Sunday, January 21, 2007

[Re]Noir








Below, as promised in yesterday's entry, my Top Five list of Best Film Noir. Go to Imdb for complete information such as stars & directors, synopses, awards, etc.: http://www.imdb.com/


The Third Man


Perhaps the Perfect Movie; without peer. The Third Man wins highest honors on the Mercury Rating evaluation system.








Sweet Smell of Success


Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and the Chico Hamilton Quartet. No word wasted. Marred only by its sappy ending. Watch this film; but listen too. Sweet Smell of Success wins an Honorary First on the Mercury Rating evaluation system.






Double Indemnity



This one frightened me to death. The film's first line, "Well, hello there Mr. Neff," belies Double Indemnity's nervous tension. But read the book, by James M. Cain, for an even more devastating ending.






Sunset Boulevard


This film contains all the elements of film noir; and extras like a dead monkey residing in its white casket. Note: Jack Webb, of Dragnet [the TV show] fame, plays Artie Green.







Laura




Cocktail film noir. The tag line: "The story of a love that became the most fearful thing that ever happened to a woman!" I simply adore this film.

1 comment:

Tom Reichert said...

I've only seen Double Indemnity. I'll never see Fred McMurray in the same way. I wrote a chapter on 'Basic Instinct' as a modern-day film noir, and DI served as inspiration. More interesting are the gender relations between the two protagonists. Men spoke to women a lot differently then compared to today. Will have to check out the other suggestions.