Film Noir and Jazz

[WalterNeff]

Now, most people associate film noir with jazz music. However it's quite apparent that most film noir's don't even use a lot (or any!) of jazz. Can anyone name some classic film noir's that actually do use jazz music, and/or explain why the two are often associated with each other?

[kaseaver]

Here are some that come to mind:

Sweet Smell of Success
Anatomy of a Murder
Experiment in Terror
Touch of Evil
Blast of Silence

Of course, some of these might not be exactly classic film noir or might be considered neo noir.

Some French film noir with jazz scores:

Elevator to the Gallows
Bob leFlambeur
Le Cercle Rouge
Le Doulos
Touchez Pas au Grisbi

Not at all sure about this, but the connection between jazz and film noir might be that both are considered American original art forms and that they are popular in other countries (like France).

[Scottie]

As kaseaver has also stated, I will definitely recommend Louis Malle's 1958 film, Elevator to the Gallows.

Here is one of the greatest scenes in the film.

JEANNE MOREAU IN "LIFT TO THE SCAFFOLD" (MILES DAVIS THEME) - YouTube

[The Great Owl]

Most film noirs utilized orchestral music, but Elevator to the Gallows, a French film that captures the essence of American film noir quite well, has an amazing Miles Davis score (as others have mentioned above). Touch of Evil and Sweet Smell of Success are both noteworthy as well.

[Monterey Jack]

The idea that noir = jazz is a falsity brought on by the various noir throwbacks of the 70's and 80's that did use jazz scores, like Jerry Goldsmith's Chinatown, David Shire's Farewell My Lovely and John Barry's Body Heat (plus various knockoffs and parodies of same). Most noir scores of the period used straight, threatening orchestral music.

[Gerby]

In my opinion the best French film noir 'Un Temoin Dans La Ville' also features a great Jazz score by Miles Davis.

[eripsam]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

The idea that noir = jazz is a falsity brought on by the various noir throwbacks of the 70's and 80's that did use jazz scores, like Jerry Goldsmith's Chinatown, David Shire's Farewell My Lovely and John Barry's Body Heat (plus various knockoffs and parodies of same). Most noir scores of the period used straight, threatening orchestral music.

The problem is that incompetent film critics and incompetent film scholars disrespected the all-time great score to Chinatown as a "film noir pastiche" despite sounding like 0% of the inferior "wallpaper" classic film noir scores. There's no bluesy trumpet in any classic film noir score and Goldsmith uses an avant-garde ensemble with innovative orchestrations in a sparse score that makes it completely dissimilar to the typical wall to wall classic film noir scoring.

What I don't really understand is how there can be that falsity when classic film noir blatantly never featured such music?

[Coenskubrick]

Hmm yeah I never thought much about it but you're absolutely right about the lack of jazz music in actual film noir soundtracks. Perhaps it originated in movies set in the time period and using period appropriate music which was mistakenly thought of as true to the movies made in that period when it wasn't.

[eripsam]

Originally Posted by Coenskubrick

Hmm yeah I never thought much about it but you're absolutely right about the lack of jazz music in actual film noir soundtracks. Perhaps it originated in movies set in the time period and using period appropriate music which was mistakenly thought of as true to the movies made in that period when it wasn't.

Yeah, that's what seems to be the case with Chinatown (though set in the 1930s; Body Heat has one of the best noir scores but was set in the present yet was still said to imitate classic film noir scores.)

I think that falsity us understandable among film fans but absolutely not film critics/scholars since they apparently pretend to be highly knowledgeable about film history but retroactively attribute a characteristic to films that was completely nonexistent during the times of those films and thereby disrespecting filmmakers that derives from their incompetence.

They should learn to praise people like Jerry Goldsmith for creating music that may remind them of a genre that had nothing to do with that music.