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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 9, 2014 10:37:51 GMT -5
I am finally officially a participant: I this very day watched "Double Indemnity". A fine film which definitely seems like noir: Femme fatale. Check. Murder. Check. Reflecting narration. Check. Sharply voiced dialogue. Check. It's definitely a classic, and one of my favorites. I even have a poster for it in my living room! |
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Post by coke & comics on Nov 9, 2014 14:27:39 GMT -5
Watched Blood Simple. Excellent film. First by the Coen Brothers. A neo-noir film, I'm gonna claim.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 9, 2014 15:04:21 GMT -5
Watched Dark Passage a couple nights ago. The third of four team-ups of Bogie and Bacall, based on the novel by David Goodis. Kind of an odd picture in that you don't see Bogart's face until at least a third of the way into the film. It hits most of the noir notes. Man wrongly accused. Great evil female in Agnes Moorhead.
Not a great film. But a good film.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 9, 2014 15:08:05 GMT -5
Watched Blood Simple. Excellent film. First by the Coen Brothers. A neo-noir film, I'm gonna claim. I'd say it's very fair to call Blood Simple neo-noir. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 9, 2014 15:40:48 GMT -5
Watched Dark Passage a couple nights ago. The third of four team-ups of Bogie and Bacall, based on the novel by David Goodis. Kind of an odd picture in that you don't see Bogart's face until at least a third of the way into the film. It hits most of the noir notes. Man wrongly accused. Great evil female in Agnes Moorhead. Not a great film. But a good film. Yeah, plotwise it wasn't great but I loved the POV filming they employed. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 9, 2014 20:49:53 GMT -5
I am finally officially a participant: I this very day watched "Double Indemnity". A fine film which definitely seems like noir: Femme fatale. Check. Murder. Check. Reflecting narration. Check. Sharply voiced dialogue. Check. It's definitely a classic, and one of my favorites. I even have a poster for it in my living room! Man, I must have really missed something with Double Indemnity. Upon doing further reading about it, I can see that what made it memorable was the depths to which its characters readily sank, which would have been shocking for the time period, but I need a likable character to latch onto in a film, and that Chandler dialogue was so...so...something I didn't like. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 9, 2014 20:55:32 GMT -5
It's definitely a classic, and one of my favorites. I even have a poster for it in my living room! Man, I must have really missed something with Double Indemnity. Upon doing further reading about it, I can see that what made it memorable was the depths to which its characters readily sank, which would have been shocking for the time period, but I need a likable character to latch onto in a film, and that Chandler dialogue was so...so...something I didn't like. The dialogue was a little unnatural at times but I really liked the tone the film had, the desperation of it all just felt so very real. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Nov 9, 2014 21:02:08 GMT -5
It's definitely a classic, and one of my favorites. I even have a poster for it in my living room! Man, I must have really missed something with Double Indemnity. Upon doing further reading about it, I can see that what made it memorable was the depths to which its characters readily sank, which would have been shocking for the time period, but I need a likable character to latch onto in a film, and that Chandler dialogue was so...so...something I didn't like. I know what you mean about needing a way into a film or book, Shax. It's why I never have been able to fall for The Great Gatsby. Absolutely every character leaves me cold. I don't care about them at all, even Nick. As for Double Indemnity, I have always liked and felt for the Robinson character, Keyes. He's my way in. Not the world's nicest guy, I grant you, but he's a rationalist who searches for truth, even if it means just smoking out some two-bit insurance cheat. I always sense that he feels that even he could go the way of Walter Neff, but that watching Neff self-destruct is enough of a frightening warning to keep him on track. Like a Greek tragedy meant to evoke pity and fear. And like the best noirs (and Greek tragedy), DI makes you glad you're not the one caught in a tar pit of lies and paranoia |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 10, 2014 16:41:29 GMT -5
Just watched They Live by Night. I can't say I enjoyed the film, as it was one of the most unbearably painful tragedies I've ever seen on the screen, but it's going to stay with me for a long time. If you haven't seen it, basically it's the sweetest, most innocent of Hollywood romances placed squarely in the world of crime and betrayal. Makes me realize why you want those hardened men and femme fatales in noir films. Watching someone wholesome get caught up in it just hurts too much.
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Post by coke & comics on Nov 10, 2014 16:43:37 GMT -5
The dialogue in Double Indemnity was completely unnatural, but I took that as part of its charm.
This seemed to be precisely what something like Sin City was aping with its dialogue.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 10, 2014 22:03:49 GMT -5
Just watched Kiss Me Deadly and couldn't feel more "meh" about it. I'm abandoning The Guardian's Top 10 Noir film list at this point, as there's no way this would be my #8, and they ranked The Third Man beneath Double Indemnity. I need to find a Noir list that better reflects my preferences.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 10, 2014 22:09:39 GMT -5
I'm going to give this list a whirl, as I'm a huge fan of #3 and 5, liked #1, and can respect #2 from a distance. Plus, I've always wanted to see #4, 6, and 7, as well as #21, 22, 25, and 26. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 10, 2014 22:15:06 GMT -5
Just watched Kiss Me Deadly and couldn't feel more "meh" about it. I'm abandoning The Guardian's Top 10 Noir film list at this point, as there's no way this would be my #8, and they ranked The Third Man beneath Double Indemnity. I need to find a Noir list that better reflects my preferences. You could try Eddie Muller's list here : eddiemuller.com/top25noir.htmlHe does a lot of the commentary tracks on WB's noir DVDs and has also written extensively on the subject so his suggestions are backed up pretty well. And while I can't vouch for all these films, here's a list of noir flicks available for free: www.openculture.com/free_film_noir_movies |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 10, 2014 22:17:16 GMT -5
I'm going to give this list a whirl, as I'm a huge fan of #3 and 5, liked #1, and can respect #2 from a distance. Plus, I've always wanted to see #4, 6, and 7, as well as #21, 22, 25, and 26. That is a damn good list, so many there that I love. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 10, 2014 22:19:35 GMT -5
I'm going to give this list a whirl, as I'm a huge fan of #3 and 5, liked #1, and can respect #2 from a distance. Plus, I've always wanted to see #4, 6, and 7, as well as #21, 22, 25, and 26. That is a damn good list, so many there that I love. And I love the fact that they're all on Netflix! |
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