genre: film noir movies

a flawlessly conceived, expertly crafted film that ranks as possibly the greatest film noir that i have ever seen. the cinematography is especially notable, and every member of the cast was perfectly chosen. the script is also one of the greatest in film history, and every scene was shot purposefully and effectively. the entire chase sequence at the end of the film is marvelous. easily one of the greatest films ever made.

The most underrated movie ever made. Brilliant. washington and cheadle delivered two of the better acting performances i have ever seen. a throwback to the great films done by warner in the 30's.

another of the many astounding films featuring humphrey bogart. hawks directing job was great as he handled the difficult and involved script as well as anyone could have. the story was great, reminding me a lot of the maltese falcon but maybe even slightly better. i was intrigued the whole way through, and this is one of those rare films that leaves you completely satisfied without a criticism. amazing movie.

definitely one of the best films of all time. classic noir with great performances and a perfect plot. the twists and turns were intriguing and the payoff at the end following all of the mystery was incredible. there were no holes in this one and the characters were consistent and well developed despite their simple purposes. a truly great piece of film history.

easily one of the most gripping and fulfilling films i have ever seen. the film has enough twists to fill a lifetime, shifting the direction of the characters so often to keep one glued to the story but no too often so as to confuse. a perfect blend of mystery and suspense with noir like lighting and style. one of the best crime dramas ever produced.

kurosawa does it again. this movie is incredible. i wasnt expecting alot from this because its one of kurosawa's lesser known films, and its one of the best movies ive ever seen. a detective story about a man whos son is kidnapped, this film takes you through every step of what a detective goes through when trying to solve a case. this film had a very intricate plot line and the details of the case were woven together perfectly. usually films this complex have holes, but this one was perfect. kurosawa got some great shots as usual and the acting was brilliant. the end was a little abrupt, but not enough to be an issue. great story, another great film from kurosawa.

siodmaks version of the killers is mesmerizing. one of the best film noirs ever made, lancaster was great in his debut, ava gardner was stunning as always, and obrien turns in a typically solid performance in a noir investigative role. the first few minutes of the film basically lays out hemingways 8 page short story with perfection, and the rest of the story created for the film was true to the spirit of hemingways work. as the plot thickens so does the intrigue, finalizing in a twisted and dark tale that satisfies completely.

this was a very good movie. one of those classics that deserves to be called one. the narration and overall performance by william holden was very good and the story was top notch. this is definitely the best film ive seen about making movies and the hollywood lifestyle, much better than say 8 1/2, but it wasnt just a movie about making movies, it had many great themes. it was a love story, tragedy, study in narcism, and commentary on obsession all in one. swansons character was so in love with herself that she went beyond narcism and became a study of insanity. all of the characters were compelling, not the least of which was a sleeper character in max the servant. great film.

incredible. kurosawa never ceases to amaze me. this is considered one of kurosawas least appreciated films but its so perfect. tashiro mifune offers up another brilliant performance. kurosawa is known for his period films but this one takes place around 1960 when the film was made. this is just as good as kurosawas other more well known films. just incredible. this film tackles corporate corruption and revenge and it has some cool plot twists. must watch for any movie fan.

melville and delon come together again for a gripping tale of intrigue. one of melvilles best films, this story grabbed me from the first moment as we see the stories of two criminals side by side until a fateful moment when their paths collide in the red circle. the heist scene is paced for real time and is executed brilliantly, the side stories involving the mob are interesting and placed well into the story, and the cat and mouse between the theives and the police is mapped out perfectly. the absense of music through most of the film created a reality that set in, and the camera shot and angle choices specifically stood out. brilliant film.

an absolutely captivating crime story and probably one of the three best heist films ever made. the second act, a 33 minute heist sequence with no dialogue and limited score, is probably the greatest heist sequence in film history. the film also takes the bold and genius step of not having the heist be the climax as dassin is aware enough to realize that the heist is never the true end to any heist story. the final act is brilliant and even more enthralling than the heist itself. my only criticism is a subjective one in that i spent two hours investing in the story and its characters and i felt that the final scene lacked closure to an otherwise perfect story. all together this is really one of the most clever films ever made.

suprisingly fantastic. i had no interest in this film until a friend made me watch it and i was pleasantly suprised. the premise sounds stupid, this is basically a film about high school kids playing mobster. but they pull it off well. levitt was much better than i thought he would be since he was playing a tough guy, but he was great. "the brain" was also a great character, he and the main charactr play off of each other very well. highly recommended.

another genius film directed by melville. the cast, camera work, and script were near perfect and the story was inventive and compelling. i was ready to give this a perfect score and declare it one of my favorite films of all time until an unfortunate final 5 minutes of the film that completely spit in the face of logic and common sense, but when an entire film is near flawless and the climax doesnt work out well the film still deserves respect. despite the empty ending this is a wonderful and excellent film.

one of the first and still one of the best psychological thrillers ever made. peter lorre was haunting in his role as a child murderer and getting into the mind of a killer was disturbing but profound. the vigilante crew was brilliant, and this film paints a stunning picture of what a city goes through when it is gripped by the fear of a monster on the loose. a must watch for all movie fans.

this really is a sensational film. done in the noir style that brings back memories of the maltese falcon, the mystery was well plotted and the story well told. the twists were alot of fun and the acting was superb across the board. the only thing keeping me from giving this film a higher score is the dissapointing way the film closed. the final 10 minutes sort of fell through the bottom of the rest of the film. in many ways the film had to end that way to provide a context for why nicholson's character has bad feelings about chinatown, but the fittingness of the end doesnt take away the sting of its silliness and anti-climatic nature. still overall truly great and understandably considered one of the great films in history.

