Any other fans here? We already have a thread about Humphrey Bogart, I love 'The Big Sleep' - everytime you think you understand everything it just slips away from you again
I know that some folks don't want to watch old B&W movies and they do look a bit old fashioned / too strongly censored but there are some crackers out there although not so often on TV channels now.
There are many elements of film noir I think in GoT - the flawed heroes and duplicitous dames, twists and turns in the plots Peter Lorre would have made a great Littlefinger.
I have a growing DVD collection of over 20 now, and anyone who has never watched White Heat with James Cagney seriously needs to, it's right up there with the alltime greats.
__________________
She knows which end to use
"You can shit later, there's people coming!"
And we ask the stranger not to kill us in our beds tonight for no damn reason at all
I always wanted to see some James Cagney movies, KM. I'll get around to it one of these days. I saw Angels with Dirty Faces when I was probably in highschool. But other than that nothing.
There are noir movies that are not B&W though. Some of Hitchcock's are considered noir. Vertigo for sure. I must have seen that one a LOT of times. Can't think of anything else but I've got A Bout De Souffle on DVD actually because everyone raved about it as Godard's masterpiece and Belmondo is weird in it. I don't get it.
Uff you have no idea! Double indemnity is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Yes, The big sleep, sometimes I have to look up for the english titles to remember. The times when writers like Faulkner earned some money writing for Hollywood. Freaking privilege.
__________________
"I´d not prolongued the chewing up, Doc. Nor the being spat out. Not go out a cunt. It´s the dispatch I find inglorious. The whole delusory fucking self importance.". Al Swedgin ;).
Oh yes Double Indemnity is a favourite of mine and in my DVD collection, Barbara Stanwyck is a great Femme Fatale
Phyllis: We're both rotten.
Walter Neff: Only you're a little more rotten.
And yes TW of course Film Noir carries on right up to the modern era, even Bladerunner rather fits the genre, so not all B & W as you said - though I have a special liking for the films of the 40s and 50s.
And in pastiche/parody I have a great liking for 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' as well.
__________________
She knows which end to use
"You can shit later, there's people coming!"
And we ask the stranger not to kill us in our beds tonight for no damn reason at all
This thing with the Noir genre is a whole thing because the noir movies had a short period in Hollywood but you still can find some of the "signs" of the genre in many movies... like you said TW, LA Confidential is a really great example (loved it too and used it to teach scripts paradigma).
Like TKM I also loved the B&W (especially the mute B&W)... talking about it, I guess you both watched The Third Man. Lordy, I loved that movie.
__________________
"I´d not prolongued the chewing up, Doc. Nor the being spat out. Not go out a cunt. It´s the dispatch I find inglorious. The whole delusory fucking self importance.". Al Swedgin ;).
Oh, you'd be so wrong! I haven't seen The Third Man but now that you've mentioned it, it goes straight to my top of the list. (my movie rental list is loooong). Sounds so cool to teach that, btw.
I do find a lot of noir movies lately. I realize that Fargo would totally fit the bill. Did anyone watch that Coen Bros movie? Because I had an argument if it is a crime noir or dark comedy. I went with first but the gentleman said it's a dark comedy. I'd love to hear anyone else's opinion.
Oh, you'd be so wrong! I haven't seen The Third Man but now that you've mentioned it, it goes straight to my top of the list. (my movie rental list is loooong). Sounds so cool to teach that, btw.
I do find a lot of noir movies lately. I realize that Fargo would totally fit the bill. Did anyone watch that Coen Bros movie? Because I had an argument if it is a crime noir or dark comedy. I went with first but the gentleman said it's a dark comedy. I'd love to hear anyone else's opinion.
I'd have to go with dark comedy too, it doesn't really have the "flawed hero" and Marge was just too nice to be in a film noir!
__________________
She knows which end to use
"You can shit later, there's people coming!"
