 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Robert Siodmak box set, including PHANTOM LADY, COBRA WOMAN and THE KILLERS was just released in Europe, so there may be hope for a Region 1 version soon. I've been waiting for Carol Reed's ODD MAN OUT to get a decent release, myself. You've probably seen that one--I think it has most of the elements of noir. Two well-known French noir films that I recently caught up with rank high on my list: RIFIFI and LE JOUR SE LEVE. I don't know of any obscure noir films, unfortunately, but I'll be interested to see what others recommend.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh yeah, Ava Gardner is AMAZING in THE KILLERS. Until I saw that film I'd only known her from much later performances, and could never understand why she was considered such a sex symbol. The early Ava made a believer out of me in about TWO SECONDS! ODD MAN OUT will be shown on TCM on May 27 at 10:00am ET, 7:00 PT. I believe that they have access to a pretty clean print of the film, and I highly recommend it. The William Alwyn score completely takes over during the last ten minutes, turning the final scene into a kind of tragic ballet. It also contains one of James Mason's finest performances, which is really saying something.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyone have any lesser-known films noir they'd like to suggest for someone who's seen a lot of noir and can't get enough?
I wish Phantom Lady were on DVD. It's not a great movie, perhaps, but it has a couple of truly great sequences--the mad drumming scene, and the walk at night (if you've seen it you know the scene I'm talking about).
I'm thinking more of old noir films, btw, with, say, Touch of Evil being the latest. But neo noirs are acceptable if we can't find any others for us junkies to feed on.
Scoreses's favourite Film Noir:
"Murder by Contract"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051959/
"Blast of Silence"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054687/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi, JS:
Noir is one of my favorite genres. Universal has released some great ones to DVD (although, as you mention, no "Phantom Lady," which is one of my "top ten.")
Noirs I recommend, if you haven't seen them:
Black Angel
Nightmare Alley
Road House (with Widmark - NOT the one with Patrick Swayze!)
Pickup on South Street (not obscure, granted, but great!)
Follow Me Quietly
The Narrow Margin
Nightmare (Kevin McCarthy)
Witness to Murder (Stanwyck)
While the City Sleeps
I'm not sure if TCM runs their "Darkness After Dawn" program on weekends anymore, but they showed a lot of the lesser known titles at one time.
Also, I notice from another thread that you're in Boston -- does the Brattle in Cambridge still run their "Noir Night?" I saw a lot of great stuff there years ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
May 7, 2007 - 11:13 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
|
John S., (that is you, right?) I think you and I bantered on a noir discussion years ago, but let me again recommend an enthusiastic view into noir, Eddie Mueller's Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir.
As for a few films:
Armored Car Robbery (1950) Charles McGraw, William Talman. Some nice L.A. location shooting, too. Richard Fleischer directed.
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Karl Malden. Reunites Preminger with Andrews and Tierney.
Desperate (1947) Raymond Burr and Steve Brodie.
I guess it's a toss up as to what can beconsidered Noir's finest year. It's IMO either 1947 or 1950, but 1948 wasn't too shabby, either.
I'm currently re-reading Chandler's The Lady In the Lake, so this topic is timely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In response to the re-reading of Chandler and noir writing -- I've recently read some of Megan Abbott's work, specifically "The Song is You," and have purchased her first novel, "Die A Little." The stuff I've read is, IMO, more than worth the time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
May 14, 2007 - 5:54 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
JSWalsh
(Member)
|
John S., (that is you, right?) I think you and I bantered on a noir discussion years ago, but let me again recommend an enthusiastic view into noir, Eddie Mueller's Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir.
As for a few films:
Armored Car Robbery (1950) Charles McGraw, William Talman. Some nice L.A. location shooting, too. Richard Fleischer directed.
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Karl Malden. Reunites Preminger with Andrews and Tierney.
Desperate (1947) Raymond Burr and Steve Brodie.
I guess it's a toss up as to what can beconsidered Noir's finest year. It's IMO either 1947 or 1950, but 1948 wasn't too shabby, either.
I'm currently re-reading Chandler's The Lady In the Lake, so this topic is timely.
I love the book Dark City--it's one of my favorite reads. I have enjoyed some books on noir, but some are just too static and scholarly.
BTW, I have been a little bit disappointed in those "Film Noir" box sets--the first one was great, but 2 and 3 have more "crime" than noir in them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
deForest Kelley.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
May 18, 2007 - 3:11 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
JSWalsh
(Member)
|
Last night, while in a foul mood, I re-watched...
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
This is a noir that doesn't have many of the typical noir conventions, but when you look at it closely, it's got the essentials--a doomed hero, a "good girl," a bad dame, crime, moody photography, a subculture involving bad doin's. (One thing it doesn't have much of, fortunately, is music; Cyril Mockridge uses score sparingly, and very effectively.)
Tyrone Power works for a circus, learns a card trick, and tries to make the big bucks. That's the tale in a nutshell, but this is one loony movie. In the first place, the character is apparently telepathic, and at several points in the story knows things he couldn't know. This aspect is given a surprisingly offhand treatment.
This movie isn't so much about dark alleys as it is about the dark places reaching too high could bring a man. I don't want to give away too much to the uninitiated, but I will say that when I first saw this last year I was disappointed, but found myself thinking about the movie quite a bit.
Last night's second viewing was very enjoyable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last night, while in a foul mood, I re-watched...
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
This is a noir that doesn't have many of the typical noir conventions, but when you look at it closely, it's got the essentials--a doomed hero, a "good girl," a bad dame, crime, moody photography, a subculture involving bad doin's. (One thing it doesn't have much of, fortunately, is music; Cyril Mockridge uses score sparingly, and very effectively.)
Tyrone Power works for a circus, learns a card trick, and tries to make the big bucks. That's the tale in a nutshell, but this is one loony movie. In the first place, the character is apparently telepathic, and at several points in the story knows things he couldn't know. This aspect is given a surprisingly offhand treatment.
This movie isn't so much about dark alleys as it is about the dark places reaching too high could bring a man. I don't want to give away too much to the uninitiated, but I will say that when I first saw this last year I was disappointed, but found myself thinking about the movie quite a bit.
Last night's second viewing was very enjoyable.
This is a good movie and I ought to pick it up. Mockridge's main title for it was very powerful. I understand Tyrone Power had to really plead with Zanuck to play this part of a sort of crummy guy, it was definitely going against his type. The movie didn't do too well, so that was the end of that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
