What are some of your favourite Film Noir?

RIP Thread.

__________________

Okay thanks, I read that page before, but it feel there is a lot of contradiction in it, and still no one can come to a main absolution as to what actually counts as film noir.

The Maltese Falcon
Double Indemnity
The Third Man
Strangers on a Train
Notorious
Sunset Blvd.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Touch of Evil
The Night of the Hunter
Laura
Scarface
The Big Sleep
Key Largo
The Big Heat
Gilda

It's a made-up genre the critics came up with, mostly after the fact. The filmmakers just made the movies the way they wanted. You seem to waste a lot of time trying to pigeonhole things.

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Who me? I was just trying to figure out what counts as film noir, since the only 3 elements that seem consistent are crime, drama, and German expressionist cinematography. But not all the ones mentioned, have all three elements, so I didn't think they counted.

That's because there is no main absolution to what is film noir. It's like asking what is the best pizza topping and no one will agree.

I know what I think film noir is, but that's just my personal truth. I say watch some noir and decide for yourself if it was noir or not?

What noir films have you seen?

But WWII started in 1939.

I'm not sure what counts as noir, but I saw M (1931), The Big Heat (1953), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), I, The Jury (1983), Against All Odds (1984), Cape Fear (1991), Double Indemnity (1944), Body Heat (1981), The Last Seduction (1994), The Skin I Live In (2011), Detour (1945), Heat (1995), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Seven (1995), and Night of the Hunter (1955), if all those count.

Many of these are called neo noir, since film noir are in the 1940s and 50s

Oh okay, I'm not sure what counts since a lot of examples prior on this thread, were after the 50s.

What Rambond said. Prior to 1940 is often called proto noir (if it fits the noir type), M would be a good example of a proto noir.

Well one thing about film noir is that whenever I read about the genre, it seems the villains are motivated by money and greed, but movies like M, and Seven have villains that are not, so would that be enough to put them into a different category?

I know that. But you made it seem like it came into existence as a result of the end of the war. I guess I misunderstood your post.

Either way, it's still a vague genre, and now I'm almost regretting this thread because now everyone is getting into heated arguments about its definition and what is or isn't noir.

__________________
Thanks again, Mr Portridge.

Heated arguments? I didn't notice any, I thought we were all friends discussing noir. It's all good! I love noir, it's my favorite genre/style of movie.

I guess I misinterpreted the intensity of the discussion.

I love film noir, but it's so difficult to really define it, no one can agree what is and isn't film noir.

How does that make any sense? Night of the Hunter is a brooding, atmospheric, tense crime drama, shot with shadows and edgy themes. From everything I've read in the past few days, that is a film noir. Not sure how what your line of thinking is here.

Why is anyone earnestly engaging I_Wear_Pants? He's like a novelty joke machine.

There are also certain themes and tones that are common with many noirs, as well as various tropes. A quick google search would give you a better understanding than I could at the moment.

M was a German film made well before the American film noir movement (which was driven the European directors who had come to America), and it was undoubtedly a huge influence on many of the noir directors. And of course the director Fritz Lang came to America and made several film noirs, including The Big Heat.

Casablanca is not film noir. All the films you list from the 80s and 90s could at best be classified as neo-noir while The Skin I Live In is not noir. Against All Odds is a good movie but it's a remake of a much better movie, which is one of the most thoroughly noir movies ever in my opinion, Out of the Past.

In my humble opinion The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity would form the templates for the two basic kinds film noirs that followed, the one with a private detective (or other "good guy" as the lead) and the other branch being the average guy who is dragged into crime due to some sort of character weakness. And as I said, there's Out of the Past, which as a film noir, is perfect.

Some of the must-see neo-noirs would be Chinatown, Blade Runner, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Grifters, and some of the films of the Coen brothers, like Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn't There, and Miller's Crossing, which is a gangster movie, but its basic plot premise is borrowed from Hammett's The Glass Key, and it seems to pay homage to various film noirs.

__________________
I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Thanks for your endorsement.

I remember watching Double Indemnity for the first time and really loving it.