Film Noir HoF III
 

Nomination sent!

*insert shifty eyes*

:shifty: there ya go!

Now we just need a femme fatale
👀

Yup:)...wait a minute, femme fatales usually spell trouble!

That’s my kind of trouble......

Cosmic said she would join, maybe Miss Vicky will? and Gbgoodies? and of course anyone else who wants to join:)

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

What the hell, I went ahead and chose my nom. I was going to use it for the 22nd HoF...Oh well I find another for the 22nd.

Nom sent!

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

In!

I've got another couple films I want to watch before deciding on a nomination, but I'm definitely in. I'll watch one of the films later this afternoon, and the other either this evening or tomorrow morning, so I should have one chosen before tomorrow evening.

Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself haha.

Sounds good...happy noir nomination candidate film watching:)

Nice! 👍
I'll send my nom tomorrow evening as well.

I'll be looking and might watch stuff I haven't seen.

Maybe Pahak, Neiba, suspect, frightened inmate,or hey Frederick night also be interested?

Neiba already joined...But let's tag the rest and see: @pahaK @TheUsualSuspect @Hey Fredrick

I forget how to tag Inmate, so I'll just give him a PM

I was considering this but when trying to think of an actual nomination I realized I haven't seen almost any of the classical noirs and I'm somewhat at a loss what counts as neo-noir (the list on Wiki has lots of very odd films that aren't listed as neo-noir in their Wiki pages, and IMDb doesn't even have a genre tag for neo-noir).

So, I probably will skip this one (and the musical, too). I'll check the noms after the reveal and if they look really interesting I may try to figure something out.

People can still join after the reveal, like we've done in past HoFs.

Oh yeah! I forgot he joined 😑

Thanks to your post we now have another member! Frightened Inmate No. 2 has joined:up:

That’s 7 with at least 2 more confirmed yet to select, right? Not bad. We’ve rounded up the usual suspects.
👀

Yup 7 so far and Cosmic and John-Connor makes it 9...not to shabby! I got a tell ya there's some great noirs too:yup:

And that’s the most exciting part. The final reveal.

I was just checking out the advanced search at IMDB and searched for genre: noir. The results came up with 840 titles which can be sorted by popularity, rating, year, etc. It's a good way to peruse a bunch of noirs and find some good title. Only flaw is that the search for some reason is limited to only older films up to 1958.

Check it out (this is sorted by A-Z titles)
https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?t...sort=alpha,asc

https://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Film+Noir


https://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Post-Noir


That should help you out...much better organized than Wikipedia and IMDB

Stuck in 'can't decide on a nom limbo'. Going to watch a few more Noirs before I send in.

Happy watching!

And this hasn't started yet so there's still time for anyone interested to join:)

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

Got a lot on my plate right now with Personal Rec HoF, Mofo Awards and some stay at home parenting while I'm waiting on EI.

Unfortunately I'll have to pass on this one.

That's cool, you can always check out the noms when they are revealed...which will be real soon. Cosmic just sent her nom in, and it's a good one. Just waiting on @John-Connor I believe he still wants to join?

Came across this great video on famous Noir Detective Philip Marlowe in TV and film;
https://youtu.be/KxUzvhfmm3w

I haven't been paying attention for the last few days, CR. Nom sent.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

Glad to have you Doc! and that makes 10 members:up:

We've got some truly great noirs:yup: from some of the biggest directors, these will be a treat.

Looking forward to the reveal! I have a few on my wish list that I’m hoping were selected.

I think they were:p ha, I have no idea actually, but there's some really great noirs so I'm betting some of them were on your wish list.

I'll do the reveal as soon as I can, I'm on like a 3 minute work break right now.

No problem. No rush

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

I'm going to have to sit this one out.

I'm going to do the reveal of the movie nominations today, yah! Probably later as I have to work today. So a little teaser:

We have 10 noirs, all of them are top rate! 1 is a neo-noir and one is a French noir and 1 is a UK noir. We have movies from some of the biggest directors in the history of film making:yup:

Two different lead actors each appear in two of the noms, and one one lead actress appears in two of the movies. And one of the directors, directed two of the noms.