And we ask the stranger not to kill us in our beds tonight for no damn reason at all
The third man is deff one of my fave movies. I fucking love every single frame. Forever fascinated with the movies of the time when there still were experts in inhabiting the light and shadows space around.
__________________
“Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.”
KM! You went with dark comedy! I get your point though I don't agree with it. I found Marge's message, the hopeless desperation at the end to be quite tragic. The whole movie being an absurd crime movie with some elements of dark humor yet a crime movie all the same.
KM! You went with dark comedy! I get your point though I don't agree with it. I found Marge's message, the hopeless desperation at the end to be quite tragic. The whole movie being an absurd crime movie with some elements of dark humor yet a crime movie all the same.
It's probably my twisted sense of humour
I found the woodchipper scene hilarious in a totally gross way.
__________________
She knows which end to use
"You can shit later, there's people coming!"
And we ask the stranger not to kill us in our beds tonight for no damn reason at all
Does "The Man Who Wasn't There" fits the description? 'Cause that film was really good. And i loved Fargo too.
Yes, very much. The Coen brothers are all about style so film noir is perfect for them. Wait, well yes it is, plot is important but I think is also superficial no matter how complicated it seems or how many character have. Their films have to look in some way. Barton Fink was the first I watched and then back to Blood simple which I think it´s noir too but I don`t remember a lot. Oh, and The Hudsucker proxy has some elements of noir too but played with humor and some intentional over the top acting. To me sounded like a radio show or something. Hmm, yes, once again the style, the look of the whole thing is very important for the Coens. I really liked most of their movies but I don`t love them.
__________________
"I´d not prolongued the chewing up, Doc. Nor the being spat out. Not go out a cunt. It´s the dispatch I find inglorious. The whole delusory fucking self importance.". Al Swedgin ;).
TormundsWoman wrote:I realize that Fargo would totally fit the bill. Did anyone watch that Coen Bros movie? Because I had an argument if it is a crime noir or dark comedy. I went with first but the gentleman said it's a dark comedy. I'd love to hear anyone else's opinion.
I like this. Genre is an interesting subject because it changed a lot in the last decades. Movies or tv shows are not easy to classify now, they have characteristics from all genres. There´s always one that sets the tone, the style in general so you can say is horror, sci-fi or comedy, or action (which is not a genre), etc. Genre now can be just part of the structure of a movie but when you start watching old movies you can see genre was a whole other thing, especially with Film noir because it was/is the best literary genre to adapt to the big screen.
Hollywood system was all about genre (still is) because genre is all about plot and structure, so it´s safe because plot is contained and limited. Funny thing is the most wonderful Film noir directors were not Hollywood stereotype at all. They were authors, like the Coen bros are. The difference is that old film noir directors trusted in genre from beginning to end, script and aesthetics. New directors love genre, (because you also have silly people saying that genre is not interesting and too limitated and all that crap), but they use genre just to break the rules of it and make it more interesting and diversed. Blahdiblah, I like both in film noir case because it´s a very specific type of movie with specific type of characters and cinematography. Is fascinating how the most limitated genre gave life to great independent movies and the best of Hollywood sausage factory crime movies.
The main characteristic, also my favorite, is the type of detective, comparing to classic crime stories like Sherlock Holmes or Poe´s Dupin. The film noir protagonist has grey morals, he is half criminal, half cop and he´s vicious! but most of all he needs his freedom, freedom to do whatever he wants when he wants it (that´s why the actors playing these characters were badass), freedom to go outside, get dirty, be beaten up by gangsters and fucked by terrible, curvy, clever women. On the contrary, Dupin, as a classic crime detective, solved the crimes without going out, just using the newspaper´s headlines. This kind of PI are always extraordinarily intelligent but film noir ones, not so much. To have a detective who wants to go out and play was just the perfect character for interesting movies. I think we all can thank Fritz Lang for that. The cinematography from german expressionism mixed with yank literature. Great combo. Sorry, got carried away, just tell me if it is a mess.
