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100 Greatest Neo-Noirs - a companion list

post #1 of 11
2/4/12 at 10:53am
Thread Starter 
A companion list to Parker's, great, noir list.

Nothing older than 1965. Be prepared to defend and justify. What makes it a noir? Is it style, subject, content. I'll even take TV programs. But the general principal is the same as Parker's list:

"The definition of film noir can be a complicated one. Just because a movie [(or TV program)] has guns and some shadowy cinematography doesn't make it fit for noir ([Scarface], for example, might be an influence on noir, but it's most certainly a gangster movie, not noir). So, make sure the movie warrants inclusion on this list, and if it's questioned, be prepared to defend your selection.

Finally, try to offer an explanation that makes it worth of inclusion. Not just "it was great," but why it was great and/or influential"

If you can site influences, even better smile.gif

#1 Chinatown (1974)

Possibly one of my favourite Noirs full stop. It has all the classic tropes and is a period piece to boot.

Every performance is great and Hustons villain is one of the best. Spectacularly unresolved bleak ending too.

And watch this and Rango back to back. Its amaing the similarities

Edited by Andy Bain - 2/4/12 at 3:47pm
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post #2 of 11
2/4/12 at 10:56am

2.

88d055e8_Bunny_Lake_Is_Missing.jpeg

dir. Otto Preminger, 1965

 

Holy shit, this movie. A little girl goes missing and a frantic young mother goes through the depths of psychological hell to find her...if she exists. 

 

It's like the little sister of Psycho and it's every bit as brilliant. Otto Preminger is the fucking boss here & his visual style is strikingly modern. It flows like a David Fincher film in black & white. The scares are genuinely terrifying & the mystery is a suspenseful psychological shell game that never lets up until the final, creepy-as-fuck reveal.

 

Whatever hype exists behind this brilliant gem is fully justified. It's a masterpiece.

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post #3 of 11
2/4/12 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
#3 Breaking Bad (2008 - 2012)

The reason i included TV programs. I think about Breaking Bad a lot. Probably too much. And lately I've been thinking it's noir writ large.

Sure the moral degradation, the nightmare world are all because of one mans selfish decision rather than him being thrust into it but it's all there. The style, the moral ambiguity, the (short lived) femme fatale and the crux, the slow disintegration of one mans soul through hubris, fear and narcissism.

While one part of me never wants this show to end, the other part is pleased we ae going to get a conclusion.

259
Edited by Andy Bain - 2/4/12 at 3:43pm
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post #4 of 11
2/4/12 at 5:37pm

4) Narc

 

Carnahan's debut and masterpiece (Have yet to see The Grey) about two cops looking into the death of a third cop, and one of them has many secrets. Has the realism of the Wire and Bosch-like Hell of The Shield. Liotta and Jason Patric should have gotten Oscar nominations.

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post #5 of 11
2/4/12 at 5:46pm

Just realized that we already have a pretty healthy & extensive Neo-Noir Top 100 list from just a few months ago.

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post #6 of 11
2/4/12 at 6:10pm
Thread Starter 
Arse.

Ah well, got to get my Breaking Bad is noir theory out there ;p
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post #7 of 11
2/4/12 at 7:09pm

For the record, I love the Breaking Bad=neo-noir theory and I absolutely agree.

Perhaps this thread should just be a continuation of that last one, adding movies and TV shows that were neglected? 

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post #8 of 11
2/5/12 at 2:49pm

Fuck you, Art, Bunny Lake belongs in the classic noir category. 

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post #9 of 11
2/5/12 at 8:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leonard View Post

Fuck you, Art, Bunny Lake belongs in the classic noir category. 



That's certainly debatable. And certainly not worth a "fuck you."

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post #10 of 11
2/5/12 at 9:01pm

That was a good natured fuck you, and I'd be happy to debate him as soon as I've got the time. :D

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post #11 of 11
2/5/12 at 10:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leonard View Post

That was a good natured fuck you, and I'd be happy to debate him as soon as I've got the time. :D



Maybe you should have punctuated it with a platonic man to man ass slap. The slightly too familiar, immediately awkward kind are always fun.

 

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