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Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Tue, 7 Aug 2018 06:00:13 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/07/2018 10:00

bobbyb5 wrote:

I'm not sure I saw the Damned Don't Cry. Unless that's the one about the violinist.

Crawford ditches her small town, basically sleeps her way up the company ladder and into the mob.

Quote:

Isn't Mr. Arkadin the Orson Welles one?

Yep.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Mon, 6 Aug 2018 05:59:47 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/06/2018 09:59

PurpleHazel wrote:

bobbyb5 wrote:

I've seen about half of these

And Sudden Fear with Joan Crawford

Another handful of pretty well-known noirs that aren't on that list, probably because they're not always considered noir:

A Place in the Sun
Whirlpool
A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
Mr. Arkadin
House of Bamboo (Samuel Fuller)

Bobbyb5, have you ever seen The Damned Don't Cry with Joan Crawford? That's a fun melodrama that totally counts.

The original Kiss Before Dying is pretty good. The main character was really evil and creepy, and it had one of those really noir stories about a man who marries a rich girl so he can kill her for her money.. A lot of noirs are about a man plotting to kill his wife. The remake with Sean Young was really lousy, but around the same time there was one called Masquerade with an identical story that was much more fun and much better. Even though it was kind of like a vehicle for Rob Lowe of all people.. I liked it nevertheless just because of the way story unfolded and the little plot details. It was far from great but kind of memorable anyway. .

I never thought of Place in the Sun as a noir, but I guess so. That's another murdering your wife story.. didn't the guy murder Shelley Winters so he can marry Elizabeth Taylor? Or something like that. I kind of forgot the exact story.

I'm not sure I saw the Damned Don't Cry. Unless that's the one about the violinist. I can't remember the name of that one..

I never heard of Whirlpool or House of bamboo.

Isn't Mr. Arkadin the Orson Welles one? I've never seen it. I don't even know what it's about.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Mon, 6 Aug 2018 00:18:59 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/06/2018 04:18

bobbyb5 wrote:

I've seen about half of these

And Sudden Fear with Joan Crawford

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 19:10:04 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/04/2018 23:10

bobbyb5 wrote:

Never realized before I was so unfamiliar with the old Noir movies. I've seen about half of these, the other ones I don't even recognize the names of them. Some of these here I love but never associated with noir, but they obviously are now that I think about it. When I was really young I used to love all those ones with Susan Hayward like I Want to Live. I thought they were so dramatic. Lol. It's gonna be awesome. Ha ha.

Half is really good! Don't be hard on yourself! I participated in a film noir poll a few years ago and watched 44 movies for it (the poll period was 9 months), so I was able to fill in a lot of gaps.

I Want to Live! isn't always considered noir, because, like you said, it has the feeling of a serious drama -- Hayward won an Oscar for it -- but it makes sense to me.

bobbyb5 wrote:

I only saw The Black Bird when I was a kid, so all I really remember is George Segal running around San Francisco, the Maltese falcon statuette and the main bad guy, an Italian little person, throwing a tantrum at the end.

bobbyb5 wrote:

The only one I can think of that you don't already have is Malice. I don't know why people don't like that movie. Its far from horrible. And its my favorite kind of Noir. The ones about an insurance fraud scheme gone awry. Malice has a really really original premise: the plot is based on a botched operation on a woman's ovaries. It's really that idea that was the most interesting thing about it. Far as I'm concerned that's a really original idea. Lol. Toward the end some of the plot twist are kind of stupid, but otherwise I found it really interesting. If you like scheming lovers type movies.

There's one other movie I can think of that's pretty close to the wife and boyfriend killing the husband. Except instead of killing the husband, it's the husband killing the boyfriend.. It's the remake of La Femme infidel. I thought it was pretty good. I think the actors were pretty good too.

I actually saw Malice in the theater! It was entertaining up to a point, but my recollection is that it had some lurid over-the-top plot twists toward the end.

La Femme Infidel is a great film -- the only reason I didn't include it in neo-noir my list, is that the killing isn't pre-meditated. If my list was a little longer I would've included it. Unfaithful, the remake wasn't bad -- my girlfriend really liked it -- but I'm against most remakes on principle. Makes me a little sad that practically no one who saw Unfaithful has seen La Femme Infidel.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 11:24:02 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/04/2018 15:24

PurpleHazel wrote:

Yeah, it has fairly good production values compared a lot of the other 80s-early 90s remakes and trashy noirs -- it goes down pretty smooth. The Phil Collins song was of course a hit and was nominated for a best original song Oscar.

