The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

Master of None

3 weeks ago

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... HEAT

RT � 83%, IMDb � 8.3

Roger Ebert said:

"It's not just an action picture. Above all, the dialogue is complex enough to allow the characters to say what they're thinking: They are eloquent, insightful, fanciful, poetic when necessary. They're not trapped with cliches. Of the many imprisonments possible in our world, one of the worst must be to be inarticulate - to be unable to tell another person what you really feel. These characters can do that. Not that it saves them." (read full review here)

Johnny Restall, from Film Cred, said:

"Heat provides an imitation of both the style and content
of noir�of its suffocating atmospheres, its concern with male vulnerability, and
its aesthetic elaboration�which updates the genre�s uneasiness about
modernity by pointing to the primacy of style in postmodern times." (read full review here)

@MovieMad16 said:

"Heat is easily one of the best crime films ever made. Two very likeable characters and two stories to tell. Al Pacino is a cop with a troubled love life. Robert Di Niro is a criminal who tries to stay away from bars. When these two personalities collide , its one hell of a ride." (read full review here)

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Thief

Master of None

3 weeks ago

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... ANGEL HEART

RT � 82%, IMDb � 7.2

Roger Ebert said:

"This is one of those movies where you leave the theater and re-run the plot in your head, re-intrepreting the early scenes in terms of the final shocking revelations. Angel Heart is a thriller and a horror movie, but most of all it's an exuberant exercise in style, in which Parker and his actors have fun taking it to the limit." (read full review here)

Cameron Geiser, from Films Fatale, said:

"On its surface, the film lovingly recreates the look and style of classic film noir, liberally spiced with the saltier sex, language, and violence of post-Hays code cinema. External light contrasts sharply with dark interiors as Angel moves through a murky world far more morally compromised than he suspects." (read full review here)

@Iroquois said:

"Angel Heart makes for a great take on a familiar genre that may be prone to the odd moment of '80s excess but is still surprisingly solid in the face of a plot that seems to threaten repeat viewings but never actually does." (read full review here)

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

3 weeks ago

Heat was 21 for me. I still haven't seen Angel Heart

Miss Vicky

MoFo's Resident Bitch

3 weeks ago

I saw Heat when it was in the theater but never rewatched it and remember very little about it. I've never seen Angel Heart.

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stillmellow

Msg

Basic Non-B

3 weeks ago

Originally Posted by Thief

There's also games for the neo-noir gang. Here's a little simple game of Fill in the Blanks.

Missing Word: Neo-Noir

Let us know how you do! As you'll see, neo-noir confusion is not exclusive to MoFo

20/20 1:48

seanc

Lone Wolf

3 weeks ago

I rewatched Heat at some point last year. It�s absolutely fantastic, but I didn�t consider it here.

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Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

3 weeks ago

Heat was #21 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1990s, #48 on the original MoFo Top 100, and fell to #70 on the reboot of that list. Angel Heart was #94 on the original MoFo Top 100 Horror Films.

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Little Ash

he/him

3 weeks ago

I'm surprised to see Angel Heart make it this high up on the list. I haven't seen Heat since the 90s. I was a late teen the last time I saw it and thought it was pretty great. But that was also an age where I put weight on Oscar best picture winners and don't trust my opinions from that age about these type of movies. I suspect it's still a pretty solid film, but not something that I'm particularly into. At least Heat does register as a neo-noir crime drama, and Angel Heart is clearly acting like a modern noir with a retro-noir vibe (but also packaged as a horror movie). The latter now makes me wonder if my questionable ballot entry that's a period piece blended with some horror (but is a lot more questionable as a noir) might actually make the countdown. Presumably not this late, but who knows as this point.

Allaby

Guy who likes movies

3 weeks ago

Seen both, but not a fan of either. Heat and Angel Heart are both 6/10 films to me. Some effective moments and good performances, but not consistently entertaining or interesting enough for my liking.

