Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[Juels Winnfield]

Originally Posted by lemonski

I thought I'd seen Detour before, but no....watched it last night, and it's pretty great. I'll have to push something off my top 50 list to make way for it.

Does anyone else have the same problem as me remembering which noirs they've seen, with so many of them having very generic names?

Detour is a great noir to me as well. It was just too short of a ride for me. It did make my list. I still can remember every noir I've seen; even though, there are a ton over the course of several lists I'll need to catch.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

For anyone who has seen Cold in July would you say it's worth a blind buy for repeat viewings? I've heard it's great from reliable resources and this site gave it an excellent review but I just wanted to make sure it's golden for repeat viewings.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Does anyone else have the same problem as me remembering which noirs they've seen, with so many of them having very generic names?

I can always remember what I've seen, but I get what you mean.
Mystery Street, Crime Wave, Somewhere in the Night, Night and the City, The Chase, etc.

"Oh yeah, that one! That's the one where the woman got the guy in trouble and he got caught by the cops."

[CBHampson]

There are only a handful of noirs, out of 100+, that I've watched and can't recall very well. One case, in particular, is in the Preminger BFI set. I've only seen one of Whirlpool or Fallen Angel and I'm honestly not sure which one lol.

[javy]

Originally Posted by CBHampson

...I've only seen one of Whirlpool or Fallen Angel and I'm honestly not sure which one lol.

Fallen Angel is great. Linda Darnell...oooh baby

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by jetthead

JB HiFi shipped my copy of Criss Cross yesterday. Now comes the agonizing 2 week wait.

I just got my copy. PQ looks great and it's indeed region free. Buy with confidence folks, if you can't wait for a North American release.

[javy]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

I just got my copy. PQ looks great and it's indeed region free. Buy with confidence folks, if you can't wait for a North American release.

Are you talking about this one https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Criss...lu-ray/171227/

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by javy

Are you talking about this one https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Criss...lu-ray/171227/

Yes. I forgot to mention that it came in a slipcase, if you're concerned about those type of things.

[javy]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

Yes. I forgot to mention that it came in a slipcase, if you're concerned about those type of things.

Thanks. Sometimes I am.

[nitin]

From what I have seen, my top 50 would be (and like The Great Owl only listing 40s/50s era American films, so no films like The Third Man or Underworld USA):

Double Indemnity
Sweet Smell of Success
The Maltese Falcon
The Killers
Out of the Past
Sunset Boulevard
The Big Sleep
Notorious
Touch of Evil
In a Lonely Place
The Killing
The Big Clock
Scarlet Street
Night and the City
Ace in the Hole
Angel Face
Kiss Me Deadly
The Asphalt Jungle
Body and Soul
Force of Evil
Nightmare Alley
The Letter
Panic in the Streets
Mildred Pierce
Criss Cross
They Live By Night
Laura
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Thieves' Highway
Brute Force
Dark Passage
No Man of Her Own
The Naked City
The Sniper
The Narrow Margin
Caught
The Night of the Hunter
Act of Violence
Cross Fire
Sorry Wrong Number
Kiss of Death
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Gilda
Crime Wave
Border Incident
The Naked Kiss
Kansa City Confidential
The Stranger
On Dangerous Ground
Gun Crazy

[tallguy58]

Just picked this up today. Chock a block with great essays and tons of pics.


20170317_225019.jpg

[Gerby]

Originally Posted by lemonski

I thought I'd seen Detour before, but no....watched it last night, and it's pretty great. I'll have to push something off my top 50 list to make way for it.

Does anyone else have the same problem as me remembering which noirs they've seen, with so many of them having very generic names?

Yes...just yesterday i realized i forgot about Andrew L Stone's Highway 301 & The Steel Trap. These should be in my top 50 list but i can't be bothered to change it now.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by Gerby

Yes...just yesterday i realized i forgot about Andrew L Stone's Highway 301 & The Steel Trap. These should be in my top 50 list but i can't be bothered to change it now.

Cool, thanks - always looking for recommendations for (good) obscure noir. Never heard of those two.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I can always remember what I've seen, but I get what you mean.
Mystery Street, Crime Wave, Somewhere in the Night, Night and the City, The Chase, etc.

"Oh yeah, that one! That's the one where the woman got the guy in trouble and he got caught by the cops."

Well said, my friend. I'm getting older and while I can remember the films, I am no longer able to compile comprehensive lists as easily as I used to; I tend to see a big mass of titles and can't quite corral them into a meaningful whole. So it's always fun to see the lists of others and refresh my memory as to what goes where in my own rankings.

I'm grateful for the enthusiasm of The Great Owl and NoirJunkie and everyone who posts in this thread and keeps my attention and affection for the Noir style piqued. I've repeatedly seen so many of the genuine classics that I am now focused on unearthing rare gems, but with more discernment and selectivity than much of the established noir "media" these days. I'll report back whenever I come across something that I think really fits the bill, as I did awhile back with Mark Stevens' excellent, but little known TIME TABLE from 1956. Only available on a lowly Alpha DVD, but well worth seeing just the same. So while it's not a list, I will chime in from time to time with some relatively unknown additions worth considering.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Kino Lorber Blu-ray of The House on 92nd Street.