From what I remember, The Black Bird was basically a Mel Brooks-imitation spoof of the Maltese Falcon. Brooks movies were really big at that time and there were a bunch of imitations -- Black Bird might've been one of the first.

Bobbyb5, are there any movies from the 80s onward that are specifically about a wife and her boyfriend plotting to kill the husband that aren't on my list? (Actually there aren't that many of those on the list.)

The only one I can think of that you don't already have is Malice. I don't know why people don't like that movie. Its far from horrible. And its my favorite kind of Noir. The ones about an insurance fraud scheme gone awry. I watched a really good one while doing this poll. It's called zigzag starring George Kennedy from 1970 and it has a great plot about insurance fraud that goes awry. Malice has a really really original premise: the plot is based on a botched operation on a woman's ovaries. It's really that idea that was the most interesting thing about it. Far as I'm concerned that's a really original idea. Lol. Toward the end some of the plot twist are kind of stupid, but otherwise I found it really interesting. If you like scheming lovers type movies.
There's one other movie I can think of that's pretty close to the wife and boyfriend killing the husband. Except instead of killing the husband, it's the husband killing the boyfriend.. It's the remake of La Femme infidel. I thought it was pretty good. I think the actors were pretty good too.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

badseed — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 11:17:56 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 08/04/2018 15:17

PurpleHazel wrote:

:) Labor Day's September 3rd.

Quote:

I'm gonna try to get an early start on the next one.

Like the 'tude! Good idea, since poll viewing periods are short.

Quote:

Here's a good list if 177 I found for reference. Just at a glance I'm sure I've seen well over half and many others have been on my radar. Not sure that all of them are truly noir but not sure any of them aren't.

Good list. Rebecca jumped out at me because it's a clearly a gothic, but it's on the list I plan to use too, so fair game. Where's the list from? I ended up counting how many I haven't seen -- 27. I've also seen at least 50 that aren't on there. Some are subpar, but there are major ones too:

Cry Danger
Drive a Crooked Road (first getaway driver noir)
The Hitch-Hiker
I Wake Up Screaming (1941; an early one)
Moonrise (recently released by Criterion)
The Prowler
Tomorrow is Another Day
Try and Get Me!

Too Late for Tears - Haven't seen it yet, but has a really good rep

Labor day, memorial day. I always get them mixed up. Kinda funny that I do, considering the time in between is when I usually make over half my yearly income. You'd think I'd have it memorized by now.

Got the list from filmsite.org. I think I've shared the site before. It's affiliated with AMC somehow. Very good site for studying the history of American film.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 10:57:02 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/04/2018 14:57

PurpleHazel wrote:

The Blackbird wasn't really a spoof like a Mel Brooks movie would be a spoof. I don't know how to describe it. You know how sometimes movies are described as a comedy-drama? It would probably be something like that. It was as if they were making a movie like The Maltese Falcon except instead of being a straight-up drama it was a comedy-drama. Maybe something like the way the long goodbye was a mystery detective movie but Elliott Gould was cynical-funny. But it wasn't like cynical-funny, it was crappy-funny. Lmao. Even while I was watching it I was saying to myself "what is this supposed to be? I don't get it." But I always try to watch every movie with George Segal in it. He was in so many good 70s movies and he's funny. His character was Sam Spade's son instead of Sam Spade from the original Maltese Falcon.
The best noir spoof is The Cheap Detective. Much better than those Mel Brooks movies and that stupid spoof of Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. I think it was called Fatal Instinct. Not sure if it was a Mel Brooks movie tho. I think it was.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 08:37:12 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/04/2018 12:37

badseed wrote:

Dont mean to interrupt a healthy discussion but when is Memorial Day? I'm gonna try to get an early start on the next one. Here's a good list if 177 I found for reference. Just at a glance I'm sure I've seen well over half and many others have been on my radar. Not sure that all of them are truly noir but not sure any of them aren't.

