I watched Road House (1948) last night. I'm sure it's obvious what made me think of it over the weekend.
Is it just me or is it not a noir?
Noir-ish, maybe...
Then again, I found a post from noirjunkie recommending it, and half of TCM called it a noir in the 20-minute special feature on the disc, so maybe that's the last word.
But like Clash by Night, I'd call it more melodrama than noir. (Thankfully, Road House is a much better movie. They'd make a good double feature though!)
However you want to classify Road House, I love it. Ida Lupino is a firecracker and Widmark is on point as always.
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Originally Posted by filmlover22
That movie had me once I saw Ida Lupino...
I become more and more impressed with Ida Lupino every time I see her. As good as everyone recognizes her to be, she still feels underrated to me compared to others from her era.
Enter the grimy shadows of neo-noir with these six dark modern films of crime, corruption and vengeance.
Packed with remarkable performances from Joe Mantegna, Willem Dafoe, Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Chiwetel Ejiofor, this six-film journey will take you through the underbelly of society, through rain-soaked streets and blurred morality.
Homicide (1991) – worldwide first on Blu-ray
White Sands (1992)
The Crossing Guard (1995)
Heaven’s Prisoners (1996) – worldwide first on Blu-ray
Under Suspicion (2000)
Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
Limited Edition 6-Disc Hardbox packed with brand NEW special features including audio commentaries and interviews, plus an exclusive 80 page booklet featuring essays on Homicide by Jen Johans, The Crossing Guard by Blake Howard, and Dirty Pretty Liars by Maria Lewis.
Acclaimed playwright and filmmaker David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) directs this powerful and provocative film starring Joe Mantegna as a detective torn between his faith and career.
Bobby Gold is a tough yet devoted cop who is thrust into the otherwise routine murder investigation of an elderly Jewish shopkeeper. What seems a straightforward case soon unravels to become a bewildering urban odyssey of intrigue and conspiracy.
Four out of four stars from Roger Ebert.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
NEW Audio Commentary by film historian Jim Hemphill
Willem Dafoe stars as a small-town sheriff who finds himself in grave danger when he uncovers a dead body in the desert with $500,000 in this gripping neo-noir crime thriller.
Also starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Scarface, The Abyss), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), and Mickey Rourke (Barfly, Johnny Handsome), and directed by Roger Donaldson (The Bounty).
To untangle a mystery, a small-town lawman assumes the identity of a murdered FBI agent and goes undercover inside a global crime ring. This precarious new life steers him toward a sinister weapons runner, an FBI sting operative and a mysterious woman of means.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
NEW Audio Commentary by director Roger Donaldson and director of photography Peter Menzies
NEW “Heart & Soul – Editor Nicholas Beauman Sifts Through White Sands”
NEW “High Noon Sands” – writer Daniel Pyne on White Sands
Oscar-winner Sean Penn (newly interviewed for this release) produced, wrote and directed this neo-noir classic starring the masterful Jack Nicholson as a tormented father who seeks vengeance on the man who killed his daughter.
Freddy Gale has spent the last six years counting down to this day. Today, the man who was responsible for the hit-and-run death of Freddy’s young daughter is being released. Devastated by his loss and driven by vengeance, Freddy is finally going to pay back his daughter’s killer… if it’s the last thing he does.
Also starring female juggernauts Robin Wright (House Of Cards), Anjelica Huston (The Life Aquatic), and Piper Laurie (Carrie, Twin Peaks).
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
Audio Commentary by director/writer/co-producer Sean Penn, actress Anjelica Huston, actor David Morse, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, production designer Michael Haller, and playwright David Ray
The crime novel by James Lee Burke comes to life in this neo-noir crime thriller, the story of a former police detective thrust into a world of murder and deception after witnessing a drug smuggler’s plane crash into a bayou.
Starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch (Road House), Mary Stuart Masterson (At Close Range), Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) and Eric Roberts (King Of The Gypsies), with a screenplay by Harley Peyton (Twin Peaks) and Scott Frank (Logan).
Once a tough New Orleans cop, Dave Robicheaux has turned in his badge and left the city with his wife Annie, for the peaceful beauty of Louisiana’s bayous. A plane crash brings a little girl into his life – and with her comes a trail of murder and deception.
