Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[blurayfriend]

What are some of the best noir films, besides the really famous ones everyone knows? I'm not talking about deeply hidden gems per se, but just the best of the bunch among titles such as Out of the Past, White Heat, etc as opposed to something like Sunset Boulevard or The Maltese Falcon that everyone has heard of.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by blurayfriend

What are some of the best noir films, besides the really famous ones everyone knows? I'm not talking about deeply hidden gems per se, but just the best of the bunch among titles such as Out of the Past, White Heat, etc as opposed to something like Sunset Boulevard or The Maltese Falcon that everyone has heard of.

Not sure what you consider to be the lesser known, but I am assuming you don't mean In a Lonely Place, Vertigo, Gilda, Double Indemnity, or Touch of Evil (which are all must-have better known titles). There are dozens of very good to great noirs that are top tier but may not be as well known. Way too many to make an adequate list. Off the top of my head (sticking to pre-1970):

Out of the Past
Laura
Force of Evil
The Third Man (this is well known, but I cannot leave it off a noir list. Get the import version, it's region free)
Night of the Hunter
Niagara
The Big Heat
Ride the Pink Horse
Too Late for Tears
Kiss Me Deadly
Private Hell 36
Scarlet Street
House of Bamboo
The Killers (1946)
The Hitch-hiker
The Killing
Ace in the Hole
Murder, My Sweet
The File on Thelma Jordan
Shack Out on 101
The Prowler
Union Station
Dark City
Body and Soul
Cry Danger
Try and Get Me
Inferno (the region free import from Panamint, there is also a Region B locked version)
Pickup on South Street (currently only available in Region B Blu-ray or a DVD from Criterion, who should release a Blu-ray version one of these days)
Pale Flower (great Japanese noir)
White Heat (more of a gangster film than noir, but has noir-ish elements. A true classic)
and of course Le Samourai (a noir-ish crime drama, best version available is the Criterion DVD. Hopeful they will upgrade one day).

Also, Leave Her to Heaven (but it is OOP and goes for high prices in the aftermarket.)

[blurayfriend]

Originally Posted by oildude

Not sure what you consider to be the lesser known, but I am assuming you don't mean In a Lonely Place, Gilda, Double Indemnity, or Touch of Evil (which are all must-have better known titles). There are dozens of very good to great noirs that are top tier but may not be as well known. Way too many to make an adequate list. Off the top of my head:

Thanks for such a great list of suggestions! I'm pretty ignorant to the genre, which of the "better known" ones besides In a Lonely Place, Gilda, DI and Touch of Evil would you recommend as must-watches? Between those and your list I should have plenty to get watching!

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by blurayfriend

Thanks for such a great list of suggestions! I'm pretty ignorant to the genre, which of the "better known" ones besides In a Lonely Place, Gilda, DI and Touch of Evil would you recommend as must-watches? Between those and your list I should have plenty to get watching!

If you work your way back through the thread (which I realize can be a bit daunting at first), this topic has been thoroughly covered by myself and several other regulars. You'll find a lot of good information regarding the "best of the best" buried among the announcements and reviews of recent releases.

[Trax-3]

Originally Posted by blurayfriend

What are some of the best noir films, besides the really famous ones everyone knows? I'm not talking about deeply hidden gems per se, but just the best of the bunch among titles such as Out of the Past, White Heat, etc as opposed to something like Sunset Boulevard or The Maltese Falcon that everyone has heard of.

I think what one likes in noir is very personal. I really don't care at all about some better known titles like Out of the Past and White Heat. Those float somewhere between 6 or 7 stars on my ratings scale. Nowhere near the same caliber as Sunset Boulevard or Falcon as far as I'm concerned.

Some I've rated at least 8 stars.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037008/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043338/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042792/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048182/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043132/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046187/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040740/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038965/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037691/reference
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039768/reference

Some better known titles, some obscure. Some very well regarded, others not as much. It's personal.

[tallguy58]

DVD Beaver has a pretty comprehensive list of Film Noir.
Worth checking out.

[mogwai_macabre]

I reference this list often.

I like how the movies aren't ranked, but rather he puts them into 2 buckets: 5 star noir and 4-4.5 star noir.

http://filmsnoir.net/essential-films-noir/

They also have a top 25 on the site

[Arkadin]

another good list, with a few films that aren't really noirs being the only real issue.
http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/mo..._film_noir.php

[Herandar]

A helpful infographic: https://www.behance.net/gallery/2815...raphic-for-BFI

[noirjunkie]

Great news! The Arrow UK releases of Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run are identical to the Flicker Alley releases--same transfers, special features, disc menus, etc. And even better--they are confirmed by DVDBeaver to be region free!

I just pre-ordered both of them from Amazon UK, and the total came to $39.21 with shipping to the States, which is only a little more than one of them costs by itself if you buy it from Flicker Alley.

