymond Chandler is Eric Clapton with a pen. There are many others, Early Autumn, Confederate dead in the electric mist (wow). Usually the first few books are the best. I also liked the guy whose main character is a Navaho cop; can't
remember his name. Carl Hiassen can be hysterically funny.
Hey, the name escapes me too, on the Navaho. And yes, it is geat fiction.I'm wondering, Raymond Chandler, could he be a bit dated, I mean the dialog, etc.? Maybe not. I'd like to get into reading again. I did find Hammett dated.
Carl Hiassen. Could you recommend his best one?
hi,
best suggestion: go to a library, or used bookstore, and just grab one.
hi,
Hammett does sound dated. You can get a Chandler from the library,
i love his skill with words.
Tony Hillerman writes the Navajo mysteries. James Lee Burke is good,too. I've read several of his books and haven't been disappointed yet.
Of course, Hillerman! Excellent stories! I confuse him with Kellerman, who I don't like that well.James Lee Burke, which is your favorite of his? I've never read him.
hi,
with most of these detective guys, it's best to start at the beginning; which is also usually their best work. Neon Rain is Burke's first book, and with him it makes sense to read them in order, as you are following Dave Robicheaux's fictional life.
If you were the guy asking about which carl Hiassen to start with, just pick one. Striptease was an awful movie, but one of the better Hiassen novels.
My wife just finished his new one, "Sick Puppy", and thinks it's pretty good, but not one of his best.
Not sure which of Burke's is my favorite. "Dixie City Jam" was the one I read first, and I really liked it. "A Morning for Flamingos" was another good one. The one mentioned by late, "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead", was also memorable and very enjoyable. Hard to go wrong, actually. Burke's dialogue and the way he captures the atmosphere of Louisiana is a real treat.It's been a while since I've read anything by him or any mysteries/cop fiction by anyone. I've been on a military fiction binge for a while, Bernard Cornwell's "Richard Sharpe" series(British army in the Napoleonic era) and now Alexander Kent's "Richard Bolitho" series(British Navy around the time of the American Revolution). I recommend both those series if your tastes in books run in that direction, too.
hi,
for some reason i couldn't recall Hillerman's name, i kept thinking of the Navaho artist Gorman. My favorite Burke will always be Confederate dead in the electric mist. And i only have one thing to say about it: wow.
nt
Two classics, of course. Well, Touch is not a generally known film. Still, worth viewing.
I second the "Touch of Evil" suggestion. "The Third Man" seems pretty noir-ish to me, too.
Yes, the Third Man, is right up there near the top. One of those few movies which rewards repetition.
Don't think ANY Cagney movies are in my noir lists. Care to offer one or two?
Thanks. Have to check out the library, etc.
1) "Angels With Dirty Faces" (of course, "the" noir flick2) "Fighting 69th" (is a WWI flick w/ a noir quality
3) "Bride Came C.O.D." (noir, it aint but is also a Cagney must I'd recommend it higher than "Mr.Roberts" & that's saying something IMHO
Thanks for the picks. I guess I need to see Angels..I may have seen the fighting 69th. If it's the one I saw, I did like it.
... they can haunt you with dark sense of salvation.Bride came C.O.D. is a jaunty romantic comedy flick with an awkward style worthy of Cagney. In fact, it's the only Bette Davis film I own. Click on the pictures for descriptons.
Although the 'film noir (dark film in French) started in the late 30's in France, the genre in the US film did not blossom till 40s.Usualy with moody/high contrast cinematography with lots of downbeat/corny characters such as Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon often parodied in urban settings.
For notable Cagney film in this genre, I'd say 'White Heat' ("Made it ma! top of the world!) fits the bill.
some of my favorite include:
Laura ( great score by David Raksin, BTW) 1944
Mildred Pierce aka my mother, a waitress! 1945
Gilda 1946
Notorious 1946
Pastman always rings twice 1946 ( also Nicholson/lang version in 1981)
DOA 1950 ( lame remake to follow later )
Crossfire 1947
Ace in the hole 1951
Sweet Smell of success 1957
Big Heat 1953
Killing 1956
Cape Fear 1962 ( again, the origianl Mitchum/Peck version has more impact than DeNiro remake,imho)
Manchurian Candidate 1962There was a trend in 70s to bring back the film noir such as Chinatown, Taxi driver etc..( excellent films in thier own right) but alas, somehow, they just dont have the same 'feel' as the rest of the ealier greats.
