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The Neo-Noir Thread - 1980s/1990s Neo-Noir Pictures

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  • #61
    That's kind'a the same way i feel. When i first caught LAST SEDUCTION on late night TV years ago i was blown away. Catching up with it later on DVD, well i still like it, just not as much as that first viewing. I also prefer RED ROCK WEST. I do have an old full frame R2 DVD (Eagle Pictures) of KILL ME AGAIN, i remember it being OK, but not great. The used DVD i picked up for LAST SEDUCTION is apparently signed by Pullman.

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    • #62
      Good to hear I am not alone! :)
      "No presh from the Dresh!"

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      • #63
        Originally posted by Randy G View Post
        Yeah I loved The Last Seduction upon first time watching but the revisit left me less impressed although it is good. Red Rock West by Dahl stands up better I think.
        That twist in LAST SEDUCTION is fucking killer, though. It still packs a punch (and it certainly wouldn't go over well with the LGBTQ community nowadays!).

        I've been meaning to rewatch RED ROCK WEST for a couple of months now.
        Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

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        • #64
          Originally posted by Spaghetti Monkey View Post
          That's kind'a the same way i feel. When i first caught LAST SEDUCTION on late night TV years ago i was blown away. Catching up with it later on DVD, well i still like it, just not as much as that first viewing. I also prefer RED ROCK WEST. I do have an old full frame R2 DVD (Eagle Pictures) of KILL ME AGAIN, i remember it being OK, but not great. The used DVD i picked up for LAST SEDUCTION is apparently signed by Pullman.

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          KILL ME AGAIN is up on Tubi in Canada and I watched it for the first time. A fun, twisty neo-noir, Dahl commits to the genre tropes here harder than in any of his later filmd. I liked it and would be good to see it get a proper release.

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          • #65
            a couple of years earlier, but certainly a part of the movement...

            THE LATE SHOW (1977) Considering how well THE LONG GOODBYE turned out, it's no surprise that Robert Benton turned to Robert Altman to pitch this script. Like the former film, THE LATE SHOT is a Neo-noir about a Private Eye on a case in 70s Los Angeles. Altman liked the screenplay enough to produce but gave Benton the chance to direct only his second feature film.

            As opposed to Elliot Gould's youngish disheveled Private Dick, Philip Marlowe, we have Art Carney as an old washed out disheveled P.I., Ira Wells. Ira reluctantly takes on a case of a flaky Clothes Designer/Agent/Actress named Margo (Lily Tomlin) who's cat is being held hostage over a debt. Of course, these detective crime stories are never that simple, nor are they really about the investigation at hand.

            Over the course of the film, Benton's script involves robbery, murder, infidelity and double-dealing of various levels. There's the usual cast of shady characters including an old friend and fellow P.I. (Howard Duff), a pair of stolen goods fences (Eugene Roche and John Considine), a bartender go-between (Bill Macy) and beautiful woman (Joanna Cassidy).

            Instead of the client, Margo, being the nominal femme fatale, it's more Cassidy's character - although she's clearly a secondary concern here to the relationship between Ira and Margo. That pair develops a begrudging bond that teeters on becoming a buddy team. The key here is how one view's Tomlin's performance. She's certainly earned her stripes over the decades as a comedienne with dramatic chops, but her Margo keeps announcing herself as being kooky -- rather than allowing Tomlin to just inhabit the role. Much of the onus is on Benton, but the character only really works once the oddball factor is toned down several notches. Fortunately, Carney is terrific here. Like in HARRY AND TONTO, he amiably charms, while still bringing the necessary gravitas. He's so calm and natural, it makes Tomlin's flop sweat all the more noticeable. The rest of the supporting cast is good with Roche getting the most colorful role.

            Benton's direction lacks the Altman touch (a tough act to follow, no doubt) and, as in his later crime dramas, STILL OF THE NIGHT and TWILIGHT, the suspense never quite builds. The script and the cast are just good enough to carry it off, but THE LATE SHOW is no THE LONG GOODBYE.


            THE LATE SHOW is currently available as a streaming rental in the $3 range. It is also on DVD. Click image for larger version

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            • #66
              For me Benton's best film remains Bad Company, a 70s comic gem.

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              • #67
                I saw the new Marlowe, with Liam Neeson, which was not very good. However it somehow inspired me to dig out my old DVD of Brown's Requiem from 98, which is an excellent neo-noir B-movie with lots of good cameos.
                "No presh from the Dresh!"

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