The Noir Genius Exam
November 24, 2004 8:56 AM Subscribe
Take the Village Voice's Noir Genius Exam. Created to promote the "Essential Noir: Classics of American Film Noir 1941-1958" film fest at the FilmForum. Nov26th-Dec 23. Difficulty: essay questions - good luck...
OMG they're showing a restored print of Force of Evil !!!
OMG! for those who haven't seen it, it is a forgotten gem of American cinema. and Abe Polonsky was just so great
I am so coming to New York
thanks for the post
clav: 'Alligators have the right idea. They eat their young'.
I hear you clav (even if my favorite remains "Double Indemnity", it still moves me), but the unforgettable Crawford for me is Johnny Guitar's
posted by matteo at 9:18 AM on November 24, 2004
OMG! for those who haven't seen it, it is a forgotten gem of American cinema. and Abe Polonsky was just so great
I am so coming to New York
thanks for the post
clav: 'Alligators have the right idea. They eat their young'.
I hear you clav (even if my favorite remains "Double Indemnity", it still moves me), but the unforgettable Crawford for me is Johnny Guitar's
posted by matteo at 9:18 AM on November 24, 2004
off the top of my head, I have only 7 answers. damn. some (1, 6, 8, 9, 11) are easy, some look pretty tough to me. but I'm rusty
posted by matteo at 9:26 AM on November 24, 2004
posted by matteo at 9:26 AM on November 24, 2004
Wow, as much as I love film noir, I only know 9 & 11. This is tough.
I'm with matteo on "Double Indemnity." Best noir ever, IMHO.
posted by pmurray63 at 9:58 AM on November 24, 2004
I'm with matteo on "Double Indemnity." Best noir ever, IMHO.
posted by pmurray63 at 9:58 AM on November 24, 2004
Here is the full list of noir playing at Film Forum.
What would you add to the list to make it the best noir collection ever?
I would add Breathless and maybe Scarlet Street. Oh yeah, and Chinatown.
I would definetly would not like to see The Night of the Hunter or M again, because hurting/murdering children is just too creepy.
Are there any movies you would remove from the list?
posted by rajbot at 11:44 AM on November 24, 2004
What would you add to the list to make it the best noir collection ever?
I would add Breathless and maybe Scarlet Street. Oh yeah, and Chinatown.
I would definetly would not like to see The Night of the Hunter or M again, because hurting/murdering children is just too creepy.
Are there any movies you would remove from the list?
posted by rajbot at 11:44 AM on November 24, 2004
matteo, some clues: 5 is Out of the Past (a. is Gun Crazy, you know what b is, c is The Woman in the Window, d is They Live by Night); 10 is Pickup on South Street.
posted by dobbs at 11:51 AM on November 24, 2004
posted by dobbs at 11:51 AM on November 24, 2004
Another clue: for #7, Marv proposes to Johnny that he reconsider his marriage plans and go away with him instead. Also, the film is the answer to another question in the quiz.
posted by dobbs at 12:09 PM on November 24, 2004
posted by dobbs at 12:09 PM on November 24, 2004
rajbot, I'm not a big fan of Criss Cross though I don't know if I'd remove it from the list. There are a few films there I haven't seen so can't comment on (love to see Thieves' Highway as I like Dassin's Rififi and Brute Force).
My fave title on the list as it is is Sweet Smell of Success though I find it hard to compare it to crime noirs. Double Endemnity, Gun Crazy, and Pickup on South Street are probably my fave traditional noirs.
posted by dobbs at 12:19 PM on November 24, 2004
My fave title on the list as it is is Sweet Smell of Success though I find it hard to compare it to crime noirs. Double Endemnity, Gun Crazy, and Pickup on South Street are probably my fave traditional noirs.
posted by dobbs at 12:19 PM on November 24, 2004
Third vote for "Double Indemnity" (and not just for noir but film in general). And "Pickup on South Street" and "Kiss Me Deadly" and "The Killing".
I like "Mildred Pierce" but the "crummiest freight train" line is from elsewhere. (Ha!)
Damn me for not living in NY. Although, speaking of Jules Dassin, LACMA did a Dassin retrospective earlier this year, and I got to see a 35 print of "Thieves' Highway". Very nice.
posted by gramschmidt at 2:56 PM on November 24, 2004
I like "Mildred Pierce" but the "crummiest freight train" line is from elsewhere. (Ha!)
Damn me for not living in NY. Although, speaking of Jules Dassin, LACMA did a Dassin retrospective earlier this year, and I got to see a 35 print of "Thieves' Highway". Very nice.
posted by gramschmidt at 2:56 PM on November 24, 2004
I can't believe Rafifi and Bob La Flambeur aren't on their program. I just watched Rafifi this afternoon and it was a revelation.
posted by billsaysthis at 8:35 PM on November 24, 2004
posted by billsaysthis at 8:35 PM on November 24, 2004
billsaysthis, the program's called AMERICAN film noir.
posted by dobbs at 9:30 PM on November 24, 2004
posted by dobbs at 9:30 PM on November 24, 2004
Well, so far I've seen 11 of the 34 films on that schedule, and there are others that have been on my list for some time now. What a great lineup ... I too am envious.
Perhaps my favorite cable channel could provide a virtual festival of these films for the rest of America. ;) (Not that I'm complaining -- they already do play a good amount of this genre.)
posted by pmurray63 at 9:52 PM on November 24, 2004
Perhaps my favorite cable channel could provide a virtual festival of these films for the rest of America. ;) (Not that I'm complaining -- they already do play a good amount of this genre.)
posted by pmurray63 at 9:52 PM on November 24, 2004
I love the noir like nobody's business, but that shit is hard. I'm good at details, but not good at details from movies I saw 5 years ago.
As for bests, Double Idemnity is probably the best (but probably 3rd best movie Billy Wilder made, after Sunset Blvd and Some Like It Hot, but not necesarily in that order), Pickup on South Street rocks, but The Maltese Falcon always makes my heart swell a little. It was how my sweet little high school heart learned to love the hardened private eye in the big, terrible city.
Also, Shadow of a Doubt? Really good, one of my top Hitchcocks. (And that's saying something. It's just below, like, Vertigo and Rear Window and Notorious.)
posted by SoftRain at 11:31 PM on November 24, 2004
As for bests, Double Idemnity is probably the best (but probably 3rd best movie Billy Wilder made, after Sunset Blvd and Some Like It Hot, but not necesarily in that order), Pickup on South Street rocks, but The Maltese Falcon always makes my heart swell a little. It was how my sweet little high school heart learned to love the hardened private eye in the big, terrible city.
Also, Shadow of a Doubt? Really good, one of my top Hitchcocks. (And that's saying something. It's just below, like, Vertigo and Rear Window and Notorious.)
posted by SoftRain at 11:31 PM on November 24, 2004
One I'd like to add to the pantheon is Tough Guys Don't Dance. Get this synopsis -
Tim Madden is an unsuccessful writer addicted to bourbon and women. He awakens with a hangover. He remembers practically nothing of the night before and then he finds in the nearby woods the severed head of a blonde.
From here.
Wild Things is another.
posted by emf at 7:35 AM on November 25, 2004
Tim Madden is an unsuccessful writer addicted to bourbon and women. He awakens with a hangover. He remembers practically nothing of the night before and then he finds in the nearby woods the severed head of a blonde.
From here.
Wild Things is another.
posted by emf at 7:35 AM on November 25, 2004
« Older Fearless Leader | A Manx Notebook Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Mildred. Best American noir film ever.
posted by clavdivs at 9:13 AM on November 24, 2004