Film Noir & Nolan

[Mr. Jet]

Since Nolan's films are heavily influenced by the conventions of film noir such as themes and styles etc. I wanted to know what everyone's favorite noir is and why?

I guess I'll be cliche and say Double Indemnity has to be one. Use of lighting, anti-structure story design with a shifting protagonist etc. and Scorsese's Shutter Island was brilliant with elaborate visual style, unstable characterization of the female, use of flashbacks.

I also think that Leo's character in Shutter Island can be closely compared to Cobb in Inception in respect to the fact that both of them are forever haunted by the memory of their wives.

Thanks guys

Blade Runner... The Final Cut. I can't stand the original sentimental ending.

[MikaHaeli8]

I'm trying to watch more noir/ neo-noir (any recs? Or is this the wrong thread? In which case, I apologise). I loved LA Confidential, though, that was a great film.

[BlairCo]

I'm trying to watch more noir/ neo-noir (any recs? Or is this the wrong thread? In which case, I apologise). I loved LA Confidential, though, that was a great film.

Watch Chinatown, the definiton of a film-nor.

[jibran]

I'm trying to watch more noir/ neo-noir (any recs? Or is this the wrong thread? In which case, I apologise). I loved LA Confidential, though, that was a great film.

Watch Chinatown, the definiton of a film-nor.

Or Neo-noir.

[MikaHaeli8]

I'm trying to watch more noir/ neo-noir (any recs? Or is this the wrong thread? In which case, I apologise). I loved LA Confidential, though, that was a great film.

Watch Chinatown, the definiton of a film-nor.

Excellent, cheers.

[Liron]

My personal favourite classic film noir is The Maltese Falcon, granted though I haven't seen as many of the classic ones (from the 40s) as I'd like, I've mostly seen neo noirs or I'm guessing you could still consider some of the "new" classic noirs.

[christophmac]

I love neo-noir movies like Drive or Blade Runner, while classic noir films like Night of the Hunter are great the iconography of the 40s and 50s films of that style has become a little too familiar for me. One of the reasons that I like L.A. Confidential as well is that it doesn't draw upon noir conventions in a way that's really self-aware, exploitative and distracting. I'm worried that I won't be able to say this for The Gangster Squad though.

[Will Jacobs]

One film noir that I'm surprised wasn't mentioned would have to be Citizen Kane. The importance and mystery of Kane's last word before his death is discovered as we explore deep into his life. Its low angled, darkly-lit shots captured the mysterious tone of the film beautifully. Welles was an absolute genius in cinematic storytelling, and probably made the most influential film within filmmaking history.

I don't really have an absolute "favorite" noir film, but I would agree that Chinatown and Blade Runner are among the ones I love. Se7en is also a fantastic one as well.

[Amelia]

God, there are so many. Point Blank's a brilliant one, and, given its one-man-on-a-vengeance-trip theme and its dreamlike skips in time, was probably an influence on Memento (likewise Get Carter). Detour is an excellent one, made for about $2.50 and featuring, in Ann Savage, the most genuinely terrifying femme fatale you'll ever see. Kiss Me Deadly is surreal and truly insane and was a ginormous influence on David Lynch (whose own work represents fantastic neo-noir, from Blue Velvet through Twin Peaks all the way up to Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive). The Night of the Hunter isn't really noir, to my mind (I consider it more of a Southern Gothic horror story/fairy tale) but it's one of my favorite films ever so I'll second the recommendation for it anyway.

Actually, if you want a really good primer on the genre, see if you can't pick up a copy of Barry Gifford's Out of the Past: Adventures in Film Noir (also published as The Devil Thumbs a Ride and Other Unforgettable Movies). It's witty and entertaining and will make you want to see pretty much every movie he mentions immediately.

[Vader182]

One film noir that I'm surprised wasn't mentioned would have to be Citizen Kane. The importance and mystery of Kane's last word before his death is discovered as we explore deep into his life. Its low angled, darkly-lit shots captured the mysterious tone of the film beautifully. Welles was an absolute genius in cinematic storytelling, and probably made the most influential film within filmmaking history.

I don't really have an absolute "favorite" noir film, but I would agree that Chinatown and Blade Runner are among the ones I love. Se7en is also a fantastic one as well.

Whoa boy, let's not get over excited by calling CItizen Kane probably the most influential film in filmmaking history. There's many valid cases pointing to many other films and movements. Citizen Kane did three things- deep focus, long takes, and suggested the subjectivity of memory/narrative in a post modern way. Deep focus doesn't really emphasize or show reality since nobody's vision can actually see anything that way, and has rarely ever been emulated. Additionally, long takes was a method already frequently used in other films, but Kane somewhat popularized it. Last, Rashomon did this to a far more powerful degree a few years later. Arguably, Rashomon had a great influence on Western film than Citizen Kane, simply because it introduced the West to an entire arena of films that became a massive pool of features with huge influence, not including the multiple narrative technique Rashomon made famous.

-Vader