The MoFo Top Neo-noir Countdown - Preliminary Thread

I haven't seen the original, but here is what I wrote about Del Toro's version...

Nightmare Alley

Most surely not in contention for a spot on my ballot, but we'll see.

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I loved both versions of Nightmare Alley. My review of the 2021 version:

Beautifully filmed and featuring an excellent performance from Bradley Cooper, Nightmare Alley is a winner. The film tells the story in an effective and engaging way. It is a little on the long side, but it doesn't drag and is reasonably well paced. Although it isn't quite as fantastic as the 1947 version, it is a satisfying and entertaining film.

I prefer the original by a decent margin. It’s not a bad film per se, just a disappointing film.

Um, I rewatched Pale Flower and Branded to Kill recently. Both still very good, and I believe by the criteria presented, qualify as neo-noir.


Seeing the Mikey and Nicky thread bumped reminded me that The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is also a movie that is apparently described as a neo-noir that I like a lot.


So, you know, for your consideration and all that.

Thief, what do we think about Dick Tracy? It’s not tagged which seems bizarre to me. One I almost voted for without checking it seems so obvious.

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Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

Dick Tracy is a parody of the pre-Noir 1930s gangster pictures. If you really want to call it Neo Noir, I mean...since it's one of those malleable definitions I suppose one can, but it isn't calling upon Noir tropes or themes. It is very purposefully an old-fashioned crime picture, with a wink. In comic book colors. Elements of Madonna's character Breathless Mahoney are the closest to classic Noir, but nothing else around her really is.

crime ≠ Noir
trench coat ≠ Noir

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Yes, very much so. I plan on watching Pale Flower finally for this.

I get you. Breathless being an obvious Femme trope makes it feel very Noir to me. I guess Tracy is too much of a hero, but it certainly feels like they are walking that line.

This movie just feels much more Noir to me than a lot of stuff I am seeing come up repeatedly on these Neo lists.

Not a big deal anyway as I am not in love with the movie. I was considering it for the back end.

I haven't seen Dick Tracy so I defer to those that have seen it. If it's eligible based on our criteria, then you can vote for it.

I think if you're still largely telling a story based on it, and even if it's a story you still have a serious mindset when telling the story, then I'd say it's noir enough, even if it's strengths aren't in your face.

And I say if you have to kinda squint to sorta make it fit, why are you bothering when there are a couple thousand titles we can all agree on to chose from? But if one insists on wasting their vote, hey, go right ahead. You'll be the cool kid who has titles on their list nobody else does. Yippee.

Dick Tracy has neo noir in the keywords on imdb and film noir listed as a theme on Letterboxd, so it would definitely be eligible.

Beatty's Dick Tracy is not designated as Neo Noir on IMDb (Action Comedy Crime Music Romance Thriller), not sure where you are looking? But yes, it is on Letterboxd. One of the three isn't supposed to be enough, but again, my personal feeling is vote for whatever you want, but know that when you are choosing something that just barely kinda sorta arguably may qualify, the odds are you are voting for something that most of the rest of us are not even considering, much less voting for. So if you feel so strongly about those kinds of marginal maybes that you just MUST include them, go ahead. But it is essentially a wasted vote and will not help the bottom part of the collective list gain any kind of consensus.

Neo noir is one of the keywords under the storyline section. If you click on 120 more, it will show all of them and neo noir is listed there.

You ever star a conversation and then quickly realize you don’t even want to be a part of it?

Oh, in the keywords that users can submit? That's the standard? Yowza. According to that wonderful bit of sourcing Dick Tracy is also a movie very well known for "table", "jacket", "saying thank you", and of course "mixed martial arts".

Then yes, clearly Dick Tracy is one of the pillars of Neo Noir. It's as obvious and inarguable as table.

As you were.

Frequently!

Noir and Neo-noir are not genres (like romance, comedy, horror), which is why we can't use that field as a criteria in IMDb. I made a choice of using the keyword, while pairing it with a second source as backup. Again, the eligibility rules are meant to serve as rough boundaries, but it's up to anyone and everyone to look closely, research, and read about noir and neo-noir to see if what you think fits actually fits. As has been said ad nauseum by many of us, these are two fairly tough types of films to pin down, so there's always gonna be some push/pull and eye-rolls in terms of what one considers is eligible, but we don't have to be facetious or dismissive about it. Part of the goal should be to know more about noir/neo-noir at the end of the countdown. We're all adjusting our bearings here.

A squint would be more like 10% noir. At say this movie's more like 60.

Then by all means, vote the ever-livin' hell out of it.