So good stuff! and awesome choices!

I had 3 possible candidates for this, but ultimately went with one I felt deserved to have more recognition.
The other two I considered? They drive by night and Cape Fear (1962 version)
In the end, I chose one I had seen more recently as opposed to the other two which I hadn’t seen in awhile.
Hopefully I can nominate They Drive by Night at a later HOF

Both would've been interesting as They Drive by Night because it's a proto-noir and Cape Fear (1962) is a Neo Noir. I considered so many different noirs that finally I said I'll just go with a favorite which was going to be my nom in the 22nd HoF.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

The movie nominations are up on the second post!
@edarsenal
@Wyldesyde19
@Siddon
@ahwell
@neiba
@Frightened Inmate No. 2;
@CosmicRunaway
@John-Connor
@GulfportDoc

Wow very happy with those nom's I actually own


Le Corbeau
LA Confidential
Double Indemnity
Spellbound
The Third Man


and I have Asphalt Jungle on my DVR


Rankings are going to be very hard for me because I adore these films.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

Seen 5 of the 10 and most of those I haven't seen seem really intriguing. Have fun guys!

WOW! Nominations wise probably the best Hall of Fame I've ever been in.

Glad I didn't join because I've seen all of them. Crazy lineup.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

Murder, My Sweet (1944) Directed by Edward Dmytryk Nominated by Cosmic Runaway A GREAT Det. Philip Marlowe film! Looking forward to rewatch of this.

The Stranger (1946) Directed by Orson Welles Nominated by Wyldesyde A great little slow burn that really picks up in the end.

Crossfire (1947)Directed by Edward Dmytryk Nominated by Frightened Inmate Looks familiar but can't honestly remember if I've seen this.

Double Indemnity (1944) Directed by Billy Wilder Nominated by John-Connor Seen this a number of times, will happily see it again

L.A. Confidential (1997) Directed by Curtis Hanson Nominated by Ahwell Can't even count how many times I've seen this, it's pretty much memorized, but - ANY reason to watch it again is alright by me

Le Corbeau (1943) Directed by Henri Georges Clouzot Nominated by Siddon aka The (EDIT) Raven is something I've been curious to see since it showed up on the 40's Countdown list and now I get to!

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Directed by John Huston Nominated by Edarsenal This one is mine, a gritty situation with untrustworthy people.

Spellbound (1945) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Nominated by Neiba A great pairing of Bergman and Peck; will be a great rewatch

The Big Heat (1953)Directed by Fritz Lang Nominated by Citizen Rules been far too long since I've seen this one. Get to remedy that.

The Third Man (1949) Directed by Carol Reed Nominated by GulfportDoc HUGE fan of this one. Especially cinematography.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

Oh man, should I join? I may have seen like two or three of these but it's been so long ago that I'm not even sure. Many of the names are familiar though so I guess this would a good "101 of Film Noir" for me.

Give me couple of hours to think about it. Oh. and I even have a nom that should actually keep up the assumed high quality (and no underaged nudity!) :D

It's The Raven...and I am very interested in seeing how this fairs with this line-up. It's a very different noir film, but I love it it's my favorite Clouzot film that he made during Nazi-occupied France

You should join:)

Anyone can join for the next 7 days. I'd love to see even more great noms and we have 10 great ones now, but an even dozen would be sweet.

And this is any year noir & any country too.

THANK YOU
I remember it being one or the other, and I even ran it through one of those translation apps and IT said Crow lol

As expected, we have an excellent selection of nominations and I'm definitely looking forward to starting this Hall of Fame. :up:

Murder, My Sweet (1944) - This is the kind of film I always used to imagine when I thought about the genre, even before I had seen many noirs. I wasn't going to rewatch this one in preparation for the HoF, but after watching another of Dmytryk's films (Obsession/The Hidden Room) I wanted to compare the two, and I'm glad I did.

