Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[MifuneFan]

I've heard a lot of good things about it lately, gonna have to check it out. Will add it to the list, thanks.

[javy]

Bad Times at the El Royale is a really good flick. I've read some saying that it was a little too long but I never felt that way toward it.

While watching Bad Times I was reminded of the 2016 film starring Jocelin Donahue, The Frontier. Though not on the same scale as Bad Times, The Frontier is a good little movie and could perhaps even have a spot on the neo-noir list.

[nitin]

It was a bit long, but more than that I didn’t think it stuck the ending. But a very enjoyable watch nevertheless.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by javy

Bad Times at the El Royale is a really good flick. I've read some saying that it was a little too long but I never felt that way toward it.

I thought it could have benefited from trimming about 10-15 minutes, but it didn't seriously hinder my enjoyment of it at any point.

Originally Posted by javy

While watching Bad Times I was reminded of the 2016 film starring Jocelin Donahue, The Frontier. Though not on the same scale as Bad Times, The Frontier is a good little movie and could perhaps even have a spot on the neo-noir list.

The Frontier definitely belongs on the neo-noir list. I actually thought it was already on it.

Originally Posted by nitin

It was a bit long, but more than that I didn’t think it stuck the ending. But a very enjoyable watch nevertheless.

I thought the second-to-last scene with the bellhop was the most powerful part of the entire film.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I watched this today, and it hit the sweet spot for me. Drew Goddard, the writer and director, has said it's directly inspired by film noir, and it certainly shows. It's a worthy addition to the neo-noir list.

Excellent movie! It was one of my favorites from 2018.

Here's my movie content review that I wrote after seeing it at the theater. Non-spoiler review, that is...

The El Royale, a Lake Tahoe lodge that literally straddles the border between California and Nevada, was once a glitzy hot spot for celebrities, politicians, and gangsters of the Rat Pack era, but has since fallen on hard times after losing its gambling license and is now a near-deserted shadow of its former self. During one fateful evening in 1969, however, four strangers arrive separately at the hotel lobby. The affable priest (Jeff Bridges), the schmoozy traveling salesman (Jon Hamm), the soft-spoken soul singer (Cynthia Erivo), and the denim-clad hippie girl (Dakota Johnson) each have room requests with differing specifications, and they each exude an air of guarded reserve. As darkness falls on the rustic landscape, these visitors, along with the hotel clerk and two later arrivals, are thrown into a terrifyingly unpredictable maelstrom of macabre secrets, depravity, and explosive bloodshed.

The 2018 film, Bad Times at the El Royale, is a gleefully twisted retro slice of trashy neo-noir Americana that blends R&B tunes, kitsch, and violence into a propulsive 141-minute narrative that introduces new surprises at every turn and never hits a speed bump on its path to Hell. Writer/director Drew Goddard, who also helmed the offbeat self-aware 2012 horror feature, The Cabin in the Woods, comes across at his best when viewers walk into his works knowing next to nothing about the tales at hand. Despite the constant threat of sudden gore, there's a real joy to be found here in watching how many rabbits this filmmaker can pull out of his hat before the credits roll. I'm keeping this review fairly short, because I would be doing a tremendous disservice to prospective viewers by revealing anything more than the above single-paragraph exposition.

There's a hint of contrivance to the proceedings, in the sense that Bad Times at the El Royale appears to be ripping off Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, all of whom in turn ripped off classic-era noir and 1970s grindhouse movies. I generally dislike present-day continuous storyline television shows, because of the way that the script writers relentlessly brainstorm outlandish cliffhangers and plot hooks to string the viewer along for multiple seasons, and this film sometimes plays out like an abbreviated summary of such a show. I am more than willing to forgive the forced story elements here, however, because even the most unoriginal aspects of this movie have rarely been executed this effectively. This is one of the best surprises in a while, and it is one of my favorite films of the year.

[The Sovereign]

It already looked like a pretty sure thing for me, but I'm glad to see the favorable opinions on Bad Times. I missed it at the theater, but plan to grab it once the price drops a little more.

[MifuneFan]

Warner Archive has just announced Michael Cimino's neo-noir Year of the Dragon (1985)

Corruption. Extortion. Sometimes, even assassination. For the tradition-bound mob bosses of Manhattan’s Chinatown, there are age-old ways of running things. And now there’s police captain Stanley White’s way.

