The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

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03-16-24
AWARDS?



Mona Lisa received the following nominations and awards:
  • Six (6) BAFTA Award nominations, including a win for Best Actor (Bob Hoskins)
  • Four (4) Golden Globe Award nominations, including a win for Best Actor (Bob Hoskins)
  • Two (2) Cannes Film Festival award nominations, including a win for Best Actor (Bob Hoskins)
  • Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (Bob Hoskins)
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03-16-24
AWARDS?



Manhunter only received the following nomination and award:
  • Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture (1987)
  • Cognac Festival du Film Policier Critics Award (Michael Mann)



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03-17-24
Well, Mona Lisa is part of the 33rd Hall of Fame - I haven't seen it yet, but since I'm a collector and I have faith in what I've heard about it I blind bought the Criterion edition and will be watching it soon.

77. Manhunter - This is a classic that I haven't seen in a while, but have plenty of respect for. Untouched by the way Anthony Hopkins portrayed Hannibal Lecter and the way all Thomas Harris adaptations after Silence of the Lambs had Hopkins' Lecter dominate every single aspect of a film's atmosphere. There's a finer balance in Manhunter, and Tom Noonan made for an absolutely great Francis Dollarhyde (not taking anything away from Ralph Fiennes.) I've always had a bit of trouble with the sound when I've watched this on DVD - but I think this is more a transfer problem than a problem that's inherent to the movie itself. In any event, I turn the sound way up so I can understand what everyone is saying. I think the film has kind of aged like a fine wine, with the more stylized elements now just a part of the time period it's forever frozen in - with nothing contemporary to compare it with we just accept whatever style we see. Definitely fits it's neo noir classification.

Seen : 13/24
Never heard of : 3/24
Heard of but not seen : 8/24
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03-17-24
Originally Posted by cricket
If you were a police officer, you still wouldn't have the ability to accurately gauge this.

But for arguments sake, let's say it's true-



Then why would the movie be problematic? I think a gritty crime film is better when it's realistic. If your response would be, well, Callahan shouldn't be looked at as some kind of hero, besides the obvious response of it's just an R rated film and adults know the difference between right and wrong bla bla bla, I would say that flawed people and even horrible people can sometimes do the right thing and even act heroically. Just about anything can be problematic to somebody so I don't even think it's worth mentioning. I'm always surprised when something like this comes up here.


I have a feeling that we have very different opinions on politics, and I don't think either of us are going to change each other's minds, so I'll just focus on the movie.



The movie is problematic because it only shows one side of the equation. It doesn't want a debate, it wants the audience to only agree with the protagonist's point of view.


But that doesn't make it a bad movie. Dirty Harry is a good movie. But i think it could've been better if Callahan didn't always have to be right, and everyone opposed to him didn't always have to be wrong. There's an immaturity to it.


As I mentioned, my number one pick also has problematic elements, but up until the very end the protagonist is NOT a good person. It's a different sort of story.



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03-17-24
I love Manhunter. And now I'm annoyed with myself. It's the first movie onthe list (so far) that really SHOULD have been in my top 25. I just didn't think of it.

It's too late to retroactively enter it, but for the record it probably should've been my #14. So that's 12 imaginary points you can add to its score. 😅

Hmm... that also would've changed my one pointer, knocking the existing one off. Anyway, that makes my scores:

Seen: 10/24
Own list:

3. Brick

(14. Manhunter... sorta)
Last edited by stillmellow; 03-17-24 at 02:06 AM.



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03-17-24
Originally Posted by stillmellow
I have a feeling that we have very different opinions on politics, and I don't think either of us are going to change each other's minds, so I'll just focus on the movie.



The movie is problematic because it only shows one side of the equation. It doesn't want a debate, it wants the audience to only agree with the protagonist's point of view.


But that doesn't make it a bad movie. Dirty Harry is a good movie. But i think it could've been better if Callahan didn't always have to be right, and everyone opposed to him didn't always have to be wrong. There's an immaturity to it.


As I mentioned, my number one pick also has problematic elements, but up until the very end the protagonist is NOT a good person. It's a different sort of story.
If that's your complaint then I don't think it's political in nature, but more a question of taste because there's a ton of films you could say that about. I don't see Dirty Harry as being unique in that regard. I thought you were going somewhere different, like how can this man of questionable morals be presented as some kind of hero.



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03-17-24
Originally Posted by Iroquois
as noted, even the film as a whole seems to be aware of this - "dirty harry" is an in-universe nickname, after all. that its first sequel is about a squad of cops who resort to vigilante murder in a way that even callahan finds objectionable points to this as well, though this is arguably justifying his own actions as being not that bad. sudden impact providing a genuinely sympathetic perp for him to chase readily makes it the best sequel (and, as others have pointed out, there's a case to be made for it to be better - or at least more of a neo-noir - than dirty harry itself).


