The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

I think The Conversation is definitely neo noir and if you don't that's fine but it is a great film and that's hard to debate. Yes it's Coppola's lesser known film of the decade but that's almost cliche at this point and most film nerds know it and know it very well. I had it at #13. The Man Who Wasn't There is mid tier Coen brothers but similar to what I said about Hitchcock in the other thread, Mid tier Coens is still a very good film.

4. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
10. Alphaville (1965)
13. The Conversation (1974)
14. Zodiac (2007)
17. Fireworks (1997)
18. Pale Flower (1964)
19. The Grifters (1990)
20. Inherent Vice (2014)
22. The American Friend (1977)
25. Série noire (1979) - One pointer

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The neon lighting, the blue hues and glow of the city along with the Tangerine Dream score make an exemplary neo-noir masterpiece. Thief was my #6. Speaking of masterpieces, Heat excels in three different (sub)genres. So I have it high on my heist and crime lists. I just thought three Michael Mann flicks on my ballot was a bit too much. Nice to see it placed without my points.

SEEN: 68/74
MY BALLOT: 8/25



25. Mirage (1965)
22. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
17. The Driver (1978)
14. Collateral (2004)
11. Get Carter (1971)
08. The Hot Spot (1990)
06. Thief (1981)
04. One False Move (1992)

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I have seen both and neither is on my list. I have a feeling that none of my 1980s neo-noirs are going to be on this list.

To my taste, The Conversation is one of the great films. Period. It immediately never comes to mind as a neo-noir, although one could make a case that it is. The protagonist, Harry Caul, doesn't commit a crime. There is a femme fatale, however-- Meredith. And the mood is spooky noir. It was a masterpiece by Francis Coppola. If it had been included on my list, it probably would have been up around 4-5.

I really enjoyed The Man Who Wasn't There. Ranked it at #22. Admittedly I'm a huge Billy Bob Thornton fan, and this is one of his memorable performances, along with Sling Blade (1996). And what a cast!

Don't know which '80s titles you have, but Body Heat, Blow Out, Blue Velvet, and Blood Simple should all still be coming. Blade Runner, too. Lots of B titles.

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I think one of the main keys for noir/neo-noir is for the protagonist to be morally conflicted, which Harry clearly is. I also didn't think of it, but I agree there's more here than in some of the other films that have come up.

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AWARDS?


The Conversation received a lot of nominations and few awards. These are some of the most notable:

• Five (5) BAFTA Film Award nominations, including a win for Best Editing (Walter Murch and Richard Chew)
• Four (4) Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Actor (Gene Hackman)
• Three (3) Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture
• One (1) Palme d'Or award from Cannes Film Festival

AWARDS?


The Man Who Wasn't There received a lot of nominations and few awards. These are some of the most notable:

• Three (3) Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Picture
• Three (3) Saturn Award nominations, including Best Actor (Billy Bob Thornton)
• Two (2) Cannes Film Festival nominations, including a win for Best Director (Joel Coen)
• One (1) Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins)
• One (1) BAFTA Film Award for Best Cinematography (Deakins)

The Conversation is a superb film. I have seen it many times and as mentioned a few pages back, I tend to watch this one alone. A ton to unpack here in really every frame; it's Coppola at the top of his game. I find it odd that this film flies under the radar so much, with many people being unaware of its existence. I always think of this as a genre-defining 70s paranoid thriller more than a noir, so it missed my list.



I saw The Man Who Wasn't There long ago, and have not had a chance to revisit it since. I recall it being a quirky genre bender, but one that didn't make a big impression on me aside from its excellent art direction and cinematography. No vote.

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I have both of these on my ballot, which makes it 4/4 from my 2 ballots on both noir countdowns today...

28. The Conversation - Why is this not Number One? I always assume my number one is everybody's number one, and that's what we have with The Conversation. It's the most paranoid movie I can think of from a decade of paranoia - a real film of it's time. The opening scene is what really reels you in - the taping of the conversation and the conversation itself both competing for space in your mind as you try to make out what the film is about. Meeting Harry R. Caul (Gene Hackman) is a little like meeting a conspiracy theorist who defies the definition by being onto something - knowing that power is information. It's a film of quiet desperation, lost innocence, moral quandaries and our supreme need for justice - or at least what we see as justice. Hackman is simply great here, but so is the sound, the story, it's visual accompaniment, and Francis Ford Coppola's peerless direction. It's one of my favourite films - and one I see as amongst the best of all time. I had it at #1.

27. The Man Who Wasn't There - Great Coen Bros movie, with a kind of lazy narration which introduces such a strange dreamy feel to the world of Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) - a barber, not a private detective, cop, lothario or soldier of fortune. A barber. It's Ed, a dry-cleaning deal, murder, misunderstanding, affair, embezzlement, murder, mistake and a whole host of unfortunate and fortunate events that happen while Ed calmly and succinctly communicates his thoughts - as if this is all happening to somebody else. It's his detachment which gives everything such an unreal aura, and the black and white photography compliments it beautifully well. Great looking, great sounding movie constructed with expert storytelling hands. I had The Man Who Wasn't There at #24 on my list. My highest and lowest (apart from my 1-pointer) appearing right next to each other.

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Seen : 49/74
I'd never even heard of : 9/74
Movies that had been on my radar, but I haven't seen yet : 16/74
Films from my list : 7

#27 - My #24 - The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
#28 - My #1 - The Conversation (1974)
#30 - My #23 - Zodiac (2007)
#42 - My #19 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
#44 - My #21 - Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
#52 - My #11 - Oldboy (2003)
#81 - My #17 - Brick (2005)

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The Conversation - when I looked at the banner of neo-noirs in this thread, or the countdown thread, after submitting my ballot, I kind of face-palmed myself for forgetting it. It would have been in my top 3, possibly fighting for the #1 spot. (Sorry @PHOENIX74!)


The Man Who Wasn't There - I didn't forget and was my #11.