I Am a Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932)
Fury (1936)
La Bête Humaine (1938, Fr.) (aka The Human Beast)
You Only Live Once (1937)
The Letter (1940)
Rebecca (1940)
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
They Drive By Night (1940)
High Sierra (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
Suspicion (1941)
The Glass Key (1942)
Moontide (1942)
This Gun For Hire (1942)
The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
Journey Into Fear (1943)
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Christmas Holiday (1944)

Dark Waters (1944)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Gaslight (1944)
Laura (1944)
The Lodger (1944)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Phantom Lady (1944)
The Suspect (1944)
The Woman in the Window (1944)

Cornered (1945)
Detour (1945)
Dillinger (1945)
Fallen Angel (1945)
The House on 92nd Street (1945)
Johnny Angel (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Spellbound (1945)

The Spiral Staircase (1945)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Crack-Up (1946)
The Dark Corner (1946)
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
Gilda (1946)
The Killers (1946)
The Man I Love (1946)
Notorious (1946)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
The Stranger (1946)
Undercurrent (1946)
Body and Soul (1947)
Boomerang! (1947)
Born to Kill (1947)
Brute Force (1947)
Crossfire (1947)

Dark Passage (1947)
Dead Reckoning (1947)
Desperate (1947)
A Double Life (1947)
Fear in the Night (1947)
Kiss of Death (1947)
Lady in the Lake (1947)
The Man I Love (1947)
Nightmare Alley (1947)
Odd Man Out (1947, UK)

Out of the Past (1947)
Possessed (1947)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
Secret Beyond the Door... (1947)
T-Men (1947)
The Unsuspected (1947)
The Woman on the Beach (1947)
Act of Violence (1948)
The Big Clock (1948)
Call Northside 777 (1948)

Cry of the City (1948)
The Dark Past (1948)
Force of Evil (1948)
He Walked By Night (1948)
Key Largo (1948)
The Lady From Shanghai (1948)
The Naked City (1948)
Pitfall (1948)
Raw Deal (1948)
Road House (1948)

Ruthless (1948)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Beyond the Forest (1949)
The Big Steal (1949)
Border Incident (1949)
Caught (1949)
Champion (1949)
The Clay Pigeon (1949)
Criss Cross (1949)
Gun Crazy (1949) (or 1950) (aka Deadly is the Female)

House of Strangers (1949)
The Reckless Moment (1949)
The Set-Up (1949)
Shockproof (1949)
Slattery's Hurricane (1949)
Tension (1949)
They Live By Night (1949)
Thieves' Highway (1949)
The Third Man (1949)
White Heat (1949)

Armored Car Robbery (1950)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Backfire (1950)
Caged (1950)
Dark City (1950)
Dial 1119 (1950)
D. O. A. (1950)
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)

Mystery Street (1950)
Night and the City (1950)
Outrage (1950)
Panic in the Streets (1950)
Side Street (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Where Danger Lives (1950)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
The Big Carnival (1951) (aka Ace in the Hole)
Detective Story (1951)

His Kind of Woman (1951)
The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)
The Lost One (1951, Germany) (aka Der Verlorene)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
The Racket (1951)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Affair in Trinidad (1952)
Beware, My Lovely (1952)
Clash By Night (1952)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Macao (1952)
The Narrow Margin (1952)
Scandal Sheet (1952)
The Sniper (1952)
Sudden Fear (1952)
Angel Face (1953)
The Big Heat (1953)
City That Never Sleeps (1953)
Niagara (1953)
99 River Street (1953)

Pickup on South Street (1953)
Crime Wave (1954)
Hell's Half Acre (1954)
Human Desire (1954)
Pushover (1954)
The Big Combo (1955)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
Diabolique (1955, Fr.)
Illegal (1955)
Killer's Kiss (1955)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Phenix City Story (1955)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Crime in the Streets (1956)
The Killing (1956)
While the City Sleeps (1956)
The Wrong Man (1956)
The Brothers Rico (1957)
Crime of Passion (1957)

Nightfall (1957)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Cry Terror! (1958)
I Want to Live! (1958)
The Lineup (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 06:37:29 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/04/2018 10:37

badseed wrote:

when is Memorial Day?

😄 Labor Day's September 3rd.

Quote:

I'm gonna try to get an early start on the next one.

Like the 'tude! Good idea, since poll viewing periods are short.