... I never cared for those subset of films made though. By that I mean where the slime of humanity profits of from others misery as glamorous MO. There are plenty of enticing dark films that don’t preach such a defeatist messege. My penny anyway.
Maybe I'm too old and cynical, but I've found it to be quite common for the slime of humanity to profit from the misery of others. I'm not sure I agree that noir makes this "glamorous", pitiful, at times, perhaps.I'm sure just seeing the dark side makes some uncomfortable. And there were a lot of schlocky, B movie, exploitation types of films along these lines, don't think I'd go as far as classifying them as noir though.
today there are "desperado", "assassins" & "pulp ficton" poluting the theatres with lame predictable plots & 1D characters to snooze over.
Moody high contrast scenes with characters who are losers in stories about The dark underbelly of American life.What do you think is involved in the "feel"? Perhaps a sense of desperation, perhaps, futility in the story? The antihero? Going for that big win that will make everything worthwhile? Being shot in black and white? Being shot mainly at night?
And your comment about French films, any French or foreign films you like in this genre?
A film noir 'feeling' is elusive something. Bit like try to explain a 'communicative' two channel system. They are equaly vague. :-)There are certainly familiar ingredients to make a film noir film as you've suggested in your post. A story about ugly people doing nasty things to other people. Always with strong chracter study/observation. Sometime, it can be voy
I don't think they have to be shot in black & white per se. Perhaps, my preference of B&W films over the colour films make the neo-film noir in 70s to date unauthentic. Addition of colour make the scene too real for my taste.Most film-noir should have artificial feel to it. I can even forgive a few flaw in script sometimes from its striking visual style. No, it does not have to be shot in the night time to achieve necesarry atmosphere.
As for French film noir, Marcel Carne's Jour Se Leve(1939) or try Port of Shadows(1938) both starring Jean Gabin.
You are on to something about artfulness and artificiality being essential to the great films of this genre. "Making the scene too real" is not the best noir. I guess that could extend from b and w, to outlandish dialog & characters, unusual camera angles, etc., etc. Think Dr. Strangelove would classify as noir? Never even thought of that one before.I'm compiling a list from a book I just read. Not sure if it would be boring. I know I could use it for my own future viewing. BTW, it includes just about every film you mentioned and is mainly "classic" noir from the 40's and 50's.
I'd say Dr. Strange Love is more of a 'black' comedy.I laughed my ass off watching it. Even though the film is highly stylised (both in script and cinematography), does not belong in film noir category.
The Fail Safe with Fonda (almost simulteniously released has a similar plot line as the Dr. Strange Love) might be closer.
A great masterpiece & classic.
Man, you've got some excelllent picks on here. Some unfamiliar ones I really want to see now and some oldies I want to see again. "The Killing", that's Kubrick, right, with Sterling Hayden and the cringing Elisha? Got to get on the library website and see if I can order some of these.
Yeah. Elisha Cook Jnr was indeed great in this pot boiler.This film, IMHO, is one of the best Kubrik ever did. Makes you wonder WTF he was thinking during the production of "Eyes Wide Shut"
Have you ever seen the Asphalt Jungle (1950) which is a precurser to the Killing also starring Sterling Hayden. ( and of course, very young Marilyn Monroe)
This film is filled with such a delicious line such as ' Crime is a left-handed form of human endeavour. 'muttered by Sam Jaffe
This is a must for me. You're the second one on this thread to recommend it! Thanks!Yes, EWS, is a bomb. I'm still wondering if Kubrick had not finished it when he died. He was meticulous to the point of madness. It is difficult to believe that what I saw was what he intended.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