Seen: 57/70

Sedai

A system of cells interlinked

3 weeks ago

I have never been over the moon for Heat, so it never really had a chance to make my list.

Angel Heart is another story. I had this all the way up at #8 on my ballot. When people ask me to define neo-noir in conversation, Angel Heart is always one of the first films I mention, along with stuff like Blade Runner and Chinatown. Whenever someone asks me what some of the darkest of the genre are, it is right up near the top of the list. Discussing it in any can lead to major spoilers, so I will just say: if you haven't seen this film, do so soon, as it is one of the finest examples of neo-noir. The film is too dark for some, but I like it a whole lot.

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Last edited by Sedai; 2 weeks ago at 03:11 PM.

Thief

Master of None

3 weeks ago

Stats: Pit Stop #7

After hitting our seventh pit stop (70), here's were we are now:

Decade Breakdown

1960s = 11
1970s = 10
1980s = 6
1990s = 22
2000s = 10
2010s = 11
2020s = 0

Despite a decent showing from the 1970s and the 2010s, the 1990s keep rising, and it seems they will walk away with this. Nothing from the 2020s yet.

Recurring Directors

Michael Mann = 3
William Friedkin = 3
David Fincher = 2
Shane Black = 2
Martin Scorsese = 2
Christopher Nolan = 2

Michael Mann does a 1-2 punch between yesterday and today to get into the 3-entries group. We also had David Fincher and Shane Black join the 2-entries group this week.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

3 weeks ago

I never seen Heat. But I did watch Angel Heart in the Noir HoF III.

I wrote this:

Angel Heart (1987) ***SPOILERS

I loved the first hour! Especially the way the director handled the scenes. I noticed on the longer scenes the opening fade-in would be a close-up of an object, something on a table or something small in the foreground. Then the scene would open up to a master shot so we could see the entire scene. The director would then take his time with the camera movements giving us plenty of 'in between time' so that we could soak up the atmosphere and 'be in the scene'. The sets themselves were so realistically dressed with small period piece items that I would pause the film just to get a good look at all the detail that went into those scenes. I'm impressed by this director!

I don't think I've seen many of Mickey Rourke films, but I was blown away by his performance. He covered the range of emotions and did them very believably. He made the perfect film noir detective and embodied the soul of Philip Marlowe.

I can't say the same for Robert DeNiro. IMO he's one of the most overrated actors, at any rate, he made a lousy devil. Even before I knew that's who he was, I could tell he didn't have a handle on his character so his performance felt flat.

Unfortunately the second hour went down the tubes. Charlotte Rampling and Lisa Bonet played intriguing characters and I liked their storylines. I wish they had more screen time as I would've liked the story to unfold in part through scenes with them. As it was their time was all too brief.

I didn't care for the scene in the gumbo house where the older man in a white suit delivers one helluva long monologue explaining the whole movie to the audience. Though the big reveal with Robert DeNiro confessing to be the devil felt silly to me, but not as silly Lisa Bonet's little kid with glowing eyes, what a weak ending for a film that started out so damn promising.

Last edited by Citizen Rules; 3 weeks ago at 01:56 PM.

Thief

Master of None

3 weeks ago

The great Eddie Muller on whether Heat is a noir or not.

Noir or Not? - Heat ('95)

"Heat, of course, fits in the great tradition of heist movies which � some of them are noir, some of them are not � so I'm a little bit on the fence on Heat [...] Depends on what day you catch me, whether I think it's actually film noir or not."

Thief

Master of None

3 weeks ago

Hadn't even registered that this was a Robert De Niro two-fer. Is it just me, looking for things in common or are some of these pairings very serendipitous a lot of times?

Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

2 weeks ago

Angel Heart is another from my ballot. Adapted from William Hjortsberg�s novel Fallen Angel, which was pegged as �Raymond Chandler meets The Exorcist�. A pretty apt tag for this genre hybrid. Alan Parker made some significant changes to the story, the key being moving much of the action from NYC�s Harlem and other boroughs to the gothic trappings of New Orleans and some of the surrounding swamp country. Before he gave up on acting to focus on boxing for a bit, Mickey Rourke was a bonafide star and he gave one of his very best performances (only Barfly may be better) as a private detective circa 1955 named Harry Angel, tasked to find a missing minor jazz crooner Johnny Favorite, who disappeared shortly after VJ-Day in Manhattan. He may have suffered some trauma during the war leading to amnesia, but whatever his scars or identity now, the trail has long gone cold. Angel has been hired by a mysterious manager, Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro), who wants Favorite to fulfill his contract.

The investigative trail leads to some literal voodoo and bodies start piling up, too. As he gets closer to the truth he meets a pair of women in Louisiana, played by Charlotte Rampling and Lisa Bonet. Parker originally wanted Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando for his Angel and Cyphre, but Rourke and De Niro was the perfect poerhouse '80s pairing. A devilishly fun exercise in style with perfect cinematography by Michael Seresin, who worked with Parker a lot in the beginning of his career (Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, Fame, Shoot the Moon, Birdy) and a haunting score by Trevor Jones (Excalibur, Runaway Train, Sea of Love, Dark City).

Angel Heart was my fourteenth pick, a tidy dozen of its 129 points. �Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise?�

HOLDEN'S BALLOT
4. Night Moves (#40)
7. The Grifters (#45)
8. One False Move (#73)
9. Blast of Silence (#48)
12. To Live & Die in L.A. (#43)
13. The Naked Kiss (#51)
14. Angel Heart (#31)
15. Shallow Grave (#95)
17. Dead Again (#90)
22. The Hot Spot (#85)
24. Blue Ruin (#82)
25. Johnny Handsome (DNP)

Last edited by Holden Pike; 2 weeks ago at 02:56 PM.

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

2 weeks ago

Originally Posted by Thief

Is it just me, looking for things in common or are some of these pairings very serendipitous a lot of times?

Thief

Master of None

2 weeks ago

AWARDS?

Heat received several nominations but no awards. These are some of the most notable:

Two (2) Saturn Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (Val Kilmer)
One (1) MTV Movie Award nomination for Most Desirable Male (Kilmer)
One (1) Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Supporting Actress (Natalie Portman)
One (1) Cinema Audio Society Award nomination for Best Sound Mixing

mrblond

Society ennobler, last seen in Medici's Florence

2 weeks ago

Angel Heart (1987) my #1.

In the early 90's, me and a bunch of art-addicted boys and girls founded kind of a religious club around this film, proclaiming that the Cinema has reached its highest possible peak. We've passionately discussed it many long nights within dense smoke of cigarettes and variety of bottles.
If you want Mickey Rourke, this is it. Supported by the amazing Charlotte Rampling and De Niro at their best. All these directed by Alan Parker, one of the most notable filmmakers of those years. That's a Cult.

Needless to say that I've seen it dozen of times, and the "Egg scene" + "Rourke-Rampling meetings scenes" hundreds of times.

+
100/100

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My Ballot
▽
1. Angel Heart (1987) [#31]
...
4. The Driver (1978) [#79]
5.
6. Red Rock West (1993) [#88]
7. The Hot Spot (1990) [#85]
8. Shallow Grave (1994) [#95]
...
14. Purple Noon (1960) [#94]
15.
16. Thelma & Louise (1991) [#56]
...
19. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) [#36]
20.
21. Mona Lisa (1986) [#78]
22.
23.
24. Pulp Fiction (1994) [#37]
25.

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Others in my radar:
▽
The Ninth Gate (1999) [one-pointers]
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) [#96]
True Romance (1993) [#60]

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Thief

Master of None

2 weeks ago

AWARDS?

Angel Heart received several nominations and awards. These are some of the most notable:

Three (3) Saturn Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro)
Two (2) Jupiter Award nominations, including a win for Best Actor (Mickey Rourke)
One (1) Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Female Superstar (Lisa Bonet)
One (1) SIYAD Award nomination for Best Foreign Film

CosmicRunaway