Brick (2005)
Rian Johnson and his crew did an amazing JOB ... highly recommended !
Brick (2005)
Rian Johnson and his crew did an amazing JOB ... highly recommended !
The Company She Keeps, listed in Keaney's Film Noir Guide. Not the most hard core of noirs but worth seeing nevertheless. Jane Greer has a great performance as a paroled convict, Lizabeth Scott also is good as her parole officer. Liz is going out with Dennis O'Keefe but Jane meets him and they fall hard for each other. This one's directed by John Cromwell and has some good scenes of 1950 LA. Interestingly enough, Lloyd Bridges' wife, Dorothy and kids (yes, young Beau and infant Jeff) appear in a cameo in Union Station. Jeff appeared with Jane Greer years later in Against All Odds, a tepid remake of Out Of The Past.
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Too Late for Tears, The Crooked Way
Krakatit (1947) - Czechoslovakia
Prokop invents a new explosives that is more dangerous than anything the world has ever seen - Krakatit! He does not want it to come in the wrong hands. But he gets sick and loses his memory, while bad people are after Krakatit. But is he sick or is it all in his head? A film noir that suggests the development of the atomic bomb and what its creators went through. One of the best non-american, non-british, non-french noirs I have seen.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039539/
Other favorite non-american, non-british, non-french noirs:
Flicka och hyacinter (1950) - Sweden
A woman commits suicide one night. Her neighbor decides to get to the bottom of the case by meeting with people she knew. The movie is told in a series of flashbacks. Flicka och hyacinter is one of my favorite noirs of all time. It has everything a noir should have. An investigator, flashbacks, voice overs, low key lighting and a drunk guy. The film is easy to find on DVD here in Sweden, but I would assume that it's harder to find in the United States.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042466/
Nora Inu (1949) - Japan
The story of a man and his gun. A policeman has his gun stolen on a buss. He goes out on a search for a murderer that is using his gun. One of Akira Kurosawas finest works starring Toshiro Mifune. Shouldn't be a problem to find on DVD in the United States considering it's Kurosawa.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041699/
An Italian noir that I want to see is Ossessione (1943) which I've heard is like an Italian "The Postman Always Rings Twice".
EDIT: I'd like to add that I'm excluding Fritz Lang's German "noirs" also such as M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. These are not as noir as the one's I've listed though.
Last edited by WilderIndemnity; 02-17-2012 at 05:49 PM.
"Do you know the world is a foul sty? Do you know, if you rip off the fronts of houses, you'd find swine? The world's a hell. What does it matter what happens in it?"
- Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
"Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money - and a woman - and I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it? "
- Double Indemnity (1944)
Last night I re-watched He Walked By Night with Richard Basehart, Roy Roberts, Jack Webb, and the ubiquitous Whit Bissell. Ostensibly a police procedural (and there's plenty of 1948 cop technique) it's really given the noir edge by John Alton's superb lenswork and lighting. He's the star of the film as far as I'm concerned. But Basehart also does a great job as an alienated master criminal. Anthony Mann also directed some sequences uncredited. A must-see if you haven't checked it out.
Hi All, This is my 1st post. I've been into film noir for only a few months but I'm taking a crash course; watching 2 and sometimes 3 per day. (I've recently retired, so I have the time). There's a great library system where I live and I'm able to check out multiple titles at a time. Also, I've purchased a few of the classic collection boxed sets. One of the 1st noir films I saw was Where The Sidewalk Ends. I loved it so much I ended up buying it the next day. Last night I re-watched it and also played the commentary with Eddie Muller. He is the best. He's informative and fun at the same time. It's a great story and a great film and Dana Andrews is a favorite of mine. Watching Gene Tierney ain't bad either.
Great Movie ! I always enjoy seeing it & yes Watching Gene Tierney is never a bad thingOriginally Posted by Rufus T
welcome to the Board Rufus !!
I just watched Witness to Murder (1954) with Barbara Stanwyck last night. An excellent-looking print is currently streaming on Netflix. The best part of the film, for me, was Alton's cinematography--he really knocks it out of the park in this film.
The Killers (1946) - What a great film. Charles McGraw and William Conrad really shine in the first 15 minutes or so of this sharply shot, superbly scored film. Ava Gardner sizzles as the femme fatale, Lancaster, O'brian, and Levene all are great; but I can't help but love Vincent Barnett who really makes the most of his flashback scene! Over all a wonderful film!!
I hear ya. This is definitely one of my favorite film noirs. You certainly nail all the great acting that propels the narrative. I also would add Miklos Rosza's score, which gives the film even more drama and impact.
Agreed JCharles. I also found it interesting that at times there was no score, just the dialoge and maybe appropriate background noise. The loss of the score highlighted the moment for me, upped my attention to the scene if you will. I guess great movie making like that is why the film received an oscar nod for editing.
Miklós Rózsa is far and away my favorite composer of scores for film noirs. Paul Sawtell is also good, and a dependable workhorse, but Rózsa is brilliant. His score for Brute Force is probably my favorite:
Rosza's my fave too (Criss-Cross, Asphalt Jungle, Double Indemnity, Naked City) and Sawtell really added to the atmosphere in Raw Deal. I also like Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and the ubiquitous Constantin Bakaleinikoff. I also dig the scores by RKO's Roy Webb (Crossfire, Cornered, Murder My Sweet, Out of The Past)
If you are starting with Dana Andrews, you are starting at the top of the heap.
Herrmann is also fantastic. For me, he's a huge part of why many of Alfred Hitchcock's films are as successful as they are.
"The cat's in the bag, and the bag's in the river!" I just finished The Sweet Smell of Success. How the heck did this film not find a single Academy Award nomination! Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster are freaking great, the lens work is awesome, and the score is fabulous. I have had this on my watch list for awhile, what the heck was I waiting on? A great ride start to finish.
The Naked City a good movie with some noirish moments but not really dark enough to satisfy. A good procedural however with great cinematography. Overall I liked it!
Just re-watched Murder, My Sweet last night and it was 10 times better for me the 2nd time around. Initially I didn't buy Dick Powell as Marlow, but after seeing him in both Cry Danger and Cornered, I thought he was excellent. Great film, but I sure wish Eddie Muller did the film commentary. Actually, I wish he did the commentary for every noir...he's that good.
Just recently watched Riff Raff (1947), and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it was great how Hammer knew everyone in town and just had to dash off a note for someone--"here, take this to Steve, he'll get your dad out of the slammer"--and the problem was solved.
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