The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

0 for 2. No on Basic Instinct and Body Double.

16 of 32.

I really enjoyed both Basic Instinct and Body Double, but they didn't make my ballot. They would both be in my top 50 neo noir films though and I'm glad they made the countdown.

Seen: 23/32

Haven't seen either film.

Some list trivia facts and questions...

Basic Instinct surpasses Under the Silver Lake to become the film with the lowest RT score in the countdown so far (56%). Both films have been the only ones with a "rotten" score so far. Will there be a lowest one?

Also, something that I wanted to ask a couple of days ago, we've had a couple of notable remakes/remade films come up in the last days; more specifically, the original Cape Fear and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake. Does anybody think there's a chance that both Scorsese's Cape Fear or the original Dragon Tattoo film might show up later?

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Heard of both of those classics, but not seen either.

Yes to the first. A probable no to the second.

Both Body Double and Basic Instinct are neo-noir classics in my book. Both Verhoeven and De Palma are on my favorite directors list. Went with some strategic choices for my ballot so no votes but I probably should have. Branded to Kill is aiight, I prefer A Colt Is My Passport though.

SEEN 28/32
BALLOT 5/25

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WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... BASIC INSTINCT


Roger Ebert said:

R.L. Terry said:

@TylerDurden99 said:

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... BODY DOUBLE


Roger Ebert said:

Indie Cinema said:

@Cobpyth said:

Here is an interesting article about Basic Instinct...

Primal Urges Propel Basic Instinct

The article has bits with director Paul Verhoeven, cinematographer Jan De Bont, and production designer Terence Marsh where they bring up the film's noir leanings.

Some excerpts:

I watched Basic Instinct on VHS at a friend's house when I was 13 or so. Which is a long time ago now. I remember liking the twists and sniggering at the sex scenes. Not fresh enough in my mind to be considered for my list though.

Basic Instinct is my #16. For the longest time I didn't watch it, as I don't like Michael Douglas, and a lot of reviews were middling. I was really taken aback by its great style and shamelessly seedy and evil main characters. The movie held nothing back. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but I really liked it.


Body Double is also good, but just missed my list. It ranked somewhere around #30.


My list:


3. Brick
8. Point Blank
16. Basic Instinct
24. Under the Silver Lake

Here to speak about the music again.
Pino Donaggio's work on Body Double is noteworthy.
The tune Telescope is the bomb.




Same goes for Manhunter. Some excellent songs. But my favourite remains Klaus Schulze's Freeze.

I've always associated Body Double with Blow Out and Dressed to Kill, ever since I saw them as a young teen. At first, Body Double was my least favorite. It was ingrained in my mind that 1 had Travolta, 1 had Caine, and 1 had Craig Wasson. Who in the hell is Craig Wasson?? He was fine but I just didn't know where he came from and that was always on my mind when I watched it. Once I got over it then I liked Body Double much more. Melanie is very hot in it, despite her character's limitations.

I like Basic Instinct a lot but it missed my ballot.

9. Mona Lisa (#78)
12. Body Double (#69)
15. The Driver (#79)
21. Manhunter (#77)

I have seen both but only once each.

I was a Verhoeven fan back in the day. I don't much care for Brian DePalma but I like the actors in Body Double.
I enjoyed both of them but not enough to put them on my list.

I am about 20 minutes from the end of Body Double, but had to turn it off last night as I was dead tired from working and wanted to be able to focus properly. This film came up in Minio's thread recently as a film he (and I believe Crumbs) think is superior to anything Hitchcock made. I can't get on board with this assessment. While much of the craftsmanship and other aspects of the film are exceptional, it has too much working against to put it in the same league is Hitch. Wasson is just not a good actor, and he is difficult to take seriously. He was bad in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and he is bad here. The musical number in the middle is also rough.

Like many DePalma films, there are several really fantastic sequences and locations, but this film veers into camp too often for it to be a contender for my ballot, so I think that even if I had refreshed my memory on it (I hadn't seen it since the 80s), it didn't have a chance. Not DePalma's best, and certainly not better than Hitch. Good film, though.

No votes from me on these two.

Basic Instinct is another film I need to see again.

21/32 Seen

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AWARDS?


Basic Instinct received the following nominations and awards:

• Two (2) Academy Award nominations, including Best Editing (Frank J. Urioste)
• Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or nominee
• Five (5) Saturn Award nominations, including Best Horror Film and Best Actress (Sharon Stone)
• Six (6) MTV Movie Award nominations, including two wins for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female (Stone)
• Two (2) Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Actress (Stone)
• Three (3) Razzie Award nominations, including Worst Actor (Michael Douglas)

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AWARDS?


Body Double received the following nominations and awards:

• National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (Griffith) - WIN
• Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Melanie Griffith)
• New York Film Critics Circle Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Griffith)
• Razzie Award nomination for Worst Director (Brian De Palma)

The nineties are owning this countdown. Two films from very cool filmmakers. I liked Basic Instinct back when it was released but I was also a teenager...not sure how it would hold up. I haven't seen Body Double but it's another film that's been on the watchlist way too long.

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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."

70. Basic Instinct - I think the success of Basic Instinct led to a whole slew of sexually charged thrillers in the 90s (not that it invented the formula or anything.) It's another one of those thrillers whose title is a seemingly random adjective followed by a random noun. Rabid Interest - I got that from a random adjective and noun generator, and it'll be coming out in 2025, but it could serve as the title of this film just as well. Well...we all know what everyone is thinking of when this movie comes up - especially all of us immature people who can't stop thinking about that famous shot. As for the movie as a whole - I remember an ice pick murder, the character Michael Douglas plays falling for the character Sharon Stone plays and how she's most probably a murderer - but the former doesn't want to believe it. I think that's a common enough plotline as well, which still shows up from time to time. Sharon just happened to tap into that special quality some people have to be alluring and attractive - which made her a star for a number of years after this came out - peaking with her Oscar-nominated role in Martin Scorsese's Casino. Appearing in Basic Instinct 2 in 2006 officially confirmed that she was desperate to be taken notice of again - but it's a tough business. I blame Sphere (1998). I didn't vote for Basic Instinct, but it's a great example of neo noir.

69. Body Double - I haven't seen this, and being a Brian De Palma movie I really should have I think. Appearing here in the countdown encourages me to get that done.

Seen : 17/32
Never heard of : 5/32
Heard of but not seen : 10/30

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