Double Indemnity (1944) - An essential noir that I thought I had rewatched recently when it was nominated in another Hall of Fame, but I just checked my notes and it's been nearly 3 years since then. Here was my last write-up on the film, in case anyone wants spoilers for what I'll likely say about it this time around.

L.A. Confidential (1997) - I know I have seen this film before, but I couldn't tell you anything about it. It's going to basically be a new watch for me. I've been meaning to get around to rewatching it for awhile, so it looks like I can stop putting it off now.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - Yet another film I've seen but have only a vague recollection of. I recall more of it than L.A. Confidential, but that's not saying much.

The Big Heat (1953) - I love Fritz Lang, and considered another one of his films for this HoF. I'll probably rewatch this one soon, so I'll save my thoughts for my write-up, just in case.

The Third Man (1949) - For some reason I was convinced that this was nominated for a HoF around the same time that Double Indemnity was, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I don't know why I have that in my head - I even vaguely recall it being Camo's film. Did I have a strangely vivid MoFo related dream? Did I actually even rewatch this a couple of years ago? The mystery grows ever larger!

The rest of the films I don't think I've seen at all, though I've heard a lot about The Stranger and Le Corbeau and probably should've seen them both by now. At least now I'll get the chance for sure haha.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

I've seen them all except, Siddon's Le Corbeau. Of the nine I have seen, all are excellent...it's hard to find a bad noir IMO:D I haven't seen L.A. Confidential and Murder My Sweet in along time.

I’ve seen 4 of these, am familiar with all but Le Corbeau.
I just watched Double Indemnity for the personal rec HOF so a review will up for that shortly.
I figured The Third Man would be nominated. It’s a great one and I own the criterion collection

You've seen basically everything that is notable so Hall of Fames won't suit you anymore since you don't rewatch films much or don't care to.

Yea that's the reason combined with time that I haven't been doing most, even though I always have the urge.

I felt the EXACT way! lol
Could have swore I had something written up for this from another HoF but -- nope

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

I did some digging in my post history, and have solved the mystery of The Third Man.

In that same HoF, Camo had nominated Odd Man Out. When I watched it, I realized I had mixed together The Third Man and Odd Man Out in my head, so I rewatched The Third Man to see how much of what I remembered of that film was correct. So I did actually watch it around the same time as Double Indemnity, and Camo was involved. :cool:

Anyways these were the other films I considered nominating....


State of Siege(1972)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JSzSuYxLMo


Le Samourai(1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs0XYssIlbo


Tokyo Drifter(1966)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ-cn4FmCbA

I actually watched that in preparation for this HoF. When CR mentioned a French film had been nominated, I was going to guess that it was this one haha.

Same. In fact, it was on my wish list along with Alphaville, The Killing, and Scarlet Street.
Still, this is a fricking strong lineup!

Since I just recently watched this exactly a week ago I’m going to just copy/paste my previous review:

Double Indemnity*


Planning the perfect murder is difficult. There’s a lot that could go wrong. You have to plan for witnesses, evidence, investigators, and sometimes a little man inside a insurance claims manager that ties him up in knots.**
Walter Neff (Played by Fred McMurray) is a straight arrow insurance salesmen. Until he meets Phyllis. Phyllis is the classic femme fatale, played brilliantly by Barbara Stanwyck.**
Stanwyck oozes sexuality throughout this film, the way she crosses her legs, converting her intentions. The icy stare that she gives. I find myself drawn to her face, one that looks so innocent yet hides her darker impulses.**
To me though, Edward G Robinson is the best in this film. Can you believe he never so much as garnered a oscar nomination in his entire career? It’s sacrilege!
The director, Billy Wider, does a great jobs of closeups on everyone’s faces at the right time, and his use of shadows. His attention to detail is also spot on. Watch at the beginning when Neff has been shot. It starts off as a small stain, at the entry wound. As time goes by, the stain grows larger. At the end, it’s dripping down his hand*
Wilder has always been one of my favorite directors. I count several of his films among my favorites, including Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment. I can add Double Indemnity to the list now.*



Aaaaaaand first!