Quote:

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

badseed — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 01:58:32 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 08/04/2018 05:58

Dont mean to interrupt a healthy discussion but when is Memorial Day? I'm gonna try to get an early start on the next one. Here's a good list if 177 I found for reference. Just at a glance I'm sure I've seen well over half and many others have been on my radar. Not sure that all of them are truly noir but not sure any of them aren't.

I Am a Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932)
Fury (1936)
La Bête Humaine (1938, Fr.) (aka The Human Beast)
You Only Live Once (1937)
The Letter (1940)
Rebecca (1940)
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
They Drive By Night (1940)
High Sierra (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
Suspicion (1941)
The Glass Key (1942)
Moontide (1942)
This Gun For Hire (1942)
The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
Journey Into Fear (1943)
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Christmas Holiday (1944)

Dark Waters (1944)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Gaslight (1944)
Laura (1944)
The Lodger (1944)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Phantom Lady (1944)
The Suspect (1944)
The Woman in the Window (1944)

Cornered (1945)
Detour (1945)
Dillinger (1945)
Fallen Angel (1945)
The House on 92nd Street (1945)
Johnny Angel (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Spellbound (1945)

The Spiral Staircase (1945)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Crack-Up (1946)
The Dark Corner (1946)
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
Gilda (1946)
The Killers (1946)
The Man I Love (1946)
Notorious (1946)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
The Stranger (1946)
Undercurrent (1946)
Body and Soul (1947)
Boomerang! (1947)
Born to Kill (1947)
Brute Force (1947)
Crossfire (1947)

Dark Passage (1947)
Dead Reckoning (1947)
Desperate (1947)
A Double Life (1947)
Fear in the Night (1947)
Kiss of Death (1947)
Lady in the Lake (1947)
The Man I Love (1947)
Nightmare Alley (1947)
Odd Man Out (1947, UK)

Out of the Past (1947)
Possessed (1947)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
Secret Beyond the Door... (1947)
T-Men (1947)
The Unsuspected (1947)
The Woman on the Beach (1947)
Act of Violence (1948)
The Big Clock (1948)
Call Northside 777 (1948)

Cry of the City (1948)
The Dark Past (1948)
Force of Evil (1948)
He Walked By Night (1948)
Key Largo (1948)
The Lady From Shanghai (1948)
The Naked City (1948)
Pitfall (1948)
Raw Deal (1948)
Road House (1948)

Ruthless (1948)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Beyond the Forest (1949)
The Big Steal (1949)
Border Incident (1949)
Caught (1949)
Champion (1949)
The Clay Pigeon (1949)
Criss Cross (1949)
Gun Crazy (1949) (or 1950) (aka Deadly is the Female)

House of Strangers (1949)
The Reckless Moment (1949)
The Set-Up (1949)
Shockproof (1949)
Slattery's Hurricane (1949)
Tension (1949)
They Live By Night (1949)
Thieves' Highway (1949)
The Third Man (1949)
White Heat (1949)

Armored Car Robbery (1950)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Backfire (1950)
Caged (1950)
Dark City (1950)
Dial 1119 (1950)
D. O. A. (1950)
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)

Mystery Street (1950)
Night and the City (1950)
Outrage (1950)
Panic in the Streets (1950)
Side Street (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Where Danger Lives (1950)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
The Big Carnival (1951) (aka Ace in the Hole)
Detective Story (1951)

His Kind of Woman (1951)
The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)
The Lost One (1951, Germany) (aka Der Verlorene)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
The Racket (1951)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Affair in Trinidad (1952)
Beware, My Lovely (1952)
Clash By Night (1952)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Macao (1952)
The Narrow Margin (1952)
Scandal Sheet (1952)
The Sniper (1952)
Sudden Fear (1952)
Angel Face (1953)
The Big Heat (1953)
City That Never Sleeps (1953)
Niagara (1953)
99 River Street (1953)

Pickup on South Street (1953)
Crime Wave (1954)
Hell's Half Acre (1954)
Human Desire (1954)
Pushover (1954)
The Big Combo (1955)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
Diabolique (1955, Fr.)
Illegal (1955)
Killer's Kiss (1955)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Phenix City Story (1955)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Crime in the Streets (1956)
The Killing (1956)
While the City Sleeps (1956)
The Wrong Man (1956)
The Brothers Rico (1957)
Crime of Passion (1957)

