Originally posted by The Silly Swede
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The Neo-Noir Thread - 1980s/1990s Neo-Noir Pictures
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Yeah, I should have mentioned TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA as well. I love that film. I also thought about MANHUNTER, it definitely has the look of neo-noir. It's in the neo-noir section of The Film Noir Encyclopedia. LA CONFIDENTIAL is another one.
This thread has definitely inspired me to revisit some of these films. I'll follow the Swede's lead and catch up with ONE FALSE MOVE this week.I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.
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U Turn is an interesting one. It works every noir cliche, so much so it almost feels like a remake of Red Rock West. Whenever a genre gets tired and near the end of its run things get weird. U Turn is weird enough that it was a pretty good harbinger that the end was night."Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.
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You're right about U-TURN, it was kind of the nadir and zenith of the genre at the same time. It's both sloppy and slick. The '90s is all kind of like that. It's the decade that's aged the worst, IMO. The 2000's fared much better but loses it edge which we've still yet to regain. One of my very favorite films is Neil Jordan's THE GOOD THIEF with Nick Nolte, a remake of BOB Le FLAMBEUR. If I could marry one film it'd probably be that. It's only a couple years removed from U-TURN but both it and Nolte are lightyears away. The seediness is gone or, in THE GOOD THIEF's case, in the process of being wiped away before our eyes and we are given a much more hopeful ending then any true noir would. The hero succeeds, everyone lives.
Without going to far away from the thread subject of the '80s and '90s but still tied to it, and I think at the heart of the question, is the similar tone to the BLADE RUNNER sequel 2049 as opposed to the original. The original BLADE RUNNER which in many ways, IMO, is so successfully drenched in both noir and sci-fi that it stands as one of the finest examples of both genres. I like 2049 but its lack of any noir feel or look, except in the barest of fleeting glimpses, keeps it from being the sequel we wish it was. It has heart but lacks soul. In many ways it's the very definition of being a replicant. It's just miming.
Maybe someday our tragic, jazzy, rainy streets will return.Last edited by Scott; 02-15-2021, 11:59 PM."When I die, I hope to go to Accra"
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Body heat (1981)
blood simple (1984)
angel heart (1987)
johnny handsome (1989)
kill me again (1989)
after dark my sweet (1990)
the grifters (1990)
the hot spot (1990)
nature of the beast (1990)
delusion (1991)
cape fear (1991)
shattered (1991)
one false move (1992)
white sands (1992)
guncrazy (1992)
red rock west (1993)
flesh and bone (1993)
the getaway (1994)
the last seduction (1994)
to die for (1995)
kiss of death (1995)
the usual suspects (1995)
last man standing (1996)
mulholland falls (1996)
bound (1996)
l.a. Confidential (1997)
u-turn (1997)
palmetto (1998)
clay pigeons (1998)
memento (2000)
way of the gun (2000)
the man who wasn't there (2001)
out of time (2003)
the ice harvest (2005)
the black dahlia (2006)
the killer inside me (2010)
drive (2011)
killer joe (2012)
bad times at the el royale (2018)
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Here is a massive list of neo-noir films on Wiki The list takes 1960 to date the beginning of the genre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_neo-noir_films
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Originally posted by killer must kill again View PostI really liked romeo is bleeding when I watched it for the first time a few years ago.
Originally posted by Scott View PostCutter's Way
Mona Lisa
52 Pick-Up
Fear City
Year of the Dragon
Best Seller
Cop
Originally posted by The Silly Swede View PostMost my favourites have been mentioned, but I'd like to add Get Carter, Affliction, Croupier, Dark Blue(The Kurt Russel one) ,To Live and Die in LA, Brick and No Mercy despite its cheesyness.
I know one of my colleagues pitched BLUE THUNDER as a potential shoe-in for the podcast. I need to find my DVD copy of that film. It's in the house somewhere.
Originally posted by Dom D View PostU Turn is an interesting one. It works every noir cliche, so much so it almost feels like a remake of Red Rock West. Whenever a genre gets tired and near the end of its run things get weird. U Turn is weird enough that it was a pretty good harbinger that the end was night.