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

show off

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

What the hell, sent in my nomination. It's neo-noir according to Wiki (and me) so it should be fine but I'll wait for CR's approval and keep up the tension anyway :)

It was a good head start considering I needed it. I mean, I usually go at a slow pace on these so with that one out of the way, and the fact I own L.A Confidential and The Third Man, I should get a leg up on this during the weekend.
I hope to not be scrambling like I currently am with Western III when the deadline approaches. 😱

scrambling as become my Modus Operandi lol

I've not seen it, but Wiki says it's neo noir so it's good to go.

Pahak nominated
Angel Heart (1987) by Alan Parker

All of those would've been cool. I've not seen Alphaville but it's well respected. The Killing would pair well with Ed's nom The Asphalt Jungle as both films are about the same subject and even both have Sterling Hayden...so they make a good comparison between the styles of Stanley Kubrick and John Huston. And Scarlet Street is another Fritz Lang noir with that guy in my avatar.

Good pick, and yes it is a noir...it's a horror-noir which is pretty cool

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

We've got our first review up and I logged it on the 1st post.

Think I'll do double columns when I get a chance to do so.

Funny thing is, this was my original pick that I WAS going to go for and then, at the last second, went with Asphalt Jungle instead.

F@CKIN AWESOME movie!!!!

I’ve seen none of these except mine as usual :)

Really excited!!

I'm jealous:p! You have some of the greatest noirs of all time here to watch, hope you enjoy them.

The Stranger (1946)


I get that Orson Welles is an influential director and technical innovator, but I haven't warmed to his movies that much. In that regard, The Stranger is vintage Welles for me; long-winded, pompous, and hyperbolic. And Welles himself is too grandiose for someone trying to hide in plain sight.

The intro at the harbor looks (and somewhat feels) like noir, but once the action moves to Harper, it's just a regular thriller. If this weren't a Film Noir HoF, I wouldn't have known this was noir. It seems to lack most of the things I'd expect to see in noir, like a cynical protagonist and moral ambiguity and sexual tension. Maybe my idea of the genre is wrong, though.

Like many old films, The Stranger is rather pedantic in ascertaining that viewers will surely get who's the bad guy and how the story unfolds. There's an evil nazi mastermind, a naive wife, an adamant nazi hunter, etc. No shades of grey, no depth, only an adjective and noun to describe everyone.

The Stranger isn't a bad film, though. It delivers a simple story in a comfortably compact form. It's a lot more naive than I expected, and there's too much hand-holding for the audience, but I could think a lot worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

I don't know if The Stranger was vintage Welles...also it's very important to remember that the film was shot in 1946. We understand the Holocaust and Nazi's today it took decades for the world to understand what the German's did. That film really was the first one to scratch the surface and it was..

Diary of Anne Frank (1947)
Night and Fog (1956)
The Diary of Anne Frank(1959)
Trial of Adolf Eichmann(1961)
Judgement at Nuremberg(1961)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
Holocaust(1978)
Sophies Choice (1979)
Sophies Choice (1982)
Shoah (1985)
Schindlers List (1993)

It's easy to look back and say...oh hey theirs a typical Nazi but in reality Welles was tackling something that wasn't fully formed for 30 more years.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

I was actually about to write something about WW2 still being so recent but decided not to. Also, I didn't precisely mean that the issue is Kindler being a "typical nazi" but him being so one-dimensionally evil character (and grandiosely pompous too). He's almost comical as a caricature.

I also need to point out, again, that I rate/review films by personal entertainment value so in relation to how good or bad the film is, isn't affected by how recent the war was or how few nazis had been seen in movies before.

I think it's more of an issue of historical context, I don't think you can classify a film like the Strange as being pedantic when it's attempting to create a standard for the Nazi.

Like I (tried to) say, I don't really care about the historical context (I leave that for the people who wish to research the evolution of cinema, I'm only after personal pleasure). And if the standard the film is attempting to create is merely a caricature, I have no issue calling it pedantic.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

https://i.ibb.co/DLqXTfG/Smart-Selec...040-Chrome.jpg
This

I too have seen them all except for Le Corbeau, so will look forward to watching the French noir.