Nightfall (1957)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Cry Terror! (1958)
I Want to Live! (1958)
The Lineup (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Sat, 4 Aug 2018 01:47:44 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/04/2018 05:47

bobbyb5 wrote:

Yeah, Against All Odds is so overblown and the setting is so inappropriate that you can't help but laugh. The only thing I liked about it is that you can still kind of get into the story, if you try. But it was barely worth the effort. Ha ha.

bobbyb5 wrote:

There's also a remake of the Maltese Falcon called The Black Byrd, but it's kind of like semi comedy. It's kind of weird.

From what I remember, The Black Bird was basically a Mel Brooks-imitation spoof of the Maltese Falcon. Brooks movies were really big at that time and there were a bunch of imitations -- Black Bird might've been one of the first.

Bobbyb5, are there any movies from the 80s onward that are specifically about a wife and her boyfriend plotting to kill the husband that aren't on my list? (Actually there aren't that many of those on the list.)

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Fri, 3 Aug 2018 09:58:23 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/03/2018 13:58

PurpleHazel wrote:

My "noiriest" neo-noir list:

1. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
2. The Killers (1964)
3. Kiss of Death (1995)
4. D.O.A. (1988) [Haven’t seen]
5. Body Heat
6. Blood Simple
7. The Last Seduction
8. Kill Me Again
9. The Man Who Wasn’t There
10. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
11. Palmetto
12. China Moon
13. Shattered
14. Blood and Wine
15. The Underneath (Criss Cross) [Haven’t seen]
16. Night and the City (1992)
17. Caught (1996)
18. Farewell My Lovely
19. The Big Sleep (1978)
20. Chinatown
21. Bound
22. Gone Girl
23. Fargo
24. A Kiss Before Dying (1991) [Haven’t seen]
25. The Deep End (The Reckless Moment)
26. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009) [Haven’t seen]
27. The Friends of Eddie Coyle
28. Against All Odds (Out of the Past)
29. The Drowning Pool
30. Night Moves
31. Brick
32. Twilight
33. Angel Heart
34. The Town
35. Reindeer Games
36. Reservoir Dogs
37. Heat
38. Thief
39. City of Industry
40. Drive
41. The Driver
42. Nightcrawler
43. Thieves Like Us (based on the same novel as They Live By Night)
44. Guncrazy (1992; only loosely inspired by Gun Crazy)
45. Wild Things
46. Deep Cover
47. The Hot Spot
48. Heist
49. After Dark, My Sweet
50. Croupier

Don't take the rankings too seriously, or this whole exercise!

Can't argue with this list. Right on the money. Wasn't there a remake of The Big Heat too? I'm going to have to look that up. There's also a remake of the Maltese Falcon called The Black Byrd, but it's kind of like semi comedy. It's kind of weird.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Fri, 3 Aug 2018 09:31:35 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/03/2018 13:31

[quote="PurpleHazel"]Farewell, My Lovely, No Way Out and The Deep End are the ones I liked the best. I kind of liked Kiss of Death, but it was considered to be a failure and it on top of Jade ended David Caruso's movie career. Night and the City has its moments -- it and Kiss of Death were written by novelist/screenwriter Richard Price (Sea of Love, The Wire, The Deuce), so there's a baseline level of quality to the dialogue, even if the movies don't quite work.

The makers of Against All Odds reworked Out of the Past so much it's barely recognizable, gave it a really slick 80s gloss. I laughed out loud as a teenager when Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward started getting it on on the floor of a Mayan temple. Changing the ending made it a lot less noir. Good cast, though.

Cape Fear has great moments, but I don't know why Scorsese had to give it such over-the-top horror bombast. It would've been so much better if DeNiro's character was just a little believable. The bit with him hanging onto the car's axle for hours really diminished the movie for me. Stylish, thrilling at times, but very frustrating.

Didn't see The Underneath. It's a bonus movie on the Criterion King of the Hill (Soderbergh) DVD.

