Modern Film Noir

[CConn]

Question.

I'm extremely anamored with film noir and German Expressionism, and am always trying to expand my watch list, but it seems as though there are a strikingly few number of modern movies that truly live up to the specifications or noir or expressionistic.

From what I've seen, I'd only classify Blade Runner, Batman, Batman Returns, Dark City, and Brick as true modern examples of noir similar. What are some others that are out there that I might be missing?

 

[Eddie Dean]

I'm surprised you didn't include Chinatown on that list, I'm not a huge fan of the film, but it's a great example of Neo Noir.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is terrific and under looked Boston crime noir, long before Gone Baby Gone or The Departed. Old, grouchy Robert Mitchum is a thousand times more interesting than young, handsome Mitchum.

Cutter's Way with Jeff Bridges is like a dark, mirror version of The Big Lebowski. Along the same lines is Altman's Long Goodbye with Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe.

Some others just off the top of my head are Miller's Crossing, Point Blank, Memento, Eastern Promises, The Grifters and Taxi Driver.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

Might not be exactly what you're looking for but Assassination of a High School President is neat little neo-noir film. Also look into Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

 

[CConn]

Chinatown is definitely Noir, but I guess I'm more looking for the German Expressionst principle of visual storytelling.

 

[Boom]

No Country for Old Men could be considered a neo-noir.

 

[raybia]

Question.

I'm extremely anamored with film noir and German Expressionism, and am always trying to expand my watch list, but it seems as though there are a strikingly few number of modern movies that truly live up to the specifications or noir or expressionistic.

From what I've seen, I'd only classify Blade Runner, Batman, Batman Returns, Dark City, and Brick as true modern examples of noir similar. What are some others that are out there that I might be missing?

I'm surprised you didn't include Chinatown on that list, I'm not a huge fan of the film, but it's a great example of Neo Noir.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is terrific and under looked Boston crime noir, long before Gone Baby Gone or The Departed. Old, grouchy Robert Mitchum is a thousand times more interesting than young, handsome Mitchum.

Cutter's Way with Jeff Bridges is like a dark, mirror version of The Big Lebowski. Along the same lines is Altman's Long Goodbye with Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe.

Some others just off the top of my head are Miller's Crossing, Point Blank, Memento, Eastern Promises, The Grifters and Taxi Driver.

I'm shocked that no one hasn't mentioned The Machinist yet. Probably my favorite of all the neo noir films in the last 12 years. Granted I haven't seen all of them.

Though not my favorite neo noir, Drive was definitely an outstanding film as well.

 

[CConn]

Nah, Drive and the Machinist aren't what I'm going for.

Drive honestly strikes me as much as a homage to the grindhouse/dirty Harry/etc. films of the 70s than it does Noir. Although it definitely starts out like that.

 

[raybia]

Nah, Drive and the Machinist aren't what I'm going for.

Drive honestly strikes me as much as a homage to the grindhouse/dirty Harry/etc. films of the 70s than it does Noir. Although it definitely starts out like that.

What about Road to Perdition? The look of this movie was incredible.

 

[raybia]

Chinatown is definitely Noir, but I guess I'm more looking for the German Expressionst principle of visual storytelling.

Maybe I don't have a good understanding of German expressionism but would even though I didn't find it to be that great of a movie, would Sky Captain or the 1st Matrix qualify?

 

[CConn]

If Sky Captain was actually good, probably.

The Matrix...honestly, I probably should watch that again to see.

 

[CConn]

Dammit, I do need to see Road to Perdition.

I've been meaning to watch that since 2004.

 

[CConn]

I jut punched Modern Examples of German Expressionism into Wikipedia, and it came up with...

Nosferatu the Vampyre
Blade Runner
Shadows and Fog
Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands
The Crow
Dark City
Sweeney Todd

I'd probably add Ed Wood to that list too. It really seemed like it could've been a silent movie at some points.

