Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by javy

Shoot, whatever Lana Turner do I wanna be right there with her too.

The Postman Always Rings Twice is a top-notch noir film. So is The Big Sleep, The Woman in the Window, Sudden Fear, Night and the City, In A Lonely Place, Odd Man Out, The Third Man, Out of the Past, and Double Indemnity. As well as many others that we all know.

I really do love film-noir. It's quite the pleasure.

"All the other people I've painted were living, but he's different. He's near death. He sees it. There are wonderful thoughts in his eyes."

As a matter of curiosity where does your signature come from?
a quote, is it?

[javy]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

"All the other people I've painted were living, but he's different. He's near death. He sees it. There are wonderful thoughts in his eyes."

As a matter of curiosity where does your signature come from?
a quote, is it?

Odd Man Out

[Richard--W]

I knew I'd heard it somewhere. Good choice of a quote.

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by koberulz

I've never seen Postman. But I found Big Sleep woeful. I guess I'm not one of those who can ignore the total lack of coherent plot.

I was that way too, but I started loving it on the 5th or 6th watch. Bacall and Bogie and the action just make it fun, which I guess is why I revisted it so many times.

My last watch I watched it like a detective and I think I even had a notepad just in case. Granted you shouldn’t have to try that hard but if you do you can figure out the “Overall Plot”. The subplots, and or side-plots or whatever you want to call them are definitely confusing as hell though.

I actually found that understanding the overall plot is much easier if you ignore the side-plot issues which most people don’t know to do if it’s their first watch. Ignoring what goes on with the sister is the key thing to tune out if you want to see the bigger picture. That is what trips up most people I’ve found in discussions.

Also, people who have exhausted over the film seem to have a general consensus on what happened and why it happened in the subplots. I’ve found that reading those explanations while intially satisfying, actually doesn’t change or contribute very much to the film in general IMO. It doesn’t change the bigger picture, and it doesn’t really make the film more or less enjoyable overall.

I find that much like with great records, great movies are the ones you keep coming back to and seem to find more enjoyment in the more you watch or listen. The reason is usually something is different or challenging, and that makes it unique and it keeps you on your toes. Yes, sometimes a film is just crap and not worth it, but sometimes it definitely is.

This is one of those movies for me.

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by javy

Odd Man Out

Polanski is on record as saying that Odd Man Out is Reed’s masterpiece and better than The Third Man. I know it is definitely not the consensus or majority opinion, but I agree.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

Polanski is on record as saying that Odd Man Out is Reed’s masterpiece and better than The Third Man. I know it is definitely not the consensus or majority opinion, but I agree.

They're both masterpieces.

Reed is the most under-rated director. His films are so well-made. His
directing is textbook perfect.

I saw his last film The Public Eye (1973) on a double-feature with The Long
Goodbye (1973). This romance-comedy starred Mia Farrow and Michael
Jayston as an estranged couple who are brought back together by eccentric
detective Topol. It's a really oddball movie, and nobody remembers it. It
seems to have vanished completely. I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Every film he made is perfectly directed.

I wouldn’t say that of ANY director. Everyone has a blemish here or there.

[EVERYONE LIES]

For those not keeping score, this is an anniversary year for D.O.A. Hopefully someone can rescue it like they did Detour.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

My last watch I watched it like a detective and I think I even had a notepad just in case. Granted you shouldn’t have to try that hard but if you do you can figure out the “Overall Plot”. The subplots, and or side-plots or whatever you want to call them are definitely confusing as hell though.

You know one murder has no murderer, even according to the author of the damn book, right? It's not just confusing there's literally a giant plothole.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by koberulz

You know one murder has no murderer, even according to the author of the damn book, right? It's not just confusing there's literally a giant plothole.

There is more to a movie than plot?

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

I'll throw up a favorites list, can't remember if I've done this already. In no order:

Night and the City
The Killing
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Pickup on South Street
Double Indemnity
Leave Her to Heaven
Sunset Blvd
Touch of Evil
The Big Heat
The Big Sleep
The Asphalt Jungle
Gun Crazy
The Set-Up

Eh, pretty standard list I guess, but those are the ones I revisit the most.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

My last watch I watched it like a detective and I think I even had a notepad just in case. Granted you shouldn’t have to try that hard but if you do you can figure out the “Overall Plot”. The subplots, and or side-plots or whatever you want to call them are definitely confusing as hell though.