I can never decide how noir Elmore Leonard adaptations are, they always seem on the line -- Out of Sight, Jackie Brown, Get Shorty etc. (guess Jackie Brown comes the closest out of those). Barely remember 52 Pick-Up, but the book's one of Leonard's darkest. HokeMoseley included Out of Sight on his list. Excellent movie -- great example of a contemporary auteur elevating his material and the casting is perfect.[/quote]

Jade is one of those ones written by the awful Joe eszterhas, notorious for his awful movies. However, Jade is much better than his Basic Instinct. That's one I really don't like. It's one of the shoddiest movies I've ever seen. Just so horribly made. I got a taste for those cheap cheesy type thrillers, but that one is just beyond the pale. Jade is kind of cheesy too, but it is highly entertaining nevertheless. It's like a good bad movie.
Yeah, Against All Odds is so overblown and the setting is so inappropriate that you can't help but laugh. The only thing I liked about it is that you can still kind of get into the story, if you try. But it was barely worth the effort. Ha ha.

52 Pickup I love. I don't know too much about Roy Scheider, but he happens to be in three movies that put on my list. He must have had a flair for neo-noirs roles. He's good in all of them. Maybe because he seems tense all the time, I don't know.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Fri, 3 Aug 2018 02:06:15 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/03/2018 06:06

My "noiriest" neo-noir list:

1. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
2. The Killers (1964)
3. Kiss of Death (1995)
4. D.O.A. (1988) [Haven’t seen]
5. Body Heat
6. Blood Simple
7. The Last Seduction
8. Kill Me Again
9. The Man Who Wasn’t There
10. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
11. Palmetto
12. China Moon
13. Shattered
14. Blood and Wine
15. The Underneath (Criss Cross) [Haven’t seen]
16. Night and the City (1992)
17. Caught (1996)
18. Farewell My Lovely
19. The Big Sleep (1978)
20. Chinatown
21. Bound
22. Gone Girl
23. Fargo
24. A Kiss Before Dying (1991) [Haven’t seen]
25. The Deep End (The Reckless Moment)
26. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009) [Haven’t seen]
27. The Friends of Eddie Coyle
28. Against All Odds (Out of the Past)
29. The Drowning Pool
30. Night Moves
31. Brick
32. Twilight
33. Angel Heart
34. The Town
35. Reindeer Games
36. Reservoir Dogs
37. Heat
38. Thief
39. City of Industry
40. Drive
41. The Driver
42. Nightcrawler
43. Thieves Like Us (based on the same novel as They Live By Night)
44. Guncrazy (1992; only loosely inspired by Gun Crazy)
45. Wild Things
46. Deep Cover
47. The Hot Spot
48. Heist
49. After Dark, My Sweet
50. Croupier

Don't take the rankings too seriously, or this whole exercise!

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:34:42 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/02/2018 23:34

bobbyb5 wrote:

Yes, A Kiss Before Dying is rotten. Everything else that I've seen I've kind of liked to one degree or another. I probably liked Against All Odds the least though. I wouldn't say it's rotten, but it's very close to rotten . Heh heh

Farewell, My Lovely, No Way Out and The Deep End are the ones I liked the best. I kind of liked Kiss of Death, but it was considered to be a failure and it on top of Jade ended David Caruso's movie career. Night and the City has its moments -- it and Kiss of Death were written by novelist/screenwriter Richard Price (Sea of Love, The Wire, The Deuce), so there's a baseline level of quality to the dialogue, even if the movies don't quite work.

The makers of Against All Odds reworked Out of the Past so much it's barely recognizable, gave it a really slick 80s gloss. I laughed out loud as a teenager when Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward started getting it on on the floor of a Mayan temple. Changing the ending made it a lot less noir. Good cast, though.

Cape Fear has great moments, but I don't know why Scorsese had to give it such over-the-top horror bombast. It would've been so much better if DeNiro's character was just a little believable. The bit with him hanging onto the car's axle for hours really diminished the movie for me. Stylish, thrilling at times, but very frustrating.

bobbyb5 wrote:

I just saw The Underneath for the first time about 2 weeks ago. Now that I think about it, Out of Sight didn't turn up on your poll even though I remember a lot of people loved it at the time. Maybe it's not noir enough. I liked the Underneath better though. I've seen most of the other films he directed, but not all of them.

Didn't see The Underneath. It's a bonus movie on the Criterion King of the Hill (Soderbergh) DVD.

