Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[chas speed]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a noir. A particularly important noir. And that's final.

It's a great freaking movie. I love my U.K. Blu-ray. I can't imagine why people couldn't appreciate it at the time it was released.

[The Great Owl]

I'm all good with placing this one squarely in the neo-noir camp. There's even an overt reference to the 1949 film, D.O.A.



Lily and Amanda, played respectively by Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) and Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), were close as children in their affluent Connecticut suburb, but drifted apart years ago. Lily is a preppy and competitive boarding school student whose home life is unsatisfactory, thanks to her arrogant stepfather, who seems to have married her mother as a trophy wife and who regards her as a necessary baggage inconvenience to the arrangement. Amanda is a self-described sociopath who has undergone psychiatric treatment after a tragedy from her past and who admits to mimicking normal human emotions in order to make her way in the world. Shortly after they reconnect as teenagers, Amanda casually asks Lily if she has ever considered killing her stepfather. The late Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Green Room) stars as an overambitious local drug dealer whom the girls enlist to help in a deadly plan.

The premise of emotionally detached privileged rich girls who are capable of murderous crimes when they band together has received cinematic treatment many times, but rarely as effectively as in Thoroughbreds, the 2017 directorial debut of Cory Finley, a playwright turned filmmaker. From the opening sequence, where the camera eye slowly explores the posh expanses of Lily's mansion before the narrative reveals the dysfunction of its occupants, to a late moment where a leisurely-paced widescreen point-of-view zooms in while a horrific event is occurring elsewhere, this film takes cues from classics like Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, and molds them into a picturesque neo-noir for the new millennium. One of my favorite scenes shows Lily and Amanda outside the house next to a concrete chess set lawn decoration as they play cat-and-mouse games with each other's sensibilities while discussing their destructive agenda.

Anya Taylor-Joy has such a great face, and much of the impact of this movie comes from the camera's fixation with her reactions to her odd friend. Olivia Cooke, in turn, displays an impressive acting range in a wonderfully deadpan role that seems a million miles removed from her turns in earlier blockbuster films. Yelchin's part is merely a supporting one, but he commands attention every second that he's on the screen, and his presence in this motion picture that is dedicated to his memory is a testament to the loss that cinema suffered as a result of his untimely death two years ago.

If you're looking for a riveting small-scale dramatic thriller that makes brilliant use of enclosed settings with an absence of flashy special effects, then Thoroughbreds is a winning bet.

[noirjunkie]

I missed this when it was in theaters and have been wanting to see it ever since. Thanks for the review. I hope to check it out soon.

[MalteseCrow]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm all good with placing this one squarely in the neo-noir camp. There's even an overt reference to the 1949 film, D.O.A.



Lily and Amanda, played respectively by Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) and Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), were close as children in their affluent Connecticut suburb, but drifted apart years ago. Lily is a preppy and competitive boarding school student whose home life is unsatisfactory, thanks to her arrogant stepfather, who seems to have married her mother as a trophy wife and who regards her as a necessary baggage inconvenience to the arrangement. Amanda is a self-described sociopath who has undergone psychiatric treatment after a tragedy from her past and who admits to mimicking normal human emotions in order to make her way in the world. Shortly after they reconnect as teenagers, Amanda casually asks Lily if she has ever considered killing her stepfather. The late Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Green Room) stars as an overambitious local drug dealer whom the girls enlist to help in a deadly plan.

The premise of emotionally detached privileged rich girls who are capable of murderous crimes when they band together has received cinematic treatment many times, but rarely as effectively as in Thoroughbreds, the 2017 directorial debut of Cory Finley, a playwright turned filmmaker. From the opening sequence, where the camera eye slowly explores the posh expanses of Lily's mansion before the narrative reveals the dysfunction of its occupants, to a late moment where a leisurely-paced widescreen point-of-view zooms in while a horrific event is occurring elsewhere, this film takes cues from classics like Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, and molds them into a picturesque neo-noir for the new millennium. One of my favorite scenes shows Lily and Amanda outside the house next to a concrete chess set lawn decoration as they play cat-and-mouse games with each other's sensibilities while discussing their destructive agenda.