In 1939, during a time when secret German spies are infiltrating America in hopes of establishing a Nazi fifth column, an enterprising American student is recruited by the Germans, but turns on his own accord to the FBI, who encourages him to follow through with the Nazi recruitment as a double agent. He works under the supervision of his German contacts, who work out of a five-story house on 92nd Street (hence the title), while relaying his radio transmissions to Americans, but the ensuing verification of his orders soon puts him in grave danger.

The House on 92nd Street was an extremely cutting-edge film for its time, due to its documentary-style narration and its use of actual FBI footage for the purposes of the story, since it was filmed with the full cooperation and encouragement of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. The end result seems quaint by today's standards, but this is still a fast-paced and engaging film. I've seen this film a couple of times before, by way of my old DVD, and I always chuckle at how cinematic and distinct the villain characters are, while the FBI agents seem wooden by contract. For me, the highlight of this movie is the blonde actress, Signe Hasso, who is insanely sexy in an offbeat way as the stern and no-nonsense German contact, Elsa Gebhardt.

The House on 92nd Street is generally considered a film noir, but I find that it's more of a police-procedural/documentary-drama than a noir. Just the same, the noir aspects of the movie, primarily the visuals, come together at the right times.

This Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks more naturally filmic than the Fox Film Noir DVD, and Eddie Muller's commentary is both informative and amusing in a cozy way, as most of Muller's tracks are.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by nitin

From what I have seen, my top 50 would be (and like The Great Owl only listing 40s/50s era American films, so no films like The Third Man or Underworld USA):

Double Indemnity
Sweet Smell of Success
The Maltese Falcon
The Killers
Out of the Past
Sunset Boulevard
The Big Sleep
Notorious
Touch of Evil
In a Lonely Place
The Killing
The Big Clock
Scarlet Street
Night and the City
Ace in the Hole
Angel Face
Kiss Me Deadly
The Asphalt Jungle
Body and Soul
Force of Evil
Nightmare Alley
The Letter
Panic in the Streets
Mildred Pierce
Criss Cross
They Live By Night
Laura
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Thieves' Highway
Brute Force
Dark Passage
No Man of Her Own
The Naked City
The Sniper
The Narrow Margin
Caught
The Night of the Hunter
Act of Violence
Cross Fire
Sorry Wrong Number
Kiss of Death
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Gilda
Crime Wave
Border Incident
The Naked Kiss
Kansa City Confidential
The Stranger
On Dangerous Ground
Gun Crazy

Not sure if you have already or want to participate but if so I would post that list on the top 25-50 film noir thread that's going on right now. Might be some options in there that other participants will want to discover.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Kino Lorber Blu-ray of Cry of the City.



Richard Conte plays a criminal, Martin Rome, who escapes imprisonment after being wounded during an apparent shootout with a cop. Lieutenant Candella, played by Victor Mature, chases down Rome, despite being Rome's neighborhood friend from childhood. Cry of the City is an amazing film noir that squeezes a lot of juice into its 95-minute playing time, addressing the struggle of immigrants in New York City, old friendships, family bonds, and the perils of a criminal lifestyle. Conte is not a icily villainous here as he is in The Big Combo, but he does show the smug coolness that would serve him well as Barzini in The Godfather. Victor Mature, who excelled in films noir like I Wake Up Screaming, Violent Saturday, and Kiss of Death, delivers what is perhaps his best role here.

The final sequence of Cry of the City provides an brilliant shadowy noir moment, and it's an excellent payoff for this engaging movie. Robert Siodmak was one of the great noir directors, having helmed Criss Cross, The Killers, The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry, The Spiral Staircase, The Dark Mirror, and The File on Thelma Jordan. This is one of his finest achievements.

This Kino Lorber Blu-ray sports a transfer that bests my old DVD in every way. The Eddie Muller commentary, which I'm listening to now, is pretty great.

[rip63]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

For anyone who has seen Cold in July would you say it's worth a blind buy for repeat viewings? I've heard it's great from reliable resources and this site gave it an excellent review but I just wanted to make sure it's golden for repeat viewings.

That's a big YES. It's terrific.

[Bogey]

Thank you Owl for the reviews on The House on 92nd Street and Cry of the City. Kino continues to impress me with their catalogue as well as how they handle source material (I am very pleased with my copy of The Stranger). I just added these two to my wishlist.

Just watched the '46 Killers today, so your Siodmak take resonates at this end.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by rip63

That's a big YES. It's terrific.

Great thanks man! Also not really sure if this film would fall under Neo Noir or just straight up Crime Drama but I watched an outstanding criminally underrated gem lastnight called "Straight Time" that literally blew me away how great it is and underrated it is. I can't recommend it enough. Im hoping it gets a Criterion or Warner Archive release. Such a great film with an outstanding cast and one of Dustin Hoffman's top best performances. I've never seen Hoffman play a villain.