Originally posted by Scott View PostWithout going to far away from the thread subject of the '80s and '90s but still tied to it, and I think at the heart of the question, is the similar tone to the BLADE RUNNER sequel 2049 as opposed to the original. The original BLADE RUNNER which in many ways, IMO, is so successfully drenched in both noir and sci-fi that it stands as one of the finest examples of both genres. I like 2049 but its lack of any noir feel or look, except in the barest of fleeting glimpses, keeps it from being the sequel we wish it was. It has heart but lacks soul. In many ways it's the very definition of being a replicant. It's just miming.'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'
http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard
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Originally posted by Paul L View PostTo my great shame, I've still not seen BLADE RUNNER 2049. I was satisfied with the K W Jeter 'sequels' to BLADE RUNNER. I bought the BD of the Villeneuve film but haven't had the opportunity to watch it yet. (It's a long 'un, and I'd prefer to watch it in one sitting - but finding a near-three hour block of free time is tough )"When I die, I hope to go to Accra"
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One Night At McCools is one I return to every 5 years or so. The noir conventions were well enough fixed in the publics mind that they could do a farce noir. They even do Rashomon better than Rashomon for good measure. It's aged well as one of those definitively 90s movies I think."Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.
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I recently watched the mean season (1985). this is somehow classified as neo noir but it's more of a serial killer flick.
I couldn't believe how dull and predictable this was. there is absolutely zero creativity! it started promising but really went downhill fast in the 2nd half. even the good cast (kurt russell, andy garcia, joe pantoliano + william smith in a cameo!) couldn't save this stinker...
richard jordan's performance as the "numbers killer" wasn't exactly menacing and even gets worse, when he is seen on the screen. mariel hemingway as russels girlfriend was terrible and acted like she was drunk/drugged the whole movie.
why did they even called it the mean season? they totally failed to take advantage of the stormy weather that's promised in the title; what could have been an instance of great visual atmosphere turned out to be a 5 min. scene that set up another lame plot device.
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Originally posted by killer must kill again View PostI recently watched the mean season (1985). this is somehow classified as neo noir but it's more of a serial killer flick.
I couldn't believe how dull and predictable this was. there is absolutely zero creativity! it started promising but really went downhill fast in the 2nd half. even the good cast (kurt russell, andy garcia, joe pantoliano + william smith in a cameo!) couldn't save this stinker...
richard jordan's performance as the "numbers killer" wasn't exactly menacing and even gets worse, when he is seen on the screen. mariel hemingway as russels girlfriend was terrible and acted like she was drunk/drugged the whole movie.
why did they even called it the mean season? they totally failed to take advantage of the stormy weather that's promised in the title; what could have been an instance of great visual atmosphere turned out to be a 5 min. scene that set up another lame plot device.Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?
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Rewatched Kill me Again cause of this thread. I remembered having seen it ages ago and not thinking all that much of it, but this time around I liked it."No presh from the Dresh!"
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I revisited ONE FALSE MOVE over this past weekend. It had been around 20 years since I watched this one (and like I believe Paul mentioned earlier, I had to do a bit of treasure hunting around the house to dig it up, haha). Still holds up beautifully, a rare combination of violent crime thriller and surprisingly emotional heart underneath. Tight as hell too, it doesn't really take any detours as it builds towards a brutal finale - in more ways than one. Really well acted too, Cynda Williams should have been a bigger star. She's had a nice long career but she's really remarkable here.I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.
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I can't believe I forgot about one of my favourite films of the '90s - MIAMI BLUES. This movie was a game changer for me and the nudity supplied by JJL is a nice bonus. I actually thought of a couple more great late '80s/early '90s films featuring the great JJL: HEART OF MIDNIGHT and LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN; the former is definitely noir and the latter is more of a gritty drama, but has aspects of noir.Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?
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Agreed about MIAMI BLUES, Matt. Outstanding film. One of my favorite Fred Ward performances, and besides Baldwin and JJL, the cast is rounded out by the likes of Charles Napier and Paul Gleason. I wish they had made a series of films about Hoke Moseley with Ward. The entire series of Mosely books by Charles Willeford are well worth reading. Blackly humorous and also violent. Those books move like a well oiled machine.I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.
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