# Noir movie recomendations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614 "2006-11-24T04:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/1 "2006-11-24T04:16:56Z")
So, I’m in a Noir mood again. Any recommendations for good Film-Noir movie or TV shows? Bonus points for unusual variations on it, like sci-fi Noir. Off the top of my head, I can think of Sin City, LA Confidential, a number of Garibalid-centric episodes of Babylon 5, and “Detective Story” from The Animatrix. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/2 "2006-11-24T04:21:47Z")
You’ve probably seen _Brick_, right? It’s noir-ish enough, I suppose, and all the major players are in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/3 "2006-11-24T04:23:40Z")
**Double Indemnity** or **Sunset Boulevard** are both the epitome of noir. A sci-fi flick with noir style is **The Day The Earth Stood Still.** ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/4 "2006-11-24T04:32:01Z")
TV? _Veronica Mars_ is \*Buffy \*meets James M. Cain. Otherwise, some essential Noir films are _Out of the Past, Detour, Double Indemnity, Raw Deal._ Variations: _Leave Her to Heaven_ is Technicolor Noir; _Cat People_ is Horror Noir; _Johnny Guitar_ is Western Noir Lesbian Opera. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/5 "2006-11-24T04:37:17Z")
I came in just to recommend _Brick_ as an interesting modern variation of noir, but **DataZak** beat me to it. Let me just second that, and add a recommendation for _Touch of Evil_ as quintessential film noir. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/6 "2006-11-24T04:53:32Z")
\*Brick \*is fun, but it’s faux Noir; pomo-faux Noir, in fact. It’s a joke about Noir. I say see it, but see some \*real \*Noir first. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/7 "2006-11-24T05:12:04Z")
I love _The Maltese Falcon_. It’s often argued that noir started with this one. Classic Bogart. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/8 "2006-11-24T05:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=Foldup Rabbit] I love _The Maltese Falcon_. It’s often argued that noir started with this one. Classic Bogart. [/QUOTE] Just re-watched that one this week. You could go even older and start with _M_, if you have the stomach for a somewhat talky, subtitled movie. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/9 "2006-11-24T05:37:12Z")
Blade Runner The Grifters and for a fun twist watch Danny Boyle’s [Millions](http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0366777/.) It is a twist because it is an extremely ‘bright’ movie. The scenes are very bright. Even those in an attic at night. It works, it really works and it is a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/10 "2006-11-24T05:44:56Z")
_Dead Man Don’t Wear Plaid_ ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/11 "2006-11-24T05:53:47Z")
Interesting list. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/12 "2006-11-24T05:54:26Z")
Would you try that one again, **lissener**? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/13 "2006-11-24T05:57:36Z")
> **[List of film noir titles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_noir)** > > Film noir is not a clearly defined genre (see here for details on the characteristics). Therefore, the composition of this list may be controversial. To minimize dispute the films included here should preferably feature a footnote linking to a reliable, published source which states that the mentioned film is considered to be a film noir by an expert in this field, e.g.\[a\]\[b\]\[c\]\[d\] > The terms which are used below to subsume various periods and variations of film noir are not definitive and are me... ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/14 "2006-11-24T05:59:27Z")
John Dahl’s movies Red Rock West and The Last Seduction are good contemporary examples. I particularly recommend The Last Seduction. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/15 "2006-11-24T06:11:23Z")
I liked Polanski’s **Chinatown** , even with the disappointing ending. I remember seeing its sequel **The Two Jakes** , but don’t remember anything about it. Here are a few more: **The Big Sleep** , which has an incomprehensible plot but is a good crime movie nonetheless - with Bogart and Bacall. **The Big Heat** , which made Ebert’s list of “The Great Movies,” I think. Another quintessential film noir **Kiss of Death** , with Richard Widmark as the bad guy. Definite restraining-order material. David Caruso starred in the remake. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/16 "2006-11-24T06:57:24Z")
I asked this very same question once upon a time and got [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=388401) list of recommendations. I highly recommend The Big Sleep, Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and (for a laugh) Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. One might suspect I’m a Bogart fan, but I deny it since I haven’t finished Sahara. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/17 "2006-11-24T11:09:37Z")
A couple of old threads [thread=388401]here[/thread] and [thread=365831]here[/thread] on film noir with a pretty comprehensive listing of noir. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/18 "2006-11-24T11:26:31Z")
I saw a modern Hungarian film the other day which could be classed as noir . Called [Kontroll](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373981/) it is set on the Budapest metro system and is a mixture of crime, romance and the supernatural. Very enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/19 "2006-11-24T12:52:05Z")
\*\*The Asphalt Jungle \*\* (1950; Sterling Hayden, Marilyn Monroe) \*\*The Sweet Smell of Success \*\* (1957; Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis) I’m not certain if \*The Sweet Smell of Success \* is conventionally considered to be a film noir, but I think it certainly has the requisite atmosphere and soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614/20 "2006-11-24T13:22:15Z")
Avoiding the obvious choices I’ll go for: **Angel Heart** - fantasy noir from a really great novel. **Lantana** - Aussie crime thriller with the last twist you would ever imagine. **Gumshoe** - British kind of comedy noir. The original **Cape Fear** but the remake is an able substitute. **Body Heat** - which has the smartest smartass script of any movie I know. **Two Hands** - another Aussie job with Brian Brown and young Heath Ledger. There are lots of recent movies that borrow many noir ideas to good effect. Things like **28 Days Later** , **Dog Soldiers** and **Children of Men** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noir-movie-recomendations/381614.md?page=2)