Looking for my stereotypical Film Noir movie.. - Blu-ray Forum

wowbagger4242 · 10-01-2010, 02:09 PM

Before actually viewing any film that is generally classified as 'Film Noir', I guess you could say that I had stereotyped these movies as being dark, with faces partially blacked out by shadows, a smoky air in a room half-lit by windowshades. First person voiceover would be prominent, dialogue being very descriptive.. a unique and creative style of talking.

After seeing a handful of movies generally considered Noir, I haven't really found one that is dominated by these elements. Indeed, I found some with tragic endings (Asphalt Jungle.. loved when Dix stood there all serious, 'Don't bone me!'), they contained downbeat, complex situations (The Big Sleep), and indeed had plenty of dark nighttime settings (The Third Man)... The best example of my 'stereotype' that I'd found so far was Murder, My Sweet, where he's driving down the dark road, using the voiceover ('I was like a toad on a wet rock', etc..)

Any film noir fans out there that could suggest some movies that I might enjoy?

Belloche · 10-01-2010, 02:20 PM

Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity is essential. I would also suggest Touch of Evil (Welles) and Night and the City (Dassin).

wowbagger4242 · 10-01-2010, 02:28 PM

Thank You, Belloche. I will be sure to hunt down these titles in the near future. I see Night and the City is available for stream on Netflix, I'll check that out first. Thanks again for the quick reply.

peter008 · 10-01-2010, 04:25 PM

laura (gene tierney--dana andrews)

out of the past (robert mitchum--jane greer)

dark passage (humphrey bogart--lauren bacall)

Deadset · 10-01-2010, 04:27 PM

Elevator to the Gallows is one of my favorites.

peter008 · 10-01-2010, 04:34 PM

i forgot to mentioned:

the maltese falcon (humphrey bogart--mary astor)

fdm · 10-01-2010, 04:45 PM

Check this link out. Then check out the reviews for the particular films at the site, which have lots of screen snaps. May help you out a bit.

(I'd suggest Body Heat as a more recent attempt to do Film Noir, if you haven't seen it.)

SDon1969 · 10-01-2010, 04:49 PM

Maybe the Coen Brothers' film The Man Who Wasn't There...

Crimson King · 10-01-2010, 04:58 PM

I love D.O.A., a have it on DVD (with pretty good PQ considering the film is in the public domain). Will buy the blu when it come out. Was kinda loosely remade lately as Crank with Jason Statham.

SpiderBaby · 10-01-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deads3t

Elevator to the Gallows is one of my favorites.

I'll go with that. Oh and Blast of Silence.

EricJ · 10-01-2010, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter008

the maltese falcon (humphrey bogart--mary astor)

Agreed--Most people don't even know that Bogart played different detectives in Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep.

SquidPuppet · 10-01-2010, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdm

Check this link out. Then check out the reviews for the particular films at the site, which have lots of screen snaps. May help you out a bit.

(I'd suggest Body Heat as a more recent attempt to do Film Noir, if you haven't seen it.)

I'll second that. Classic Noir themes abound. Twisted crime, sex, betrayal and dark.

octagon · 10-01-2010, 07:07 PM

I'll heartily second Double Indemnity and Out of the Past. In addition to being great examples of noir they're both just plain excellent films.

I'll second The Maltese Falcon as well with the following caveat - It's an excellent film (I've had the blu preordered since July, actually) but I'm sometimes on the fence as to whether it's really noir or not. As you've already encountered with The Asphalt Jungle, there can be a fine line between noir and 'black and white drama'.

The Postman Always Rings Twice is another good choice. It's a little more toward the low-budget side (not always a bad thing) but it's a solid film.

Body Heat is a great example of later noir. I would also suggest keeping your eye out for David Mamet films. Glengary Glenross, The Spanish Prisoner and House of Games are all really good and all heavily feature classic noir themes.

