# In the light of darkness: favorite film noir



## Fenestella (Oct 4, 2015)

In the darkness of the noirs, (in my eyes) some shine like luminaries.

As always, I love to find the hidden gems: The Prowler (1951), Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950), They Won't Believe Me (1947), Nora Prentiss (1947)...

As much as I hate to namedrop the usual suspects, a couple of them are just too outshining / overshadowing: 
_The Postman Always Rings Twice_ (1946), and above all, _Double Indemnity_ (1944)


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## Fenestella (Oct 4, 2015)

A tribute to the Noir of noirs (with the Passacaglia of passacaglias)


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

The Third Man for me. Chinatown also, and Touch of evil.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I love to namedrop the usual suspects! I get a strange kick out of it, for some reason.

My list might be

1. The Big Sleep
2. Shadow of a Doubt
3. Out of the Past
4. Murder, My Sweet
5. The Maltese Falcon
6. Double Indemnity
7. Gilda
8. White Heat
8. The Lady from Shanghai
9. High Sierra
10. The Killers


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## MattB (Jun 14, 2017)

I'm a fan of Billy Wilder's works so I have to answer Double Indemnity.
However, The Maltese Falcon, Chinatown and The Third Man are close...
And I love neo noir movies too.


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## Ralfy (Jul 19, 2010)

_High and Low_


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## MattB (Jun 14, 2017)

Excellent movie. I think it's also the first time I saw Mifune and Nakadai in a non-samurai movie.


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## Fenestella (Oct 4, 2015)

Any fan of _A Place in the Sun (1951)_? Is it a borderline film noir?


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Fenestella said:


> Any fan of _A Place in the Sun (1951)_? Is it a borderline film noir?


I remember liking it well enough, even if I don't remember all of it - I should re-watch it. Perhaps a borderline case, yeah.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

VERTIGO, of course!


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

mathisdermaler said:


> VERTIGO, of course!


Vertigo is a great film... but I think I get the best "noir" feeling when the film is in black & white! Maybe it's a shallow pre-requisite... but that's how it is for me. Also, it's good if it rains all the time...


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## bz3 (Oct 15, 2015)

I love film noirs and went threw a phase a number of years ago where I watched all I could get my hands on. I still love the greats and watch them over but some of the B-movie vehicles in the genre are very tedious. I'll try to think of some under-heralded ones I think are worth watching over the next few days but this list is great for the big ones:



Xaltotun said:


> I love to namedrop the usual suspects! I get a strange kick out of it, for some reason.
> 
> My list might be
> 
> ...


I never get tired of the slick pace and amorality of Double Indemnity, the anger and torment of Out of the Past, or the trenchancy and murkiness of The Big Sleep. Any of those 3 plus the Maltese Falcon and Laura would probably round out my top 5. After that it's tough to say. One I haven't seen mentioned here yet is In A Lonely Place, which is truly great. I'll think more on it what else I like.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

_A Place in the Sun_... yes. But also _Sunset Boulevard_.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

bz3 said:


> I love film noirs and went threw a phase a number of years ago where I watched all I could get my hands on. I still love the greats and watch them over but some of the B-movie vehicles in the genre are very tedious. I'll try to think of some under-heralded ones I think are worth watching over the next few days but this list is great for the big ones:
> 
> I never get tired of the slick pace and amorality of Double Indemnity, the anger and torment of Out of the Past, or the trenchancy and murkiness of The Big Sleep. Any of those 3 plus the Maltese Falcon and *Laura* would probably round out my top 5. After that it's tough to say. One I haven't seen mentioned here yet is In A Lonely Place, which is truly great. I'll think more on it what else I like.


By Jove, I forgot Laura!!! Should most definitely be in my top 10!


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> _A Place in the Sun_... yes. But also _Sunset Boulevard_.


You think so? Of course it's a question of interpretation. But I think there's so much other stuff going on in there, I might not count _Sunset Boulevard_ in very quickly. It's a marvellous film, however!


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Altman's The Long Goodbye is a great neo noir.

Another late, great entry in the tradition, in my opinion, is Alan Parker's Angel Heart. As an aside, Lisa Bonet's appearance in the film (I think it was her first since appearing in The Cosby Show) basically destroyed her film career--but that's a small price to pay for being involved in a masterwork!


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I find myself quoting "The Big Sleep" fairly often. 

"Well, hello!!" 
"You're not very tall, are you? -I try to be."
"A man who indulges in parenthood at this late stage deserves all that he gets."
"Nasty creatures! Their flesh is too much like man-flesh. Their perfume has the rotten sweetness of corruption!"
"I seem to exist largely on heat, like a new-born spider."
"I could make your business mine. -You wouldn't like it, the pay is too small."
"Guys wanna play a hand, I let 'em play it."
"She fell on my lap while I was standing up."
"You? What's wrong with you? -Nothing you can't fix!"
"All the usual vices, plus some they've invented on their own."
"My husband doesn't kill people! -No, he just hires other people to do it!"
etc.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Xaltotun said:


> I find myself quoting "The Big Sleep" fairly often.
> 
> "Well, hello!!"
> "You're not very tall, are you? -I try to be."
> ...


Does anyone write dialogue like this any more? Do we still spell dialog "dialogue"? Is there still hope?


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Woodduck said:


> Does anyone write dialogue like this any more? Do we still spell dialog "dialogue"? Is there still hope?


There's book on interviews made with Howard Hawks (who directed "The Big Sleep" and other masterpieces), and there's a bit on where he reveals how he and his team of writers wrote dialogue. Basically, they took a plain sentence, and then said it in a more complex, more interesting way. Then they took _that_ sentence and made a similar operation on it!

As for the hope question, I believe that the fact that you did pose such a question is a proof that hope indeed exists!


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## bz3 (Oct 15, 2015)

It also couldn't have hurt to have one of the great literary masters in the English language working on that screenplay in William Faulkner.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Not mentioned:

Detour (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
The Stranger (1946)
Kiss of Death (1947)
Lady in the Lake (1947)
D.O.A. (1950)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
Dragnet (1954)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The Lineup (1958)

Seldom mentioned; but a personal favorite:

The Big Combo (1955)

If made 15 and 20 years earlier and in b&w, Bullitt (1968) and Charley Varrick (1973) would be considered prime films noir.


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

The Third Man
Double Indemnity
Laura

And all those b/w French movies with Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura.


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## MattB (Jun 14, 2017)

David Phillips said:


> The Third Man
> Double Indemnity
> Laura
> 
> *And all those b/w French movies with Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura.*


Oh man, I hear you.
How lucky I feel I've been growing up watching movies like Le Pacha, Touchez pas au Grisbi, Le Clan des Siciliens, Razzia sur la chnouf, Garde à vue ... I don't know if they all exactly qualify as film noir, but what movies.


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