Great Classic Film Noir

Probably the best film ever made. This is as close to a perfect movie as you'll ever get!

If someone ever asks the question, "What is film noir?" you have but to sit them down and show them this Wilder classic. One of my favorite films.

This is the "Citizen Kane" of classic film noir; its structure, cinematography, and narrative are truly quite similar to Welles' masterpiece. It's hard to believe this was Lancaster's first film role; his subtle interpretation of the truly doomed Swede is emotional without being overstated. Of course, Gardner is absolutely beguiling in her take on the "femme fatale" (though, admittedly, I've always had a powerful and serious attraction to her, so I may not exactly be objective). To say this film is suspenseful is a true understatement; excellent pacing, mesmerizing chiaroscuro lighting, and a strong sense of fatalism combine with one of Miklos Rozsa's best scores to create one of the best movies ever to bear the title of film noir. Highly recommended.

It's hard to believe that when this film came out, it had a mostly unknown cast and a neophyte director. A brilliant film, considered by most to be the first "true" film noir. Bogart is the best Sam Spade ever filmed; he brings a certain sense of honor and humanity to the legendary tough guy. This is the third (and absolute best) adaptation of this story, with the dialogue lifted almost entirely from Hammett's novel. Huston's direction is both groundbreaking and captivating, and the supporting cast delivers performances that are second to none, especially Greenstreet and Lorre. An absolute must-see.

A really excellent film. One of Kubrick's earliest directorial projects, this movie is probably one of the best "heist" movies ever made. Quentin Tarantino notes that this movie was a big influence on him (especially for "Reservoir Dogs"), and it definitely shows. This film used a non-linear narrative structure that at the time was very rare and bold, in addition to superb direction, beautiful cinematography, and top-notch acting (especially from Hayden, Sawyer, and Cook). This movie will be enjoyed by Kubrick fans, Tarantino fans, film noir fans, "heist" movie fans, and just about anybody that loves a great suspense film. Very highly recommended.

There's a reason many critics pick this as the greatest movie of all time. An extremely innovative narrative stucture (at least at the time) coupled with amazing Expressionistic cinematography, this film is also one of the most sonically interesting ever made (not surprising given Welles' radio background). While not my pick for best of all time, it's very high on my list.

This film is, without a doubt, the most cynical anti-media film ever made. Wilder gives us a spectacular film with a great script, excellent pacing, and fantastic performances, especially from Douglas, Hall, and Sterling. Douglas is really in his element here as the newspaper reporter who just doesn't quit. Most interesting is that the consumers of media come out looking just as bad as the tabloid makers here. Of course, this makes perfect sense; if no one ever bought into media hype, it wouldn't exist in the first place. An excellent film which is just as relevant today as it was in the 1950s (perhaps even more so, considering media outlets such as Fox News and the like...). Highly recommended.

There's some great acting in this film. Bogart's Philip Marlowe is the very definition of classic, and Bacall is as beautiful as she is talented. The dialogue is top-notch noir fare, with just the right amounts of humor, bravado, and innuendo. This film might have received five full stars, but the plot is rather convoluted, likely due to Faukner's poor relationship with Chandler (the former worked on the screenplay, and the latter wrote the novel upon which this film is based). Hawks' direction is superb as usual. This is a great (if rather confusing) example of classic film noir. Recommended.

Yet another reason why Orson Welles should be revered as one of Hollywood's great directors. This may be the best "corrupt cop" movie of all; detective Quinlan (played expertly by Welles himself) is, as one character puts it, a "great detective...and a lousy cop." The film opens with one of the most famous shots in cinema, that of a long, tracking crane shot that continues for more than three minutes without cutting. Of particular note is Welles' excellent light and shadow cinematography, heavily influenced by German expressionism, and the fantastic use of sound (both also great features of his "Citizen Kane"), including the compelling "beat" soundtrack by Henry Mancini. This film, considered by many critics to be the last classic film noir, is in fact a good 8 to 10 years ahead of its time, perhaps indicating that classic period noir had finally run its course, returning to the place from which it had sprung, shown in this film as being quite literally in the garbage-strewn gutter ("where it belongs," according to the famous Chandler quote). Highly recommended.

This film takes the usually lovable "drunk" character and forces him into a very serious light. Milland definitely deserved the Oscar he won for his expert portrayal of Don Birnam, a writer whose constant struggles with the bottle fuel the narrative. Look for some great symbolism here (especially circles and, by correlation, spheres), as well as some fascinating cinematography. This film is the first to use a theremin in its soundtrack, and composer Miklos Rozsa utilizes it brilliantly; its haunting, eerie overtones perfectly match the allure that alcohol exhibits over Don. Again, Wilder shows us here why he's such a cinematic genius. Highly recommended.

Virtually every element of classic film noir can be found in this compelling Tourneur film. Expressionistic lighting highlights a script with great Hemingway-style dialogue, and between Mitchum and Douglas (who both turn in excellent performances here), there is enough machismo in this film that it could be cut and spread with a knife. Greer is the classic femme fatale (and is stunningly beautiful to boot), and Fleming is captivating as usual. All in all, this is a great movie, and I can recommend it highly.

An excellent film noir with all the trimmings. Absolutely superb lighting and camerawork form the base for this brilliantly acted classic. Great music (including a song that practically is a character in the film) adds to Preminger's fascinating directing style. And oh that beautiful portrait! Highly recommended.

An excellent foray into a noir world of darkness, obsession, betrayal, and (of course) murder. While Bogart may be the most famous Phillip Marlowe, Powell creates a remarkably captivating interpretation of the famous literary gumshoe. Highly recommended.

One of the quintessensial "heist" films, and also one of the best. Great cinematography and great direction meet excellent acting (even from Monroe, here in one of her early film roles, despite the fact that most people of her time told her she couldn't act...), forming a moody film noir that basically set the tone for all future "heist" pictures. Definitely recommended.

A very different role for Robinson tops off this excellent Lang film. As a meek, henpecked painter whose obsession with Kitty (Bennett's version of the femme fatale) completely dominates his life, Robinson turns in a performance like never before. A very bleak film, and very true to the film noir spirit.

A very interesting film, though not quite up to par with other classic noir "detective" films. This may be just a personal preference for me; I was never quite as enamored of Mike Hammer stories as I was with Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade, but without a doubt Meeker is the best cinematic Mike Hammer to date (and this includes both Keach's performances, which are not that true to the actual literary character, and the few stints in which Mickey Spillane played his own title character himself!). The cinematography is excellent, however, very true to the spirit of film noir's chiaroscuro technique. What makes this film so interesting is twofold. First are all the great mythic references to everything from the Bible to Greek mythology, some of which are subtle and some overt, coupled with symbollic temperings of romantic literature, poetry, and classical music (plus some neat juxtapositions of this to modern sports like baseball and boxing, which play on the radio in key scenes). Second is the way the film taps into the unique post-war fears of its time; while going into too much detail here might potentially ruin the film for those who have not seen it, suffice it to say that it does so in a way few films noirs ever did. Overall, this is a very good film, though not quite as good as many other classic noirs, but is recommended nonetheless.

A film with a classically great hook: a man who has solved his own murder. The film doesn't really take off until the second act, but when it does, it really gets moving. In many ways, this film is grandfather to the modern action picture, which wound up borrowing a lot of its techniques. While the film is somewhat cheesy and occasionally overacted (especially in the "wolf-whistles" that accompany the passing of every attractive woman, definitely one the film's lowest attributes), its style and its great combination of hook and ending makes this a film noir classic. Recommended.