And if you really want to stretch your noir wings take another look at Blade Runner or Dark City.

wowbagger4242 · 10-01-2010, 10:11 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did get 2 noir boxed sets quite awhile ago from Amazon, and noticed that I already had D.O.A. and Out of the Past, just never watched them, lol. Never seen The Man Who Wasn't There, a Coen Bros. noir should be interesting, and Octagon, I loved Dark City... always thought of that as a noir.

Mahatma · 10-01-2010, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belloche

Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity is essential. I would also suggest Touch of Evil (Welles) and Night and the City (Dassin).

Any news on that being released on BD?

toddly6666 · 10-02-2010, 12:40 AM

Bunker · 10-02-2010, 08:36 AM

Chinatown and LA Confidential are great neo-noir films if you're interested.

wowbagger4242 · 10-02-2010, 01:11 PM

Indeed I am, Bunker... seen L.A. Confidential around 8-9 yrs ago, but don't remember much of it... and that cover of Bound just looks... interesting.. Thanks again, all, for the suggestions.

Edit: Just purchased Bound after reading many positive reviews... regular DVD format though

$7.77 on ebay... it was much more appealing for now than spending $28 to get it on Blu from France. (The cost of shipping would have exceeded the amount of the actual BD.)

OG Pooh · 10-03-2010, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricJ

Agreed--Most people don't even know that Bogart played different detectives in Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep.

Sam Spade & Philip Marlowe.

I'll be getting Falcon (and Sierra Madre) when they releases this Tuesday!!! Though I think The Big Sleep feels a little more nior than Falcon.

Al_The_Strange · 10-03-2010, 06:27 PM

Can't go wrong with any of the classics already mentioned. I would only add "The Third Man" if nobody else has already (my #1 fave!

).

Aside from that, there's a decent spoof with Steve Martin called "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." It has all the right elements.

10-02-2010, 08:36 AM	#17
Bunker Senior Member Member since:Feb 2010 Blu-ray collection:87 DVD collection:2	Chinatown and LA Confidential are great neo-noir films if you're interested. Last edited by Bunker; 10-02-2010 at 08:38 AM.

10-02-2010, 01:11 PM	#18
wowbagger4242 Junior Member Member since:Jan 2010 Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:573 DVD collection:2	Indeed I am, Bunker... seen L.A. Confidential around 8-9 yrs ago, but don't remember much of it... and that cover of Bound just looks... interesting.. Thanks again, all, for the suggestions. Edit: Just purchased Bound after reading many positive reviews... regular DVD format though $7.77 on ebay... it was much more appealing for now than spending $28 to get it on Blu from France. (The cost of shipping would have exceeded the amount of the actual BD.) Last edited by wowbagger4242; 10-02-2010 at 01:30 PM.

10-01-2010, 02:09 PM	#1
wowbagger4242 Junior Member Member since:Jan 2010 Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:573 DVD collection:2	Looking for my stereotypical Film Noir movie.. Before actually viewing any film that is generally classified as 'Film Noir', I guess you could say that I had stereotyped these movies as being dark, with faces partially blacked out by shadows, a smoky air in a room half-lit by windowshades. First person voiceover would be prominent, dialogue being very descriptive.. a unique and creative style of talking. After seeing a handful of movies generally considered Noir, I haven't really found one that is dominated by these elements. Indeed, I found some with tragic endings (Asphalt Jungle.. loved when Dix stood there all serious, 'Don't bone me!'), they contained downbeat, complex situations (The Big Sleep), and indeed had plenty of dark nighttime settings (The Third Man)... The best example of my 'stereotype' that I'd found so far was Murder, My Sweet, where he's driving down the dark road, using the voiceover ('I was like a toad on a wet rock', etc..) Any film noir fans out there that could suggest some movies that I might enjoy?

10-01-2010, 02:20 PM	#2
Belloche Blu-ray Guru Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Nova Scotia, Canada Blu-ray collection:403 DVD collection:11 Trading Score:3	Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity is essential. I would also suggest Touch of Evil (Welles) and Night and the City (Dassin).

10-01-2010, 02:28 PM	#3
wowbagger4242 Junior Member Member since:Jan 2010 Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:573 DVD collection:2	Thank You, Belloche. I will be sure to hunt down these titles in the near future. I see Night and the City is available for stream on Netflix, I'll check that out first. Thanks again for the quick reply.