So, strictly genre-wise, Fargo is not film noir. The Coens are almost a genre by themselves: they have black humor, absurd, film noir, classic crime, light comedy, drama, horror. Like many many other new and not so new directors. Cassavetes comes to mind too, Polanski, Nicholas Ray, lordy, so many.
Una perlita: was Edgard Alan Poe who wrote the first film noir "detective" without knowing it, of course. Check "El hombre de la multitud", it´s awesome and very short.
So, let´s check more film noir:
In a lonely place (Nicholas Ray), Out of the past, (J. Tourneur) with Robert Mitchum , The big heat (F. Lang), The maltese falcon (J. Huston) and just for now Chinatown, directed by Polansky (with Jack Nicholson and F. Dunaway).
Oh wait, Wim Wenders, the german director, jumped into noir too with Hammet, this one is from the 80´s but it´s made like an old one, pure genre I think, even the cinematography. Well, Wenders luuuuuuuuuuuuuuvs Nicholas Ray.
Oh wait, we argentinians have one too! "Apenas un delincuente", directed by Hugo Fregonese. And it´s good for the times.
Yes TW, you´ll find noir elements everywhere because Noir is just great.
-- Edited by andrea on Thursday 24th of July 2014 03:25:06 PM
__________________
"I´d not prolongued the chewing up, Doc. Nor the being spat out. Not go out a cunt. It´s the dispatch I find inglorious. The whole delusory fucking self importance.". Al Swedgin ;).
Andrea - 'Out of the Past' is known by its alternative title here of 'Build My Gallows High' - a quote from dialogue - which I prefer! And speaking of Robert Mitchum have you seen 'Night of the Hunter'? That is a very sinister film, a psychological thriller with distinct touches of noir. Both of those are in my DVD collection.
For those who like Orson Welles don't miss out on 'Touch of Evil'.
I've picked up some lesser known ones now such as The Asphalt Jungle and 'Where the Sidewalk Ends', plus some films that aren't really noir but have elements of it such as Sunset Boulevard, The Spiral Staircase and Mildred Pierce (not the TV version).
__________________
She knows which end to use
"You can shit later, there's people coming!"
And we ask the stranger not to kill us in our beds tonight for no damn reason at all
Man, i love reading andi's comments, that train of thought kind of way she writes makes me feel like i'm inside her head!
I just found out i'm a huge coen brothers fan, just looking their filmography i got some of my favorite movies ever:
Raising Arizona Fargo The Big Lebowski O Brother, Where Art Thou The Man Who Wasn't There Intolerable Cruelty The Ladykillers No Country for Old Men True Grit Burn After Reading
Andi, i agree they have their own style, kinda like a mix of genres really, a bit of this a bit of that, they don't seem to fit exactly in any of them.
Andrea - 'Out of the Past' is known by its alternative title here of 'Build My Gallows High' - a quote from dialogue - which I prefer! And speaking of Robert Mitchum have you seen 'Night of the Hunter'? That is a very sinister film, a psychological thriller with distinct touches of noir. Both of those are in my DVD collection.
For those who like Orson Welles don't miss out on 'Touch of Evil'.
I've picked up some lesser known ones now such as The Asphalt Jungle and 'Where the Sidewalk Ends', plus some films that aren't really noir but have elements of it such as Sunset Boulevard, The Spiral Staircase and Mildred Pierce (not the TV version).
Oh, that´s nice all right, I don`t remember the dialogue tho. I´m planning to watch all these movies again.
Yes, I think I watched Night of the Hunter, maybe on tv. Imma check it again. I see Mitchum also directed, nice.
Ugh, cinematography in Touch of evil, lordy, what a beauty. Pure expresionism, looks like Nosferatu will pop up any moment to feed (get drunk more like it) of Welles blood.
Billy Wilder, gotta love the man. Sunset Boulevard is a gem to study. I only saw The Asphalt Jungle, imma check the others.
