Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by jdw89

i think i’ll pick up the asphalt jungle from criterion any others to check out from them?

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by jdw89

I think I’ll pick up The Asphalt Jungle from Criterion any others to check out from them?

Any of the other noirs Criterion has released are worth picking up, but my top five would be:

The Killers (1946)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Rififi (1955)
Elevator to the Gallows (1957)

[jdw89]

I got The Killers, The Asphalt Jungle, The Breaking Point, and They Live by Night. All are blind buys except Asphalt Jungle, hope I did pretty good

[jdw89]

Now that I’ve stated that I do also have The Third Man coming and have Citizen Kane (not sure if it’s considered a noir or not?)

Also what would be some good ones to pick up that aren’t Criterion? Maybe 5-10 titles?

Do any of you have any of the books that discuss film noir in more depth? What are your thoughts on it?

[LPMA]

Originally Posted by jdw89

Now that I’ve stated that I do also have The Third Man coming and have Citizen Kane (not sure if it’s considered a noir or not?)

Also what would be some good ones to pick up that aren’t Criterion? Maybe 5-10 titles?

Do any of you have any of the books that discuss film noir in more depth? What are your thoughts on it?

You don’t have any others? Off the top of my head, Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, Sunset Boulevard and The Big Sleep.

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by jdw89

also what would be some good ones to pick up that aren’t criterion? Maybe 5-10 titles?

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by mtobin37

Another French Noir suggestion:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-N...129245/#Review

I bought this along with Une si jolie petite plage and two early Maigret films. Waiting for them to arrive from amazon.fr.

I would also recommend Michael Powell's proto noir The Spy In Black (1939) on this French bluray:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-S...Blu-ray/90414/

A superb film, equal to the best of Hitchcock or Lang in the same period. It's part of a trilogy but the others aren't on bluray although Contraband (1940) is on a Kino DVD. There were a number of espionage proto-noirs made in England (several starring Valerie Hobson who rose to stardom playing spies and counter-spies) and France in the mid-1930s through early 1940s, that haven't made it to disc yet. Michael Powell was deep into the fatalistic noir state of mind in his 1930s films. I wonder if they are not lost films. It's as if a chapter in British cinema history has been unwritten.

I may start a 1930s pre-noir thread.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by jdw89

I got The Killers, The Asphalt Jungle, The Breaking Point, and They Live by Night. All are blind buys except Asphalt Jungle, hope I did pretty good

You bought some of the best. Let us know what you think of them.

The Asphalt Jungle is such a multi-layered piece it shows a different side of itself every time I watch it. One of the things that impresses me the most is that none of the characters are very bright, although they are sincere and have honorable qualities. Every performance is fully fleshed out and brilliantly realized. Particularly Jean Hagan. Watch what she does next time you view the film.

Originally Posted by jdw89

Now that I’ve stated that I do also have The Third Man coming and have Citizen Kane (not sure if it’s considered a noir or not?)

Also what would be some good ones to pick up that aren’t Criterion? Maybe 5-10 titles?...

The Third Man is pure noir. Citizen Kane, like Casablanca, has many noir elements at the forefront but doesn't quite commit itself fully to the genre. But they're noir enough for most of us.

Raw Deal with photography by John Alton, Gun Crazy, The Big Heat, The Big Combo with photography by John Alton, Kiss Me Deadly, Touch of Evil and Odds Against Tomorrow are absolutely essential.

Of the Bogarts, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep and Key Largo are defining noirs.


There were several book recommendations backthread.

[tallrichard]

15 Noir films I would start with:

Raw Deal (1948)
T-Men
The Big Heat
The Big Sleep
Asphalt Jungle
Pitfall
Out Of The Past
Laura
Gilda
The Killing
Odd Man Out
Sweet Smell Of Success
Ride The Pink Horse
In a Lonely Place
Force of Evil

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Citizen Kane, like Casablanca, has many noir elements at the forefront but doesn't quite commit itself fully to the genre. But they're noir enough for most of us.

I'm really not interested in tangling with you, but you don't speak for most of us, and your backhanded shade toward their lack of inclusion in the OP isn't welcome, either. Neither one of those titles even comes close to approximating a proper film noir.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I'm really not interested in tangling with you, but you don't speak for most of us, and your backhanded shade toward their lack of inclusion in the OP isn't welcome, either. Neither one of those titles even comes close to approximating a proper film noir.