Anya Taylor-Joy has such a great face, and much of the impact of this movie comes from the camera's fixation with her reactions to her odd friend. Olivia Cooke, in turn, displays an impressive acting range in a wonderfully deadpan role that seems a million miles removed from her turns in earlier blockbuster films. Yelchin's part is merely a supporting one, but he commands attention every second that he's on the screen, and his presence in this motion picture that is dedicated to his memory is a testament to the loss that cinema suffered as a result of his untimely death two years ago.

If you're looking for a riveting small-scale dramatic thriller that makes brilliant use of enclosed settings with an absence of flashy special effects, then Thoroughbreds is a winning bet.

+1 on all of this. Saw Thoroughbreds in the theater back in March and it's still my favorite film of 2018.

If you're looking for a fun double feature, I'd recommend pairing it with neo-noir Pretty Poison (1968). My wife and I managed this (completely by accident!) and we were both shocked and delighted by how well they played off one another. Despite the 50 year age difference, in every way that matters--narratively, thematically and characters-wise--these two films are long-lost twins separated at birth.

[benedictopacifico]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a noir. A particularly important noir. And that's final.

Amazing movie, but it's not a noir.

[plateoshrimp]

Do the films After Dark, My Sweet and A Single Shot qualify as modern noir or neo-noir? Both have noir elements but I'm not sure if they should make the list. A Single Shot is very similar in setting and tone to Winter's Bone and it's on the list.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

Do the films After Dark, My Sweet and A Single Shot qualify as modern noir or neo-noir? Both have noir elements but I'm not sure if they should make the list. A Single Shot is very similar in setting and tone to Winter's Bone and it's on the list.

I haven't seen A Single Shot yet but After Dark, My Sweet would be a neo noir.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by benedictopacifico

Amazing movie, but it's not a noir.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) is in fact a noir whether you realize it or not.

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

Do the films After Dark, My Sweet and A Single Shot qualify as modern noir or neo-noir? Both have noir elements but I'm not sure if they should make the list. A Single Shot is very similar in setting and tone to Winter's Bone and it's on the list.

I can't speak to A Single Shot, but After Dark, My Sweet (1990) is a much-admired noir. It may not be on bluray, however and this list is only for blurays.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) is in fact a noir whether you realize it or not.

Please stop posting about this. Everyone is crystal clear on your opinion (which you've repeatedly stated), and it's also clear that you're in the minority. It would best for the thread if everyone moved on.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a noir. A particularly important noir. And that's final.

Oh brother. More nonsense.

[Richard--W]

I'm happy to move on, but that doesn't change the fact that Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a noir whether you accept it or not. It's a noir, and that's final. To reject it just baffles me. I will continue to insist on it each time someone tells me I'm wrong.

[Hoke Moseley]

Yep, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is totally a noir... and Murder, My Sweet had some fantastic neo-noir elements!

[Richard--W]

The dialogue in Murder, My Sweet cracks me up. It has real wit. It's funnier than any overt comedy. Powell knows exactly how to deliver those lines. Nobody thinks like that anymore, let alone writes it.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

and Murder, My Sweet had some fantastic neo-noir elements!

Lol, you're bringing up a debate from over a year ago in a debate that has nothing to do with me?

I'm sure there's other ways to try and fit in.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

Lol, you're bringing up a debate from over a year ago in a debate that has nothing to do with me?

I'm sure there's other ways to try and fit in.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

I'm happy to move on, but that doesn't change the fact that Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a noir whether you accept it or not. It's a noir, and that's final. To reject it just baffles me. I will continue to insist on it each time someone tells me I'm wrong.

Again, your opinion on this has been noted -- several times. Stating your opinion as "that's final" is irritating and unnecessary. It's time to move on.

[cousineerie]

This might be a good time to highly recommend Pitfall. In the commentary Eddie Muller calls it the most adult Noir of it's time.

[drb124]

I don’t know how I can call myself a real fan of film noir when I had never until today seen Gilda. I had watched Raw Deal yesterday and would note that restoration is extraordinary compared to the previous dvd’s in circulation. But as for Gilda, I loved it. Glenn Ford was great, and Rita Hayworth puts forth what I gather to be her career defining performance. I have not had a chance to get into the extras yet, and I will likely save that for my second viewing. Now I am looking for a shorter noir to watch tonight before I go to sleep.

[MifuneFan]

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[tallguy58]

Gutter snipes don't ship to Canada. Grrrrr......