I'm surprised that no one yet has chosen The Big Sleep which, along with Double Indemnity, are my two favorite noirs.

Should we go ahead and start with our commentaries/reviews?

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

The Big Sleep won a Hall of Fame already

The Big Sleep is one of favorites, then again Bogie made a lot of great noirs!

Yes, feel free to post your write us and or comment on what's been written. The back and forth conversation is the important thing to me at least.

I’ve only seen one other film by Dmymtryk before this one, Murder My Sweet, which is currently in the top ten of my all time favorite Film-Noir list. There are still 4 or 5 films I need to see from this director.

Crossfire is a murder mystery story about a man who was murdered in his own home after having some drinks with a bunch of soldiers he only just met at a bar.

The movie starts off with a powerful and grand title sequence. The camerawork and typical Noir lighting was excellent and the pacing of the story in the first hour was great. The unfolding of the mystery, in true Noir detective style, played out really well. Until somewhere around the last couple of longer and slower paced scenes that were more message driven. It led to a bit of an easy, straightforward and flat ending.

The acting was good and accompanied by quick and snappy dialogue. With standout strong performances by the lovely Gloria Grahame :love:, Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan.

Overall enjoyable watch and worthy nomination. Also another title I can scratch off the BFI noir list. :up:

Even though I liked The Stranger better than you did, I would agree with some of what you wrote. Welles was an inventor when it came to directing, but as an actor he's very larger than life, very grandiose. There's some roles he's well suited too and other's that he's not. I thought he was good in The Stranger, but he's not an actor's actor. I've seen this movie twice and thought I had wrote a review, but I guess not. So I'll have more to say when I rewatch it.

You're not wrong if that's your opinion of what a noir should be. Noir is not a genre, it's a style, or maybe it's better described as a mood. At the time The Stranger was made the term noir wasn't in use. We all get to have our own idea of what a noir is and isn't, and that's the fun!

I agree with you that older films need to be viewed (at least partially) through the 'eyes' of historical context. I remember in another Noir HoF I nominated Pickup on South Street and some thought it had a silly plot because of the theme of communist spies trying to steal micro film that contained top secret plans...whilst the character's struggle with the morality of making a buck illegally or doing the patriotic thing. Viewed with today's mind frame that sounds hokey. But as you mentioned, when viewed with the historical context that America was in the middle of the cold war and Soviet espionage was real, then that film's subject is relative to the time it was made. And I think the same historical context idea holds true for The Stranger.

Yahoo! I'm a big fan of Gloria Grahame! I've seen every one of her movies say for a couple of her last films where she had bit roles. I've seen Crossfire a couple of times, but I'll watch it again.

She really looks quite different in Crossfire than in any other film I've seen her in. I think it's the lighter make up and longer platinum blonde hair. It's like they were giving her a softer look. Usually she has darker blonde, short hair.

BTW, She's the actress that's in two of our noms. She's also in my nom in The Big Heat. She made a bunch of noirs and I considered several of them.

That's a lot of movies CR, you are a fan, and understandably so. I've only seen four of her films. In a Lonely Place and The Big Heat are my favs so far. Crossfire was one of her earlier roles so naturally she looked a bit more petite but she also showed some serious fierceness in this role.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

Just watched my own nom for the Personal Reccs HoF, so here's my review from that:


A stunning, complex, polished neo-noir -- actually, screw it, this is straight up Billy Wilder/Otto Preminger noir from the 40s or 50s -- L.A. Confidential balances several protagonists and many different plot points yet maintains a razor sharp focus during its two hour run time.

Boy do those two hours fly by. The acting from everyone is stellar, especially our three leads - Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce. All phenomenal character performances, and boosted by Kim Basinger's Oscar-winning supporting actress performance.

