Film Noir suggestions
- milk114
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:38 pm
- Location: Mar Vista, Los Angeles
-
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 2:08 am
- clutch44
- Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2004 10:33 pm
- Location: Camarillo, CA
Noir has always been a favorite for me, of the previously mentioned titles and a few more I would rank them as follows:
Must haves
Out Of The Past
Double Indemnity (hopefully a new release soon)
Laura
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Gun Crazy
Mildred Pierce
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Others that NEED to be released on DVD
The Narrow Margin
Phantom Lady
The Woman in the Window
Born to Kill
Robert Mitchum film noir that I hope will be released soon
Macao
The Big Steal
His Kind of Woman
Angel Face
Jean-Pierre Melville film noir
Le Samourai
Bob le flambeur
Le Cercle Rouge
Un flic
While many will argue that some films don't meet all the 'criteria' of noir, I certainly find the influence in each film listed. The upcoming Dassin releases are great choices as well.
Must haves
Out Of The Past
Double Indemnity (hopefully a new release soon)
Laura
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Gun Crazy
Mildred Pierce
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Others that NEED to be released on DVD
The Narrow Margin
Phantom Lady
The Woman in the Window
Born to Kill
Robert Mitchum film noir that I hope will be released soon
Macao
The Big Steal
His Kind of Woman
Angel Face
Jean-Pierre Melville film noir
Le Samourai
Bob le flambeur
Le Cercle Rouge
Un flic
While many will argue that some films don't meet all the 'criteria' of noir, I certainly find the influence in each film listed. The upcoming Dassin releases are great choices as well.
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
I love film noir, but rather than list a whole slew of titles, I'll just urge everyone to watch The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953), an extremely rich film that has been grossly undervalued.
Also, hold off on buying any of the following DVDs from Image until Jan. 18, when they will drop in price:
Blue Gardenia
D.O.A. (1950)
Detour
Impact
Kansas City Confidential
The Thief (1952)
Too Late For Tears
Also, hold off on buying any of the following DVDs from Image until Jan. 18, when they will drop in price:
Blue Gardenia
D.O.A. (1950)
Detour
Impact
Kansas City Confidential
The Thief (1952)
Too Late For Tears
-
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 2:08 am
http://www.mindjack.com/film/filmnoir.html
Covers a few cheap noir collections (some overlap with the more expensive Image titles), I've been meaning to try one and see how bad the quality is.
Covers a few cheap noir collections (some overlap with the more expensive Image titles), I've been meaning to try one and see how bad the quality is.
- Fletch F. Fletch
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:54 pm
- Location: Provo, Utah
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
I can't believe nobody's mentioned Force of Evil or T-Men. Both of these are at the pinnacle of noir - Alton's photography on T-Men is iconic. Force of Evil is simply one of the all-time greatest American movies, and the Lions Gate DVD seems to be OK, according to the Beaver. There's a cheap T-Men around which is OK, as I recall.
- oldsheperd
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 5:18 pm
- Location: Rio Rancho/Albuquerque
- porquenegar
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:33 pm
The Questar Five Film Noir Killer Classics is actually a very good deal for the money. Deepdiscount is selling it for under $17. The transfers are not definitive but they are very acceptable with the exception of Scarlett Street which I think is poor but watchable. The extras disk has a few interesting short documentaries and a slew of trailers. Movies included are D.O.A, Detour, The Stranger, Scarlet Street, Killer Bait.
- devlinnn
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:23 am
- Location: three miles from space
Are you sure about this? Looks like they were reissued on the 18th at the same (high) price.Also, hold off on buying any of the following DVDs from Image until Jan. 18, when they will drop in price:
Blue Gardenia
D.O.A. (1950)
Detour
Impact
Kansas City Confidential
The Thief (1952)
Too Late For Tears
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
Yeah, it sure looks that way. I got the information from a thread at DVDTalk, which I believe is maintained by someone in the trade and is reliable. According to DVDPriceSearch.com, these are available for around $10 from a few retailers I'm not in the habit of ordering from (Best Prices, Buy.com), so maybe other retailers will drop the prices in time. If not, sorry for passing along a bum tip, and it's a shame because Detour is one of the great films of its era, but I've been holding off for a better price.
- Harold Gervais
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:09 pm
- Gary Tooze
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:07 pm
- Contact:
I'd go Roan Group ahead of Image... usually cheaper too as well as better quality very often.But the Image releases usually have the better transfers.
We have listed all the Classic Noir's here with link to reviews and comparisons... (and links then to buy)
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/film-noir.htm
BTW, I agree with Gregory about Hitch-hiker...
Best,
Gary
-
- Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2004 12:24 pm
Lets open this one back up. Lately it seems I have been watching nothing but noir--just about anything I can get my hands on. As much as I love the classics, I am really enjoying the lesser known gems such as Detour, T-Men, D.O.A., Hitch-Hiker etc.
Can anyone recommend any more films in this vein? I'd also be thrilled to learn about more non-American films.
(Sock it to me, Zedz)
Can anyone recommend any more films in this vein? I'd also be thrilled to learn about more non-American films.
(Sock it to me, Zedz)
- bjeggert82
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:36 pm
- Location: www.deepfocusreview.com
- Contact:
- Ashirg
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
- Location: Atlanta
Chase is a nice little noir. Make sure you get VCI disc of it. The other film in a double feature disc, Bury Me Dead is not so great, but worth one viewing. All films shot by John Alton worth a look, like The Big Combo (Image or Geneon disc), He Walked by Night (MGM disc), Raw Deal (VCI disc), The Crooked Way (Geneon disc). In fact, I recently was surprised by The Crooked Way. The plot is similar to Somewhere in the Night, but on many levels I enjoyed it more. Another VCI double feature, The Scar and The Limping Man worth a look. The first is an ok noir with a great ending, and the second is an engaging Brit-noir with a terrible ending.
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
I'm afraid my noir knowledge falls well short of comprehensive, but do seek out any of the Mann /Alton films. Ted Tetzlaff's short, sharp The Window is a must-see as well.
'Foreign' noir is a problematic classification (and dissenters tend to throw things), but there are strongs and obvious precursors in Germany - when the Expressionists moved on from strict Expressionism much of what they did looked rather a lot like noir (see Asphalt, for example, or the obvious Langs). And there are a lot of similarities with French 'poetic realism.' La Bete humaine is obviously in the same ballpark, plus Le Jour se leve and Gueule d'amour. It might even be possible to argue that Gabin was the definitive noir hero, even if he never appeared in a strictly-defined film noir. (I'm sure David Hare has an opinion on this!)
When considering these definitions, it's important to remember that film noir was never an 'authentic' genre, but a critical construct devised after the fact to account for perceived similarities that were, to a degree, trans-generic, so the extent of its scope depends on how persuasive an argument you can make for the inclusion of any given film.
'Foreign' noir is a problematic classification (and dissenters tend to throw things), but there are strongs and obvious precursors in Germany - when the Expressionists moved on from strict Expressionism much of what they did looked rather a lot like noir (see Asphalt, for example, or the obvious Langs). And there are a lot of similarities with French 'poetic realism.' La Bete humaine is obviously in the same ballpark, plus Le Jour se leve and Gueule d'amour. It might even be possible to argue that Gabin was the definitive noir hero, even if he never appeared in a strictly-defined film noir. (I'm sure David Hare has an opinion on this!)
When considering these definitions, it's important to remember that film noir was never an 'authentic' genre, but a critical construct devised after the fact to account for perceived similarities that were, to a degree, trans-generic, so the extent of its scope depends on how persuasive an argument you can make for the inclusion of any given film.