[Vlad Draculi]

Scarface - This was my first time watching the original 1932 movie and it was all right. I didn't realize it was made before they started adding a score to movies, which I think could have made it so much better. The camera work was great and the acting was pretty good. It is a shame we didn't get more of Karloff on screen, but oh well. I am really suprised to see how much of this movie was actually carried into the 80s remake. I'm going to give it a 7/10.

[AlexHarvey]

I also ordered the Arrow " Too Late for Tears " and " Woman On The Run " from Amazon UK. In Canadian dollars the Arrow Blu-rays are $20.63 each, while the Flicker releases on Amazon Canada are $63.34 each.

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Great news! The Arrow UK releases of Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run are identical to the Flicker Alley releases--same transfers, special features, disc menus, etc. And even better--they are confirmed by DVDBeaver to be region free!

I just pre-ordered both of them from Amazon UK, and the total came to $39.21 with shipping to the States, which is only a little more than one of them costs by itself if you buy it from Flicker Alley.

That's good news. I love me a good Eddie Muller commentary track.

[tallguy58]

Originally Posted by AlexHarvey

I also ordered the Arrow " Too Late for Tears " and " Woman On The Run " from Amazon UK. In Canadian dollars the Arrow Blu-rays are $20.63 each, while the Flicker releases on Amazon Canada are $63.34 each.

Thanks for the heads up fellow Canuck. I just ordered them as well.

[Vlad Draculi]

So I just got $70 worth of Amazon gift cards for my birthday, so I just ordered The Big Sleep. Trying to decide if I should get Dark Passage or Key Largo as well.

[tallguy58]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

So I just got $70 worth of Amazon gift cards for my birthday, so I just ordered The Big Sleep. Trying to decide if I should get Dark Passage or Key Largo as well.

Yes.

[The Great Owl]

Dark Passage is the least highly regarded of the four movies that star Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall together, but it's still one of my favorite works of film noir. I love how Bogart's character, who has escaped from San Quentin, is not shown until after he undergoes plastic surgery as a way of hiding from the police. I also love the scenic San Francisco cityscapes that are especially prominent during the action-packed final half hour. Lauren Bacall, of course, had one of the most sensual voices in cinema history, and certainly one of the most beautiful faces. As Bogart's Vincent Parry, after his plastic surgery, tells Bacall's Irene Jansen, "Don't change yours. I like it just as it is."

Director Delmer Daves, who also helmed the film noir, The Red House, as well as some great noir-edged westerns, including Jubal and 3:10 to Yuma, excels with his ability to create stylistically engaging works with fantastic ensemble casts. In this instance, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Clifton Young, Rory Mallinson, and the amazing Houseley Stevenson back up Bogart and Bacall with the utmost effectiveness.

This Warner Archive Blu-ray looks nothing short of remarkable, and it stands high alongside recent Archive releases as a transfer of a classic black-and-white film that we have always dreamed about seeing. The audio presentation brings out the crystal-clear best of the Franz Waxman score and the signature song, "Too Marvelous for Words." The 10-minute documentary, "Hold Your Breath and Cross Your Fingers", does well in its short time to explain the timing of this film's release with the Communist scare. The Merrie Melody cartoon, "Slick Hare", is a fine spoof of Bogart and of a scene in To Have and Have Not.


(Sorry, folks, this is a short review by my standards, but I'm in a hurry to leave and meet some friends for a get-together this afternoon.)

[Vlad Draculi]

Originally Posted by tallguy58

Yes.

I decided to also go with Key Largo and then Murder, My Sweet as those two movies are on my list while Dark Passage and Passage to Marseille are not.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

Scarface - This was my first time watching the original 1932 movie and it was all right. I didn't realize it was made before they started adding a score to movies, which I think could have made it so much better. The camera work was great and the acting was pretty good. It is a shame we didn't get more of Karloff on screen, but oh well. I am really suprised to see how much of this movie was actually carried into the 80s remake. I'm going to give it a 7/10.

I just watched 1932 Scarface for the first time the other night too...I wasn't very impressed with it. As you say, the camerawork was great, and it seemed ahead of its time for a 1932 film. But I found it overly melodramatic and silly, and Muni seemed to mug his way through the central role like a bad comedian. And those scenes with his underling taking his phone calls and trying to get the callers name.....God they were painful.

2/10

[CBHampson]

Originally Posted by lemonski

I just watched 1932 Scarface for the first time the other night too...I wasn't very impressed with it. As you say, the camerawork was great, and it seemed ahead of its time for a 1932 film. But I found it overly melodramatic and silly, and Muni seemed to mug his way through the central role like a bad comedian. And those scenes with his underling taking his phone calls and trying to get the callers name.....God they were painful.

2/10

You're nuts