__________________
"I´d not prolongued the chewing up, Doc. Nor the being spat out. Not go out a cunt. It´s the dispatch I find inglorious. The whole delusory fucking self importance.". Al Swedgin ;).
TormundsWoman wrote:I realize that Fargo would totally fit the bill. Did anyone watch that Coen Bros movie? Because I had an argument if it is a crime noir or dark comedy. I went with first but the gentleman said it's a dark comedy. I'd love to hear anyone else's opinion.
I like this. Genre is an interesting subject because it changed a lot in the last decades. Movies or tv shows are not easy to classify now, they have characteristics from all genres. There´s always one that sets the tone, the style in general so you can say is horror, sci-fi or comedy, or action (which is not a genre), etc. Genre now can be just part of the structure of a movie but when you start watching old movies you can see genre was a whole other thing, especially with Film noir because it was/is the best literary genre to adapt to the big screen.
Hollywood system was all about genre (still is) because genre is all about plot and structure, so it´s safe because plot is contained and limited. Funny thing is the most wonderful Film noir directors were not Hollywood stereotype at all. They were authors, like the Coen bros are. The difference is that old film noir directors trusted in genre from beginning to end, script and aesthetics. New directors love genre, (because you also have silly people saying that genre is not interesting and too limitated and all that crap), but they use genre just to break the rules of it and make it more interesting and diversed. Blahdiblah, I like both in film noir case because it´s a very specific type of movie with specific type of characters and cinematography. Is fascinating how the most limitated genre gave life to great independent movies and the best of Hollywood sausage factory crime movies.
The main characteristic, also my favorite, is the type of detective, comparing to classic crime stories like Sherlock Holmes or Poe´s Dupin. The film noir protagonist has grey morals, he is half criminal, half cop and he´s vicious! but most of all he needs his freedom, freedom to do whatever he wants when he wants it (that´s why the actors playing these characters were badass), freedom to go outside, get dirty, be beaten up by gangsters and fucked by terrible, curvy, clever women. On the contrary, Dupin, as a classic crime detective, solved the crimes without going out, just using the newspaper´s headlines. This kind of PI are always extraordinarily intelligent but film noir ones, not so much. To have a detective who wants to go out and play was just the perfect character for interesting movies. I think we all can thank Fritz Lang for that. The cinematography from german expressionism mixed with yank literature. Great combo. Sorry, got carried away, just tell me if it is a mess.
So, strictly genre-wise, Fargo is not film noir. The Coens are almost a genre by themselves: they have black humor, absurd, film noir, classic crime, light comedy, drama, horror. Like many many other new and not so new directors. Cassavetes comes to mind too, Polanski, Nicholas Ray, lordy, so many.
Una perlita: was Edgard Alan Poe who wrote the first film noir "detective" without knowing it, of course. Check "El hombre de la multitud", it´s awesome and very short.
So, let´s check more film noir:
In a lonely place (Nicholas Ray), Out of the past, (J. Tourneur) with Robert Mitchum , The big heat (F. Lang), The maltese falcon (J. Huston) and just for now Chinatown, directed by Polansky (with Jack Nicholson and F. Dunaway).
Oh wait, Wim Wenders, the german director, jumped into noir too with Hammet, this one is from the 80´s but it´s made like an old one, pure genre I think, even the cinematography. Well, Wenders luuuuuuuuuuuuuuvs Nicholas Ray.
Oh wait, we argentinians have one too! "Apenas un delincuente", directed by Hugo Fregonese. And it´s good for the times.
Yes TW, you´ll find noir elements everywhere because Noir is just great.
-- Edited by andrea on Thursday 24th of July 2014 03:25:06 PM
Andrea! I love your post. No it's not a mess. I understood everything. I did wonder why I cannot pinpoint a genre for the Coen brothers. Because I'm watching lately a lot of their movies. They really are eclectic in their style. And I do see elements of noir almost everywhere these days
I got the The Maltese Falcon on DVD is one of my faves from Bogart, actually.