The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

Master of None

4 weeks ago

AWARDS?

True Romance received the following nominations and awards:

Three (3) Saturn Award nominations, including Best Writing (Quentin Tarantino)
One (1) MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Kiss (Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette)
One (1) International Fantasy Film Award nomination for Best Film
One (1) London Critics Circle Film Award for Newcomer of the Year (Tarantino)

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Thief

Master of None

4 weeks ago

AWARDS?

Bound received the following nominations and awards:

Five (5) Saturn Award nominations, including Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
Two (2) International Fantasy Film Awards for Best Film and Best Actress (Jennifer Tilly)
One (1) MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Kiss (Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon)
One (1) Chlotrudis Award nomination for Best Director (The Wachowskis)
One (1) GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film

Iroquois

Welcome to the human race...

4 weeks ago

no votes. true romance is definitely a fun time, easily my favourite of qt's writer-only films and given more than enough style by t. scott to compensate for an aggressive lack of substance to its fundamentally fluffy love story (to say nothing of a killer ensemble cast rounding out proceedings). bound is great, easily the best non-matrix wachowski film (and i would not dismiss arguments that it is their overall best) - tightly-plotted and emphatically brought to life by an extremely capable lead trio.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

4 weeks ago

Totally was underwhelmed by True Romance. Only seen once though.

4 weeks ago

4lists65points

The French Connection

Director

William Friedkin, 1971

Starring

Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco

4 weeks ago

6lists66points

Alphaville

Director

Jean-Luc Godard, 1965

Starring

Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Val�rie Boisgel

Thief

Master of None

4 weeks ago

TRAILERS

The French Connection - A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.

Alphaville - A U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a rogue agent and the scientist that built the tyrannical computer that's controlling the residents of the city.

Thief

Master of None

4 weeks ago

It's so weird how, regardless of how good they are, some movies stick while others don't. I was saying yesterday how Bound has stuck with me even though I haven't really revisited it in 10+ years. On the other hand, I saw The French Connection 4 years ago (had to confirm via Letterboxd) and I barely remember bits and pieces. I rated it fairly well (3.5 stars), but I couldn't tell you details about the plot or how it ended

I haven't seen Alphaville but I'm just now reading the synopsis and it sounds like something really intriguing. Godard is a bit of a blind spot for me; I've only seen Breathless and I wasn't a big fan of it, but maybe this is a better choice for me...? Who knows.

SEEN: 25/44
MY BALLOT: 6/25

My ballot

Allaby

Guy who likes movies

4 weeks ago

Seen both. French Connection was fine, but a little overrated. I rated it a 7/10. Alphaville was underwhelming and I rated it a 6/10.

Seen: 34/44

Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

4 weeks ago

The French Connection is an all-time great film and not a Noir by any reasonable criteria. But such is this list. ANYway, it was also #31 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1970s.

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Citizen Rules

Noir Time

4 weeks ago

I watched The French Connection first run at the theater with my parents...I was way in grade school and way too young to see an R rated film! I'm sure it bored me because I was a little kid and didn't understand what was going on. I've never seen it since 1971.

Alphaville was on my ballot! It was my #17. I can't say I love the movie but it's sure different.

Sedai

A system of cells interlinked

4 weeks ago

Seen both titles from today, but didn't consider either for my ballot. The French Connection because it's not a noir, and Alphaville because while I enjoyed it from a sort of distant and clinical perspective of analysis on the film making, it didn't do much for me otherwise.

And catching up from yesterday, again I have seen both Bound and True Romance, but neither made my ballot. I am not as big of a fan of True Romance as many on the site, but I haven't seen it in years, so perhaps it needs another viewing. I thought Bound was good, but wasn't ever in contention for my ballot.

28/44 seen

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Thief

Master of None

4 weeks ago

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... THE FRENCH CONNECTION

RT � 96%, IMDb � 7.7

Roger Ebert said:

"The movie is all surface, movement, violence and suspense. Only one of the characters really emerges into three dimensions: Popeye Doyle Gene Hackman, a New York narc who is vicious, obsessed and a little mad. The other characters don't emerge because there's no time for them to emerge. Things are happening too fast." (read full document here)

Mark Johnson, from Awards Daily, said:

"Embedded in the style and themes of classic film noir, The French Connection is a grim and relentless detective thriller that is celebrated as one of the most authentic films about police work." (read full review here)

@TheUsualSuspect said:

"The French Connection is a slow burn of a cop/crime/thriller. I didn't know what to expect because I had no idea what the film was about, other than it starred Gene Hackman and was famous for a car chase. While that car chase was indeed thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat, I found myself engaged in the tailing sections of the film." (read full review here)

Thief

Master of None

4 weeks ago

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... ALPHAVILLE

RT � 92%, IMDb � 7.0

Matt Zoller Seitz, from RogerEbert.com, said:

"A combination film noir, social satire and riff on tough-guy movies, set in a world of nonstop night [...] It's a disorienting, often unnervingly quiet and patient film that deliberately tries to induce a dream state in its audience, to the point of seeming to hypnotize them with repetitious bass-voiced narration and alternating black screens and closeups of flashing lights. Like a lot of great science fiction movies, it's more of an experience or vibe than a coherent set of philosophical or political ideas." (read full document here)

Time Out said:

"One of Godard's most sheerly enjoyable movies, a dazzling amalgam of film noir and science fiction." (read full review here)

@Wooley said:

"I think I am ready to go ahead and call this a masterpiece. I feel fairly close to how I felt about Last Year At Marienbad, which I think of as a Horror movie, by the way, for this 'genre' film, that presages Blade Runner and other future/dystopian Noir films, yet this is also something that transcends genre, has a great deal to say about the soul and the human condition, and is a work of art that could be hanging in The Louvre. I don't know if this film is for everyone, but I am glad it exists and will selectively recommend it to people I think will appreciate it." (read full review here)

seanc

Lone Wolf

4 weeks ago

This is an interesting pair for me because I have only seen each once, and it�s been a long time for both. One really never got considered for my list for that reason, yet the other hung in no matter how many times I fiddled.

Alphaville hung on for a couple reasons at number 23. It feels so Noir, yet so unique. Not a surprise considering it�s Godard. Also not a surprise, any reason to say Karina is one of the most beautiful screen presences of all time. Any chance to mention her or put her on a favorite list has to be taken.

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Last edited by seanc; 4 weeks ago at 04:55 PM.

crumbsroom

Registered User

4 weeks ago

Originally Posted by Torgo

At the risk of earning crumbs' ire, I admit I have yet to see a single Cassavetes. Is Bookie a sufficient gateway movie?

Noooooo. It is already a film sort of designed to deeply frustrate expectations, and if you aren't already acclimatized to what Cassavetes does, it would probably be torture.

Minnie and Moskowitz is probably the softest entry point. And Woman Under the Influence is the classic of his that isn't too too demanding of ones patience.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

4 weeks ago

Seen Alphaville once and thought well of it, and it definitely fits the genre.

It's been so long since I've seen French Connection that I have it on my watchlist. I couldn't even say if I like it but I assume the answer will be yes. From what I remember, I'm surprised to see it show up on this specific countdown.

Thursday Next

I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

4 weeks ago

Alphaville is very noirish. I didn't really like it overall but there are definitely some memorable sequences.

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

4 weeks ago

1 for 2.

Now we're talking. The French Connection was my #1! The soundtrack, the cinematography, NYC at it's seediest and Popeye Doyle. I thought it was quintessential noir.

Started watching Alphaville one time but didn't get very far. I'll have to give it another try sometime.

24 of 44.

Thief