I can never decide how noir Elmore Leonard adaptations are, they always seem on the line -- Out of Sight, Jackie Brown, Get Shorty etc. (guess Jackie Brown comes the closest out of those). Barely remember 52 Pick-Up, but the book's one of Leonard's darkest. HokeMoseley included Out of Sight on his list. Excellent movie -- great example of a contemporary auteur elevating his material and the casting is perfect.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

PurpleHazel — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 18:58:45 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 08/02/2018 22:58

StreetSpirit wrote:

There's also a remake of Double Indemnity from the early '70s.

That was a TV movie. There's actually quite a few TV movie remakes I didn't include, but I wouldn't have known about most of them if it wasn't for this:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls070160961/

The Killers remake was apparently the first TV movie, but it's hard for me to think of it as one, due to the caliber of the cast and the director, Don Siegel. You probably learned about the Double Indemnity remake the same way I did, from the special edition DVD. I thought it was terrible, incredibly bland -- I don't rec watching it because it could temporarily tarnish your feelings for the original.

There's a Detour remake too -- starring the original lead's son -- but it was a microbudget indie film that was barely shown in theaters so I didn't list it.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

badseed — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 14:52:05 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 08/02/2018 18:52

PurpleHazel wrote:

badseed wrote:

Honestly this whole thing is getting me into the genre/style/whatever you call it a lot. Basically once this Critrrion sale ends I'm gonna try to stockpile almost exclusively western and noir blurays.

The next logical step is classic film noir then, yes? Who's hosting?

Yeah, this poll gave me permission to watch a bunch of fun 70s-2000s movies, in some cases ones I'd been curious about for decades, instead of my usual mix of art films, classic Hollywood and recent films. I was just browsing some neo-noir Blurays/DVDs tonight.

I didn't realize till after I started the poll that there were no new film polls here between May and September last year. So I'd be happy to host the classic film noir poll, but since we're already in August, I'm going to wait till after Labor Day, unless someone else decides they want to host it or another one by then.

Go head with it. I'll probably wait til October next year to re-do horror (I just know we can do much better this go-round). That should give us enough time to cover most of the genres we haven't done yet before then.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 14:15:40 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/02/2018 18:15

I just saw The Underneath for the first time about 2 weeks ago, but I didn't recognize the plot from Criss Cross which I've also seen. Of course now that I think about it, I do. It looks like The Underneath people didn't like too much, I enjoyed it though. Especially the Hospital part. I thought that was cool. Now that I think about it, Out of Sight didn't turn up on your poll even though I remember a lot of people loved it at the time. Maybe it's not noir enough. I liked the Underneath better though. I've seen most of the other films he directed, but not all of them.

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

bobbyb5 — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 13:06:26 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 08/02/2018 17:06

PurpleHazel wrote:

1. The Killers (1964)
2. Farewell My Lovely (Murder, My Sweet; 1975)
3. The Big Sleep (1978)
4. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
5. Against All Odds (Out of the Past; 1984)
6. No Way Out (The Big Clock; 1988)
7. D.O.A. (1988)
8. The Desperate Hours (1990)
9. Cape Fear (1991)
10. A Kiss Before Dying (1991)
11. Night and the City (1992)
12. Kiss of Death (1995)
13. The Underneath (Criss Cross; 1995)
14. The Deep End (The Reckless Moment; 2001)
15. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)

Calling Farewell, My Lovely a remake feels a little disingenuous because it's probably based more on the novel. Then again, you could probably say that about The Big Sleep and the Postman Always Rings Twice remakes too.

You can tell from the dates that from 1988 to 1995 was more or less the peak of (classic) film noir's popularity, at least in the pre-DVD age.

I haven't seen five of these. DOA, A Kiss Before Dying and The Desperate Hours got really bad reviews.

I had no idea that a lot of those were remakes even though I've seen them. There's only four I didn't see.
Yes, A Kiss Before Dying is rotten. Everything else that I've seen I've kind of liked to one degree or another. I probably liked Against All Odds the least though. I wouldn't say it's rotten, but it's very close to rotten . Heh heh

Re: Best Ever Neo-Noir Films/Modern Film Noir [List]

CA Dreamin — Thu, 2 Aug 2018 11:24:50 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 08/02/2018 15:24

There's also a remake of Double Indemnity from the early '70s.