Adapting the novel (which also has a complex plot) presented challenges during the Hays Code due to the book's content, so the film's dancing around the more salacious elements only makes the plot trickier to follow. I've never had an issue following it, but that's probably due in large part to having read the novel at least a half dozen times.

I think I've posted this before, but it's always worth sharing again:

[jayrobb9]

Three things...

1) That character chart is quite similar to one I created for a story I was trying to write a couple of years back. Put it aside due to the complexity of it.

2) The noir many people seem to adore that I just can't get into is without doubt the Maltese Falcon. Relentlessly talky and static. Just a bore.

3) Favourites list (random order)

The Big Combo
The Web
The Killers
Sunset Bvd
Touch of Evil
Raw Deal
He Walked by Night
Kansas City Confidential

There are so mnay classic I simply haven't got around to seeing yet...

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by jayrobb9

2) The noir many people seem to adore that I just can't get into is without doubt the Maltese Falcon. Relentlessly talky and static. Just a bore.

That’s my favorite Noir. That talkiness is some of the best Noir dialogue of all time. It starts right out of the gate and continues through until the end.

You are the first person I’ve ever encountered who liked Noir to mention not liking The Maltese Falcon (sure it’s not everyone’s absolute favorite), sheesh, but hey whatever floats your boat.

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Adapting the novel (which also has a complex plot) presented challenges during the Hays Code due to the book's content, so the film's dancing around the more salacious elements only makes the plot trickier to follow. I've never had an issue following it, but that's probably due in large part to having read the novel at least a half dozen times.

Yeah, the online explanations that filled in the gaps that I read were from people who read the book.

I can’t find it now, but I remember Howard Hawks himself once made a comment that even he didn’t even know what was going on in the movie. Made me laugh.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I think I've posted this before, but it's always worth sharing again:

See the giant red question mark?

Yeah. That's why I'm not buying any of this "oh I can follow it just fine" nonsense.


Although yeah, once you understand the Hays Code Code it gets easier. Thank god I stumbled across the Hays Code-era translation for "Reno" before watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers, otherwise the Reno exchange in that film would have seemed absurd.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

That’s my favorite Noir. That talkiness is some of the best Noir dialogue of all time. It starts right out of the gate and continues through until the end.

You are the first person I’ve ever encountered who liked Noir to mention not liking The Maltese Falcon (sure it’s not everyone’s absolute favorite), sheesh, but hey whatever floats your boat.

The dialogue in The Maltese Falcon is tops, but to me it has the coolest cast in the entire noir cannon. I just love all these quirky characters popping up all over the place to claim this fabled artifact.

My favorite scene has always been towards the end, with all of these con artists just sprawled all over the place in the wee morning hours. Lorre passed out. Cook knocked out. The Fat Man reading a book. Astor dreaming. And Bogie just pacing, moderating the whole sordid, surreal affair.

You add Ward Bond as Bogie's (unfortunate) partner and that cast can't be beat. I think Night and the City comes closest, but The Maltese Falcon still reigns supreme.

[javy]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

That’s my favorite Noir. That talkiness is some of the best Noir dialogue of all time. It starts right out of the gate and continues through until the end.

You are the first person I’ve ever encountered who liked Noir to mention not liking The Maltese Falcon (sure it’s not everyone’s absolute favorite), sheesh, but hey whatever floats your boat.

Whenevever I introduce someone to film-noir, or just classic films in general, I like to show them the trailer to The Maltese Falcon. The movie being one of the quintessential noir-films, and the trailer itself a perfect representation of film noir.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie (or any movie) is in this trailer. It's the scene when they're talking about the dollars (always the f*ckin' dollars) and Bogart's Spade says, in the very hard-boiled manner which he's famous for, "Well that may be, but I've got the falcon", and then Peter Lorre's Cairo returns with, in a very sly and elegant manner, "you may have the falcon, but we certainly have you". And the music is to kill to for.

This kind of stuff is cinema gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a9Y...ature=youtu.be

[CBHampson]

Originally Posted by jayrobb9

The Web

This is one I've wanted to see for years but haven't been able to track down

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

Polanski is on record as saying that Odd Man Out is Reed’s masterpiece and better than The Third Man. I know it is definitely not the consensus or majority opinion, but I agree.

I'm a huge fan of Reed and think Odd Man Out is a fine film, but have to say I respectfully find Polanski's opinion rather "unorthodox" to say the least.