The acting however - like most movies - is only the tip of the iceberg. The script itself clearly borrows from, well the book it was based on obviously, but also from a lot of different film sources. You can definitely hear that 40s/50s noir dark script style if you know what I'm talking about. But we also get the 90s Tarantino/Scorsese-esque touch of dark humor, twists in language as an idiom, and an overall sense of complete control of style.

And that's exactly what this movie feels like. Curtis Hanson - and indeed everyone who worked on this masterpiece - is gradually uncovering secrets for us, the stupid audience. One by one, he unfolds that neatly wrapped blanket and shocks us with twists and turns along the way. It's like watching a magician perform magic tricks - this movie is Hanson pulling a rabbit out of the hat, and then turning the rabbit into a rat.

Speaking of Curtis Hanson... well, I'd never heard of him either. Too bad he couldn't become a great director, but L.A. Confidential proves he certainly had the talent, especially when he was working with the right actors. I'm still looking forward to seeing other movies he directed even if this is by far the most famous/well regarded of them.

L.A. Confidential is a tribute to noir, but it also breaks free of the genre, which I won't claim to be an expert on in the first place. We get interesting comments on violence and corruption in the law, and indeed the corruption of the entire Los Angeles movie/crime community. It's sinister, dark, smirking. And it got nine Academy Award nominations (of course that was the year Titanic swept everything) and two wins.

Wasn't too sure about this movie when I started and indeed throughout the first thirty minutes or so. But I came out thrilled. This is a certified classic.

-

L.A Confidential is so amazing, I can’t wait to rewatch it this weekend. I remember renting it shortly after it was released and was utterly amazed. Definitely among the greatest for me.

I started the write-up for my nomination, but I probably won't get it finished tonight. I find it always takes me awhile to get back into writing when I've been out of the HoFs for awhile.

I thought it had been about 2 months or so since I wrote my last review for the Japanese Hall of Fame, but apparently that was 4 and a half months ago. My grasp of time is getting more tenuous by the day haha.

I know what you mean...I've been having a hard time keeping up on my write-ups in my western log thread. Think I've seen 3 westerns lately too, that I haven't gotten around to writing about.

Classic Hitchcock, psychological thriller, romance with some Noir elements. Starring two big lead stars Bergman and Peck who were both excellent in their roles and on top of that displayed some genuine on-screen chemistry.

Spellbound shows a pretty unique approach within the Noir genre. It’s a very modern type movie in the sense that it has a very intelligent and strong willed female lead. And Peck’s male character is the one with the typical ‘femme fatale’ traits; good looking, helpless, with a mysterious and shady past.

In this Hitchcock especially I also noticed and really enjoyed the use and timing of the theme music and how drastically the music changed whenever Peck’s character had one of his many psychological developments. Balancing romance and tension perfectly.

Filled with nice twists throughout the whole movie and great reveal(s) in the end scenes. Ranked this one right behind Strangers on a Train. Excellent nomination once again Neiba, can’t go wrong with Hitchcock.

Samesies. :)

Well hopefully you manage to get them done before the backlog becomes too daunting!

For the Hall of Fames, I don't like to start my next film until I've finalized what I want to say about the last one I watched. I'm not sure how effective that approach is, but I find that it helps prevent me from procrastinating too much.

Backlog: that's why I stopped doing reviews for every movie I'd watched on my review thread. One day I fell behind in reviewing, then a week went by, then two, and then I had so many movies to review...I just gave up:eek: Oh well, for me the HoFs is where I like to be these days, and so my motivation is always fairly high for these:)

You made it longer than me... I had a review thread for a week or two when I just joined and stopped like ten reviews in haha. That said I still write reviews for everything I watch LB (oh here I go again with my LB advertising lol)... maybe I should paste them here to continue the review thread from like a year ago.

Re: Film Noir HoF III
 

I don't review I just give simple thoughts on what I watch.

When I get around to doing my “Greatest movies” thread, I will only be reviewing films I considered s great.
Similar to Ebert, which is where I got the inspiration.
If I did every movie, I’d go insane.

Yeah me too. I just sort of ramble and misspell every other word:p I can't proof read for nothing.