10-01-2010, 04:25 PM	#4
peter008 Senior Member Member since:Nov 2008 4K collection:1 Blu-ray collection:1305	laura (gene tierney--dana andrews) out of the past (robert mitchum--jane greer) dark passage (humphrey bogart--lauren bacall)

10-01-2010, 04:27 PM	#5
Deadset Man in the Box Top contributor Member since:Jan 2007 Home Theater Gallery:28 4K collection:247 Blu-ray collection:2478 DVD collection:214 iTunes collection:3 Prime collection:52 Blu-ray reviews: 14 Trading Score:34	Elevator to the Gallows is one of my favorites.

10-01-2010, 04:34 PM	#6
peter008 Senior Member Member since:Nov 2008 4K collection:1 Blu-ray collection:1305	i forgot to mentioned: the maltese falcon (humphrey bogart--mary astor)

10-01-2010, 04:45 PM	#7
fdm Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Way Out West 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Digital collection:- iTunes collection:- Prime collection:- Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:3	Check this link out. Then check out the reviews for the particular films at the site, which have lots of screen snaps. May help you out a bit. (I'd suggest Body Heat as a more recent attempt to do Film Noir, if you haven't seen it.)

10-01-2010, 04:49 PM	#8
SDon1969 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Massachusetts Home Theater Gallery:32 Blu-ray collection:745 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:1	Maybe the Coen Brothers' film The Man Who Wasn't There...

10-01-2010, 04:58 PM	#9
Crimson King Blu-ray Prince Member since:Oct 2009 Blu-ray reviews: 19 Trading Score:683	I love D.O.A., a have it on DVD (with pretty good PQ considering the film is in the public domain). Will buy the blu when it come out. Was kinda loosely remade lately as Crank with Jason Statham.

10-01-2010, 07:07 PM	#13
octagon Blu-ray Prince Member since:Jun 2010 Location:Chicago 4K collection:255 Blu-ray collection:2799	I'll heartily second Double Indemnity and Out of the Past. In addition to being great examples of noir they're both just plain excellent films. I'll second The Maltese Falcon as well with the following caveat - It's an excellent film (I've had the blu preordered since July, actually) but I'm sometimes on the fence as to whether it's really noir or not. As you've already encountered with The Asphalt Jungle, there can be a fine line between noir and 'black and white drama'. The Postman Always Rings Twice is another good choice. It's a little more toward the low-budget side (not always a bad thing) but it's a solid film. Body Heat is a great example of later noir. I would also suggest keeping your eye out for David Mamet films. Glengary Glenross, The Spanish Prisoner and House of Games are all really good and all heavily feature classic noir themes. And if you really want to stretch your noir wings take another look at Blade Runner or Dark City.

10-01-2010, 10:11 PM	#14
wowbagger4242 Junior Member Member since:Jan 2010 Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:573 DVD collection:2	Thanks for all the suggestions. I did get 2 noir boxed sets quite awhile ago from Amazon, and noticed that I already had D.O.A. and Out of the Past, just never watched them, lol. Never seen The Man Who Wasn't There, a Coen Bros. noir should be interesting, and Octagon, I loved Dark City... always thought of that as a noir.

10-02-2010, 12:40 AM	#16
toddly6666 Blu-ray Baron Top contributor Member since:Nov 2009 Location:Hong Kong Home Theater Gallery:20 4K collection:1 Blu-ray collection:1441 DVD collection:31 Blu-ray reviews: 290 Trading Score:61

10-03-2010, 06:27 PM	#20
Al_The_Strange Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Apr 2009 Location:Out there...past them trees... Home Theater Gallery:126 4K collection:1125 Blu-ray collection:4949 DVD collection:530 Digital collection:1013 Blu-ray reviews: 132 Trading Score:32	Can't go wrong with any of the classics already mentioned. I would only add "The Third Man" if nobody else has already (my #1 fave! ). Aside from that, there's a decent spoof with Steve Martin called "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." It has all the right elements.

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