This "backhanded shade toward their lack of inclusion" exists only in your own mind. For the record, I do not think either film should be included on a noir list. The noir elements in both films have been addressed by scholars, so they can't be dismissed entirely. The poster asked a question, and I answered it fairly.

You're not going to discourage my enthusiasm and enjoyment with these personal attacks.

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by jdw89

Also what would be some good ones to pick up that aren’t Criterion? Maybe 5-10 titles?

5 fantastic movies of the "decent guy led to his doom by a femme fatale" noir trope.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by jetthead

5 fantastic movies of the "decent guy led to his doom by a femme fatale" noir trope.

Maybe I need to watch it again, but The Postman Always Rings Twice fell flat for me.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Maybe I need to watch it again, but The Postman Always Rings Twice fell flat for me.

You do. It's fantastic.

[GeoffOliver]

Yeah, Postman is one of my favorite movies of all time. I just love everything about it. The outdoor locations, the suggestive atmosphere, the performances, the cinematography... everything. It’s compelling, it’s sexy, and it’s suspenseful, and it has a terrific, memorable story. Lana Turner and John Garfield had amazing chemistry. This is a rare movie that actually gave Lana a role to showcase her dramatic performing abilities, and Garfield was terrific as always (very underrated actor today). I do prefer the first half of the story, but other than that, the movie is damn-near perfect in my eyes. It’s definitely my favorite noir, and I am one of the few that prefers it to Double Indemnity (by quite a large margin too), another noir based on a Cain novel that I enjoy.

I also enjoy Road House (1948, no relation to the Patrick Swayzie film) with Ida Lupino. It’s on BD from Kino. Lupino’s own Hitch-Hiker is another fascinating and enjoyable little noir (another Kino release).

Does anyone think Kino will ever reissue Leave Her to Heaven? Twilight Time’s disc is long sold out, and I would love to pick it up.

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Does anyone think Kino will ever reissue Leave Her to Heaven? Twilight Time’s disc is long sold out, and I would love to pick it up.

Yeah, even though I own quite a few of their discs the whole 3000 then we’re done thing isn’t cool. They should put out more copies of the movies that are clearly still in demand.

I want that one too and I’m not shelling out 90 dollars for it.

[javy]

I love The Postman Always Rings Twice. And this scene, this scene right here, the way she just expects him to bring her lipstick over to her and he just leans back against the counter with no effs to give and plays it all cool.

Somewhat contrary to what jetthead said, I don't believe Garfield's character was a decent guy, he was out for numero uno from the get go. I got no problem with that.

Turner is smoking hot and Garfield is a stud. Give it another go, noirjunkie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGFe...ature=youtu.be

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Yeah, Postman is one of my favorite movies of all time. I just love everything about it. The outdoor locations, the suggestive atmosphere, the performances, the cinematography... everything. It’s compelling, it’s sexy, and it’s suspenseful, and it has a terrific, memorable story. Lana Turner and John Garfield had amazing chemistry. This is a rare movie that actually gave Lana a role to showcase her dramatic performing abilities, and Garfield was terrific as always (very underrated actor today). I do prefer the first half of the story, but other than that, the movie is damn-near perfect in my eyes. It’s definitely my favorite noir, and I am one of the few that prefers it to Double Indemnity (by quite a large margin too), another noir based on a Cain novel that I enjoy. . .

You express my own thoughts about The Postman Always Rings Twice. The
second half would be stronger if it deliberated the novel's legal maneuvers
and counter-maneuvers with precision, and without beating them to death.
Cora and Frank are in love and need each other. As the police play them
against each other, both are surprised at how far they'll go to save their own
skin by incriminating the other. The police see how this tactic injures them,
so they drive the wedge in deeper. The film touches on this, and is okay in
so far as it goes. But it doesn't go the distance that the novel does. If it had,
it would almost be too painful to watch. The sexual attraction and eroticism
in the first half is important because it is denied to them in the second half.

I think there's room for a third adaptation. Only where can you find another
Lana Turner and John Garfield with that chemistry?

[kristoffer]

I have Postman Rings... On DVD. Didn’t realise that it had been released tom BD!

[SeanJoyce]

Postman is very good, but it can't help feeling like a 2nd rate Double Indemnity at times, much like To Have and Have Not and Casablanca.

Still, John Garfield...that guy IS noir to me.