Mickey Rourke portrays White, a war veteran who has a Vietnam-sized chip on his shoulder when dealing with an emerging blood feud in Chinatown. John Lone plays the crime lord standing in the line of fire of White’s relentless campaign. And Academy Award®-winning* director Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot), working from a screenplay based on the novel by Robert Daley (Prince of the City) and coscripted by Oliver Stone, fills the screen with adrenaline rushes of action and excitement.

YEAR OF THE DRAGON (1985)
NEW 2019 1080p HD MASTER
Run Time 134:00
Subtitles English SDH
Sound Quality DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 - English
Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, 16 X 9 LETTERBOX
Product Color COLOR
Disc Configuration BD 50
SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary by Director Michael Cimino; Theatrical Trailer (HD).

[Richard--W]

I'm really looking forward to Year of the Dragon. The script is co-written
by Oliver Stone with Cimino from the best-seller by Robert Daley. Other
Cimino regulars involved are photographer Alex Thomson and composer
David Mansfield. It has atmosphere in the old-fashioned sense of the
world. It's a true noir.

[chidecki]

Anybody have any take on the Noir Archive 9-Film Collection? I'm not familiar with many of the movies listed. https://www.amazon.com/Noir-Archive-...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[MifuneFan]

Two days ago marked the 5th anniversary of this thread. It's garnered nearly 600K views over that time, and plenty of new noir fans along the way too. It's become such a great resource to learn about, and just discuss the movies we love so much. I want to express my gratitude for everyone who has helped shape this thread. I've always considered this thread to be a work in progress, but it wouldn't be anywhere without your contributions in it. Thank you.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by chidecki

Anybody have any take on the Noir Archive 9-Film Collection? I'm not familiar with many of the movies listed. https://www.amazon.com/Noir-Archive-...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Lots of good films in the batch, and one or two great ones. You should definitely pick it up, especially given the price.

[CBHampson]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Lots of good films in the batch, and one or two great ones. You should definitely pick it up, especially given the price.

This.

The Black Book is damn near worth the price on it's own, imo.

[noirjunkie]

Caps are up at DVDBeaver for the new Twilight Time edition of Beat the Devil (1953): http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-r...il_blu-ray.htm

This new release represents a significant upgrade in PQ from the Film Detective edition.

[Richard--W]

Kino Lorber just announced a Don Siegel noir everybody's been waiting a long time for ...

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Kino Lorber just announced a Don Siegel noir everybody's been waiting a long time for ...

I'll go ahead and post something that's actually useful by letting everyone know that the title in question is Madigan (1968).

[javy]

I've never seen Madigan, but I gotta get it. It just looks and sounds like pure bliss.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

That's what I get for sharing my enthusiasm while respecting the thread starter's perogative of posting announcements in his own thread.

I have no problems with others posting new title announcements. I don't visit every thread all the time, so like this in this case, I may miss the news, and welcome others to mention it here.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by javy

I've never seen Madigan, but I gotta get it. It just looks and sounds like pure bliss.

It's a hardboiled police drama with some action, in some ways a precursor to
Dirty Harry. Siegel was always at his best in this genre. So for that matter
was Richard Widmark. It used to air on television all the time. Someone in this
thread recommended I give the Japanese blu-ray a try, so I bought it about six
weeks ago. An older transfer yet a huge upgrade from the DVD. That must be
why we're finally getting it in the USA now, because I just bought it from Japan.

[silverlakephil]

I just want to give a heads up to the upcoming TNT mini series, I Am The Night, which has been described as Neo-Noir.

https://www.tntdrama.com/i-am-the-night

The Cast & Director Of TNT's "I Am The Night" Discuss The Limited Series - YouTube

[MalteseCrow]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Two days ago marked the 5th anniversary of this thread. It's garnered nearly 600K views over that time, and plenty of new noir fans along the way too. It's become such a great resource to learn about, and just discuss the movies we love so much. I want to express my gratitude for everyone who has helped shape this thread. I've always considered this thread to be a work in progress, but it wouldn't be anywhere without your contributions in it. Thank you.

Thank YOU for starting this thread to begin with, MifuneFan. It's easily the best resource I've found for discovering films noir. I can't even begin to count the number of hours of entertainment I would have missed out on and all the excellent, moving, shocking and provocative films I would have been oblivious of had this forum not existed.