Shadows and Fog looks interesting to me, and i've never even heard of it. It's a Woody Allen movie, strangely.

 

[raybia]

Dammit, I do need to see Road to Perdition.

I've been meaning to watch that since 2004.

Incredible movie! You won't be sorry...well maybe that you didn't see it in a theater.

 

[raybia]

If Sky Captain was actually good, probably.

The Matrix...honestly, I probably should watch that again to see.

This doesn't confirm anything but here is an interesting article about the Matrix and German expressionism.

http://madgermanexpressionism.blogspot.com/2012/04/film-analysis-matrix-1999-by-larry-and.html

 

[MadVillainy]

Might not be exactly what you're looking for but Assassination of a High School President is neat little neo-noir film. Also look into Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Aw man I really liked Assassination of a High School president. Really underrated little comedy.

 

[Eddie Dean]

I jut punched Modern Examples of German Expressionism into Wikipedia, and it came up with...

Nosferatu the Vampyre
Blade Runner
Shadows and Fog
Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands
The Crow
Dark City
Sweeney Todd

I'd probably add Ed Wood to that list too. It really seemed like it could've been a silent movie at some points.

Shadows and Fog looks interesting to me, and i've never even heard of it. It's a Woody Allen movie, strangely.

The only ones out of that list I'd consider noir are Blade Runner, Dark City and maybe the Crow. Ed Wood has a much more 50s B movie aesthetic to it than German Expressionism.

 

[CConn]

Yeah. I'm more talking about the whole melding of noir/expressionism/silent filmmaking.

Basically, just visual storytelling overall.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

Aw man I really liked Assassination of a High School president. Really underrated little comedy.

It's a shame it just got shafted theatrically and went straight to DVD. Really is a great flick.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

Surprised L.A. Confidential hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[MadVillainy]

Honestly I liked it more than Brick. I mean Brick had better performances but Idk AoaHSP was better to me

 

[Sundancer]

I still don't have a great grasp of what noir is, but I'm reading this thread, looking at my collection and Oldboy came to mind.

 

[raybia]

Yeah. I'm more talking about the whole melding of noir/expressionism/silent filmmaking.

Basically, just visual storytelling overall.

Book of Eli? Maybe some elements. The first 10 mins have no dialogue.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

Honestly I liked it more than Brick. I mean Brick had better performances but Idk AoaHSP was better to me

Brick and Assassination are two movies with similair plots, yet completely different at the same time. I enjoy Brick for tackling the subject seriously, and I enjoyes Assassination because it took a more light hearted approach. Both a great films in their own right.

 

[cherokeesam]

Try the Wachowskis' Bound. And of course, almost anything by David Lynch.

 

[DACrowe]

Technically speaking film noir is not a genre but a film movement that lasted (roughly) from the end of WWII (1945) to about 1960. Of course, this is broadly speaking as many consider The Maltese Falcon the first noir and it was released in '42. Also, people claim A Touch of Evil was the epitaph of noir, but there were several notables after its release in '57.

Still, the general idea of noir is that it is influenced by expressionism, but is inherently American as it is the feeling of increasing isolation in the post-industrial, post-war world where on the surface things are supposed to be the best ever but underneath is urban decay, the loss of "American values," the fear of burgeoning women sexuality with the fatales, etc.

So, a major reason we don't see noirs now is they're viewed as a specific movement. The term film noir wasn't even phrased for those movies until the 1970s. Then it became about filmmakers emulating that style in "neo noir." Ultimately, I think the distinction between "film noir" and "neo noir" is a bit pretentious and just because it's more self away post-1970s does not mean it isn't of the same cloth.

Some modern noirs:

Body Heat (if you like the classics, you have to see this)
Chinatown
Taxi Driver
L.A. Confidential (my favorite of the "genre," period)
Blade Runner
Minority Report
Seven
Hollywoodland
Th Black Dahlia (terrible movie, btw, but very pretty)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Hot Spot

That's off the top of my head. There's quite a few.