Film Noir/Neo-Noir Thread

[Libaax]

To me its easy Film noir/Neo-Noir is a vibe,mood a subgenre like in Hardboiled PI, Noir books. If you are noir fan in books you can easily see which are film noir,neo noir and not just trying to copy while being action or something. You cant limit a genre to some cultural thing just because there are classics that was more important than others. Jean-Peirre Melville films is as noir as you can get.

Mostly i prefer the classic ones and Le Samurai and Chinatown are perfect modern noir.

The best i have seen so far i rank like this:


1. The Maltese Falcon - perfect combination of actor,script,director and is imo the best hardboiled PI story ever done in film. John Huston i see this film when i think of his work.
2. Le Samurai
3. Touch of Evil
4. The Killing
5. Chinatown
6. The Big Sleep
7. White Heat
8. Reservoir Dogs
9. Miller's Crossing
10. Asphalt Jungle

Yes im a big Sterling Hayden fan.

I havent seen classics people always mention like Double Indemnity and The Third Man.

[Libaax]

I will say that Chinatown is a legitimate noir film that is often labeled neo-noir.

Whats legitimate about Film Noir that isnt in Neo-Noir? Isnt that just a name for contemporary Film Noir? Chinatown is basically the same PI stories they were in the 40s,50s in Hollywood.

[jesse_custer]

Jef Costello wasn't so much anxious as he was disillusioned and melancholic which is a common theme in Melville's body of work. Also noir isn't just about what the characters feel but also what the audience feels. There is that great scene in the film where you have a 20 minute lineup and interrogation scenes which all hallmarks of Melville. The characters may be cool but the audience is at that edge of their seat.

He was a loner who was fixed in his ways, so I can see melancholic; however, melancholy alone is not a hallmark of film noir. And Costello never seemed disillusioned.

I can agree that noir is also about what the audience feels, but the key with noir is that we're talking about feelings in a broad sense about one's culture. Being on the edge of one's seat is generally recognized as a hallmark of suspense flicks.

Whats legitimate about Film Noir that isnt in Neo-Noir? Isnt that just a name for contemporary Film Noir? Chinatown is basically the same PI stories they were in the 40s,50s in Hollywood.

That's why it's more accurate to call Chinatown noir, not neo-noir. I've already answered your questions, really.

[Frank]

Film Noir and Neo Noir are separated by time more than anything else, film-noir is 40's-50's, neo-noir starts in the 60's. For me I consider the line to be drawn in 1958 with Touch of Evil being the last film-noir and Vertigo being the first neo-noir.

http://www.criterion.com/explore/17-noir-and-neonoir

I don't disagree with that. The ones that followed are a bunch of imposters!

[Greg Anderson]

Yeah clearly the genre boundaries for noir are a bit blurred. I've argued with people who think Batman TAS is noir, so who knows.

Hmm. I can see why people would consider it noir, actually.

[Muggs]

A great neo-noir film that is virtually unknown, but is undoubtably a huge insipration is The Driver By Walter Hill. Starring Ryan O'Neal and Bruce Dern.

[victor_strange]

Casablanca and Citizen Kane are not film noir's, Kane is a biopic(the greatest biopic) and Casablanca could be a drama/romance/war. Not to say Orson Welles doesn't deserve credit for noir's as he made (Touch of Evil) and starred in (The Third Man) two of greatest of all time.

My Top Ten Film Noir

10. Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Robert Aldrich
9. Key Largo (1948), John Huston
8. Le Corbeau (1943), Henri-Georges Clouzot
7. Double Indemnity (1944), Billy Wilder
6. Strangers on a Train, (1951), Alfred Hitchcock
5. M (1931), Fritz Lang
4. Sunset Blvd (1950) Billy Wilder
3. The Third Man (1949) Carol Reed
2. The Wages of Fear (1953) Henri-Georges Clouzot
1. Touch of Evil (1958) Orson Welles

My Top Ten Neo-Noir

10. Le Circle Rouge (1970), Jean-Pierre Melville
9. Dark City (1998), Alex Proyas
8. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), John Cassavettes
7. Broken Embraces (2009), Pedro Almodovar
6. Sin City (2005), Frank Miller, Quinton Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez
5. Match Point (2005), Woody Allen
4. Le Samurai (1967), Jean-Pierre Melville
3. Memento (2000), Christopher Nolan
2. High and Low(1963), Akira Kurosawa
1. LA Confidential(1997), Curtis Hanson

Nice post, I'll check the ones I've never seen. I'm about watch LA confidential, but I got the book at home so I think I'll read it first.

Btw, as it's useless to do a Noir Videogame thread there are Max Payne and LA Noire, two great games.

[Mr. Holmes]

Just saw a TV spot for Gangster Squad, looking good!

[Julusnc]

A very good "neo noir" movie is Cutter's Way starring Jeff Bridges and John Heard.

My top 10 favorite noir movies -

The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Maltese Falcon
Double Indemnity
Asphalt Jungle
Night and the City
DOA
The Killers
The Lost Weekend
The Night of the Hunter
Kiss Me Deadly

[upmiddowntown]

Never new "Match Point" was considered neo noir
I always felt "Minority Report" was noirish