Based on the hit 1981 French film Garde à vue, this neo-noir thriller stars Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Monica Bellucci and Thomas Jane.
A Chief Inspector interviews a prominent attorney, who has discovered a brutal murder victim’s body. However, during the course of the night the crime’s only witness slowly becomes the inspector’s prime suspect…
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
Audio Commentary by director Stephen Hopkins and actor Morgan Freeman
Nominated for an Academy Award, Dirty Pretty Things stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Audrey Tautou (Amelie), and Sergi López (Pan’s Labyrinth).
Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe and Turkish chambermaid Senay toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then late one night Okwe makes a shocking discovery, which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know.
“A creepy, tightly knit suspense film that, on the fly, reveals more about the lives of immigrants in London than the most scrupulously earnest documentary.” – The New Yorker
Man, my luck must be running empty right now with these KINO sets. I just watched Flesh and Fury and The Square Jungle and neither one of them felt remotely anything like a noir. Why are they even in this Darkside series???
Now between the two, Flesh and Fury was the superior film as it was the more interesting, but both were pretty bland. The Square Jungle was utterly pointless as nothing happened and the ending was trash.
I really hope the other movie on set X is going to actually be a noir.
On the other hand, I also watched the Arrow release of The Desperate Hours and god damn was that so good.
Last edited by Noir Black Schwarz; 03-29-2024 at 04:32 AM.
Man, my luck must be running empty right now with these KINO sets. I just watched Flesh and Fury and The Square Jungle and neither one of them felt remotely anything like a noir. Why are they even in this Darkside series???
Now between the two, Flesh and Fury was the superior film as it was the more interesting, but both were pretty bland. The Square Jungle was utterly pointless as nothing happened and the ending was trash.
I really hope the other movie on set X is going to actually be a noir.
On the other hand, I also watched the Arrow release of The Desperate Hours and god damn was that so good.
The "boxing" set is easily the least noir of all of them, imo.
I also have bad news about the other film in that set lol....
The "boxing" set is easily the least noir of all of them, imo.
I also have bad news about the other film in that set lol....
Great, my last two films to watch is that one and another probably lousy prison break movie (Behind the Wall). Not sure why, but except for The Shawshank Redemption, I can't stand prison break movies.
At some point I will pick up Sets XV+, but it's going to have to be a bit as I was recently informed I'm getting laid off in a month.
neither one of them felt remotely anything like a noir. Why are they even in this Darkside series???
Because most of the decent noir titles have already been spoken for by one label or another. And slapping "Noir" on anything will help sales. So we get lesser noirs and not-quite-noirs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by filmlover22
well, normally I would be ecstatic. But after what they did to To Catch A thief, I will wait for reviews.
That was an exception from early on. Most of the Paramount Presents line has been quite good.
The "boxing" set is easily the least noir of all of them, imo.
I also have bad news about the other film in that set lol....
Okay, you weren't kidding. World in My Corner was so god damn boring. This may actually be the worst movie in the 14 sets I have. At least Calcutta had one good moment of atmosphere, this had nothing. The acting was atrociously bad. Not even in a it's so bad in a good sort of way, just bad bad. The only dude who seemed to be acting was the guy from Psycho.
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Originally Posted by Taylor3978
Touche. I did enjoy Brute Force a lot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MifuneFan
Paramount will be releasing Chinatown on 4K on June 18th as part of the Presents line. It'll also include The Two Jakes on Blu-ray.
Oh sweet, this is an incredible movie. I've never owned it before, so I will definitely be considering picking it up. However, is there a regular case version? I don't like the digipack style.
Okay, you weren't kidding. World in My Corner was so god damn boring. This may actually be the worst movie in the 14 sets I have. At least Calcutta had one good moment of atmosphere, this had nothing. The acting was atrociously bad. Not even in a it's so bad in a good sort of way, just bad bad. The only dude who seemed to be acting was the guy from Psycho.
Touche. I did enjoy Brute Force a lot.
Oh sweet, this is an incredible movie. I've never owned it before, so I will definitely be considering picking it up. However, is there a regular case version? I don't like the digipack style.
It’s not a digipack it’s a regular clear plastic case with a fold out slipcover.
I am still prepared to role the dice on Kino's sets. My expectations are tempered by experience, I don't expect to find an unheralded masterpiece, and I know there will be some noir chaff.
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