I agree. The sequels are superior in this way, in my opinion.



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03-17-24


Manhunter was #78 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1980s.
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03-17-24


03-17-24
76
6lists52points
Under the Silver Lake
Director

David Robert Mitchell, 2018

Starring

Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, Topher Grace, Callie Hernandez





03-17-24


03-17-24
75
3lists54points
The Silence of the Lambs
Director

Jonathan Demme, 1991

Starring

Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine





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03-17-24
TRAILERS



Under the Silver Lake - A disenchanted young man finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment's pool one night. The next morning she disappears sending him off to find her across LA as he uncovers a far more bizarre conspiracy.




The Silence of the Lambs - Rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling is brought into the fold to help pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "Buffalo Bill" by the media, which leads him to meet with Hannibal Lecter and confront the demons of her past.



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Victim of The Night
03-17-24
I did not have a chance to get a list in, I am ashamed to report, but I had started making one and Mona Lisa was on it.



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03-17-24
Say what you will about The Silence of the Lambs making it, but one can't deny the serendipitous nature of it coming up almost back-to-back with Manhunter Anyway, it is arguably one of my Top 10 favorite films. Love it, but I really don't see much neo-noir in it. That said, I welcome you to read the reviews I will link in the upcoming posts, but also this interesting analysis of it along with The Third Man, in regards to the noir elements in both films.

I haven't seen Under the Silver Lake, but it's been recommended to me by a few people.

SEEN: 14/26
MY BALLOT: 3/25

My ballot  



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Master of None
03-17-24
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... UNDER THE SILVER LAKE


RT – 59%, IMDb – 6.5

Brian Tallerico, from RogerEbert.com, said:

"Under the Silver Lake may not come together completely, but it’s the only film I’ve seen this year that reminded me of both David Foster Wallace and Raymond Chandler." (read full review here)
Oscar Hjelmstedt said:

"Though it’s definitely a neo-noir, [David Robert Mitchell] plays off classic noir tropes like the femme fatale. However, [he] is too aware of genre conventions to resort to clichés." (read full review here)
Aidan Bryant, from Collider, said:

"A perfect noir for our times, Under the Silver Lake is aging beautifully, and more than worth your time watching, and all the time it will occupy in your mind after you finish it." (read full review here)



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03-17-24
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS


RT – 95%, IMDb – 8.6

Roger Ebert said:

"Against these qualities, the weak points of the movie are probably not very important [...] But against these flaws are balanced true suspense, unblinking horror and an Anthony Hopkins performance that is likely to be referred to for many years when horror movies are discussed." (read full review here)
Brett Dworski, from Literate Ape, said:

"For starters, its blending of genres was ingenious. The Silence of the Lambs is simultaneously a gritty, neo noir crime drama and a bloodcurdling thriller. It’s an intuitive detective story that’ll make you play chess with the characters, but also one that’ll shrivel your skin as you do so." (read full review here)
@TheUsualSuspect said:

"Demme has created a concise and controlled psychological thriller that has been copied over and over again. The Silence of the Lambs launched the careers of everyone involved and holds up incredibly well today." (read full review here)



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BANNED FROM VIENNA
03-17-24
How did The Silence of the Lambs qualify? I thought it had to be on at least 2/3 of imdb, wikipedia, and letterboxd? I only see imdb. Anyway great film but a noir? I guess a bit.



I haven't seen Under the Silver Lake. I should check it out soon. Maybe today. Although I was thinking of watching Long Day's Journey Into Night. We'll see.
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Winner by Default
03-17-24
I've seen both of today's films, but voted for neither. Silence of the Lambs didn't even cross my mind when I was making my list, but even though I have some "arguably way more psychological thriller than neo-noir" films on there, I don't think I would've included it. I did consider Under the Silver Lake, which was a film I was very mixed on when I first saw it, but I didn't feel like rewatching it and dismissed it pretty quickly. Perhaps I should give it another go?

Out of the previous four reveals, I've seen Dirty Harry and Manhunter. Like Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter isn't a film I thought about when compiling my shortlist. I think I'd be more inclined to vote for it over Silence of the Lambs though. Can't explain my reasoning there though, just a feeling I guess. Been meaning to rewatch Dirty Harry for ages now, since I saw it when I was quite young and don't really remember much about it.

Seen: 13/26

My List: 3
05. Blue Ruin (2013) - #82
10. The Man from Nowhere (2010) - #87
15. Infernal Affairs (2002) - #91
25. The Chaser (2008) - DNP 1-pointer

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