The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

AWARDS?


The Manchurian Candidate gathered several wins and nominations. Some notable ones:

• Two (2) Golden Globe Award nominations, including a win for Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury)
• Two (2) Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actress (Lansbury)
• Three (3) Laurel Award nominations, including Top Action Performance (Frank Sinatra)
• One (1) BAFTA Award nomination for Best Film
• One (1) National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (Lansbury)

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Love Frankenheimer! Seven Days in May, The Train, Ronin, Birdman of Alcatraz and even Reindeer Games , to name a few. Nevertheless The Manchurian Candidate did not make my ballot.


Powerful performances from Poitier and Steiger, skillful directing showing both lead character's view points. Excellent title sequence song by Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Ray Charles.
In the Heat of the Night was my #22.

SEEN 3/4
BALLOT 2/25
25. Mirage (1965) - DNP 1-pointer
22. In the Heat of the Night (1967)

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I finally watched The Friends of Eddie Coyle today. I thought it was good, but not great. I have now seen all 4 of the films on the list so far.

I have seen In the Heat of the Night. It has its strong moments. There are other films I prefer more. It does have its cultural significance for the time it was made though.

For whatever reason, I still have never seen The Manchurian Candidate. I would blindly guess, going into, it would read more like a political-thriller to me and wouldn't have guessed a connection to neo-noir. Don't know how much of that is misconception or just funginess of the genre (movement?). In terms of Frankenheimer, I still need to Seconds as well. That's probably higher up on my to watch list.
Oh, with Reindeer Games, I guess that makes it one entry and one one-pointer for him so far.

Like I said before, I really didn't think of it when making the list but I think there are some strong arguments in favor of it being considered noir in some of the articles I linked.

As for Frankenheimer, Seconds is indeed very good. Not sure if I would put it above Manchurian, but probably neck and neck. My favorite Frankenheimer is still The Train, though.

SERIOUS points for this one being yours, my dear! I was hard put NOT to make room for this one. When my roommate and I got into South Korean films, this was one of those first ones that blew us away.

And LOVIN the Awards/Reviews/And Layout!!! BRA-The F@CK-VO!!!



This One-Pointer is mine:

[*] Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)



Jimmy 'The Saint' Tosnia: You gave me your word!
The Man With The Plan: I'm a criminal; my word don't mean dick!

After Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs came out in '92, there was a deluge of clever dialogue, sh#t going sideways by colorful characters, and this one remained endeared for me. Andy Garcia plays the epitome of cool and style as a guy in debt with the nickname "The Saint". A gangster known as "The Man With The Plan (Christopher Walken) takes up the marker and insists on a "favor" to wipe it out. Enter the inevitable colossal screw-up, and sh#t just gets worse and worse by his crew: Franchise (William Forsyte), Critical Bill (Treat Williams), and Pieces (Christopher Lloyd). Topping the ensemble for Colorful Characters screwing up and making things worse.


I am finally on the board for films seen with In The Heat of the Night. A legitimate placement in this Countdown, though I found it more of a Police Thriller, which is the ONLY reason it did not make my list. Great, GREAT film.





Seen 1 out of 4 (25%)
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25. Things to do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) One-Pointer

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

In the Heat of the Night is a good film. The Manchurian Candidate a great one. A neo noir though? Hm like others it didn't even cross my mind to include it. But if Mark F says it be, then so be it a noir!

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Both In the Heat of the Night and The Manchurian Candidate are really good, with the latter film being my favorite of the two. It might've had a shot of making my ballot had I rewatched it.

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Well, it would have been remiss of me to not have seen these two reveals :

98. In the Heat of the Night - Got this on Criterion and watched it again not too long back (about a year or so) - I wonder if anyone else wants to punch the air with delight when Police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) and his deputies discover that the man they've accused of murder, racially profiled and insulted, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is a big-shot top homicide detective from Philadelphia. Talk about egg on your face! One of my favourite moments in movie history - but just because Tibbs is who he is doesn't mean he'll have an easy time of it in a town where racism is as natural as breakfast, lunch and dinner. He's ordered by his superior to help investigate the murder, and tries to do his job while constantly under threat from just about everyone. Poitier and Steiger are phenomenal - the friction and heat creating sparks that could blow a powder keg. 1970 sequel They Call Me Mister Tibbs! feels more like a TV pilot than feature film, and has been rightly forgotten (I think there was another one as well.) The first Best Picture winner on the Countdown (I wonder how many there will be.) No votes from me.

97. The Manchurian Candidate - I saw this quite a long time ago, so it isn't fresh in my memory. A tense, sweaty thriller that plays on the Cold War paranoia which was at it's absolute height at the time. Fear of Commies exerting mind control was running rampant, and this film gave literal voice to those concerns. Needs a rewatch for sure - I'll count it as seen, but when I watch it again it'll almost be like I'm seeing it for the first time.

Seen : 2/4
Heard of : 3/4

Thief - you are one extraordinarily hard working countdown host

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Haven't seen Eddie Coyle or American Friend. I have seen Manchurian Candidate and In the Heat of the Night. Probably due for a re-watch on both...neither made the list.

Kill Me Again was my #25. The chemistry between Val Kilmer and then wife Joanne Whalley was off the charts. The twisty storyline which involves a game of who's crossing who between Jack (Kilmer), Fay (Whalley) and Vince (Michael Madsen) was another highlight.

My List:

25. Kill Me Again (1989)

I have a lot of stuff going on today, so I will probably post my reveals very "early" (as in the next 20 minutes) or very "late" (as in the late afternoon). Stay tuned!