i love this movie, bassinger and spacey were great

an excellent crime story. gabin plays a solid lead and scala is sexy in her limited role in a film that caught me by suprise. only loosely a heist film, it is fairly similar to much of melvilles great work. im glad i bought the film because i know i will rewatch it many times.

a phenomenal crime story. woven tightly and interesting the entire way through, one of kubricks best films.

this is definitely one of those hiest films that needs to be seen more than once. the film bears the usual complexity of a melville creation, but with sometimes the lack of clarity of the few films he made that rank slightly higher than this one. the only downside to the film is the early overuse of the macguffin tactic, but overall the final 90 minutes of the film come together impressively to create the brilliance of a film i know i will rewatch many times. the hiest sequence was among the best in film history, and with some slight choice differences early on this film could have flirted with masterpiece status.

a wonderful film noir without some of the usual noir characteristics. most glaringly absent was the traditional detective role. robinson sort of fills the detective slot in a creative way, giving what for him was a really good and unorthodox performance. i did find a few strong unliklihoods in the film that sort of bothered me and knocked the film down a bit, but i thought this film through quite a bit after i saw it and liked it more and more as the hours went by. solid classic.

one of the best cop thrillers ever made. freeman and pitt make a great team and spacey plays one of the freakiest villians in film history. early muscle flexing by david fincher.

orson wells has given us some of the most iconic characters in film history, from charles foster kane to harry lime, and in touch of evil he gives us hank quinlin. despite some significant weight gain and some extra padding that made wells nearly unrecognizable, his performance was excellent. we also get great performances from heston and leigh, and the cinematography was haunting bearing similarity to the camera work of greg toland in citizen kane. the opening sequence is one of the most effectively shot opening scenes that i have ever seen, and touch of evil is a classic noir.

an interesting story about a hitman in paris. the stoic nature of the film was well crafted and the actors were great. a film limited on diologue, the movement of the main character and the intrigue into his actions drives the film. a true classic, this film doesnt grab me after two viewings like it does most, but it is still a great film that is the definition of the stylized approach of one of my favorite directors in history. while down the list a little for me this is often considered by many to be melvilles best film.

an absolutely brilliant film from chris nolan. better than some of his recent work, possibly even than anything he has done short of his batman movies. the performance of haw was excellent and the story was captivating and brilliantly told. i have been annoyed lately at all of the movies with chopped up timelines, but nolan uses this better than anyone. the twisted ending is mournful yet satisfying and the elements were pulled off without holes. absolutely great flick.

what a mind blowing film. edited in such a brilliant way that nothing happens when it should and it all still makes perfect sense. in many ways this film is depraved, distressing, and unfortunate, and in others it is profound and inspiring. a truly great film with wonderful acting, great storytelling, and a creative plot. great stuff.

i liked this flick. it made me wanna be a private investigator

really good flick. one of kurosawas earlier films and it is considered to be his coming of age film. it really does show the growing brilliance of kurosawa. mifune and shimura are both great in this movie about a cop hunting down a thief who stole his gun. you see the progress that the cops make in finding the criminal one step at a time until the climatic ending, which was the best part of the movie. it was very slow at times and was light on dialogue, but kurosawa made this slow story interesting. as with most kurosawa films the weather was as much a character in the film as the people were. another great one by kurosawa.

it would have been interesting to see how laughtons career behind the camera would have turned out had he made more than this one film. the cinematography was clearly the films strength, and the moments of tension were built very effectively to create a noir that at moments felt more like gothic horror than classic noir. a great film.

ultimately this film doesnt really hold up under the closest scrutiny, but it is still very well done. rita hayworth was never more beautiful and the plot was formulated to provide great intrigue until the end. a solid addition to the wells filmography.

creepy and fascinating. i liked this flick

really good flick. one of hitchcocks better endings. the story was compelling and it moved along well.

this is a solid scotland yard murder mystery. the cast was good and the end ofthe film was very satisfying despite a slow and pointless opening to the film. this was a simple film, the murderer is caught with a suprisingly easy explination, but it was still compelling. good film.

this is a hitchcock classic. carey grant was very good and the story was simple but interesting. the film stayed within its predictable boundries but was interesting until the last few minutes which left me a bit wanting. overall this is a very good movie.

a great morality tale, mifune and shimura put in their usual top notch performances in this kurosawa film about a tough gang leader that is softened by the combination of a deadly disease and a no nonsense doctor. the film was a little redundant in the beginning and it started a little less engaging than most kurosawa pictures, but the themes of human struggle and optimism were strong and the overall feel of the film was wonderful. another good kurosawa effort.

this was an enjoyable film. the psychological element was well built and the story very intriguing. the end was weak, and endings seem to be the make or break for me with hitchcocks films, but the film up until the final 15 minutes was wonderful.

a strong story, interesting cinematography and set design, excellent music, and perfect cast would have given this film what it needed to become an instant classic and one of my favorite films. unfortunately a few vulgar, typical, and pointless contemporary movie devices plagued this film a bit to take it down a few notches to an above average film. could have been great, was still pretty good.

a really solid opener for the coens. a demented murder story with a great final 30 minutes that saves the film from a slow start. the script was well crafted and this is worth the watch for coen fans.