Noir Discussion

Tell me boys what's your thoughts on what makes noir films so successful or at least good? I'm thinking more story wise here and less on the aesthetics but answer how you see fit.

High contrast black and whites

ok ok ok, this isn't technically noire. But it's got some noire vibes. It's amazing.

Anything else?

No

I mean you can recommend films but I'm looking more for your opinion on what makes a good noir film

A film historian on TCM once defined noir as
>a woman with no past and a man with no future

Aight then

I like the constant low level sexism

I can get the man with no future but I feel like the woman always has a past that ends up setting the whole movie in motion. At least from most of the ones I've seen

thoughts?

Yeah you definitely gotta have a dominating protagonist and males. Helps the suspense

I dunno but The man who wasn't there is brilliant.
It's an odd kind of noir but still counts I think

Sadly I haven't seen it but it sounds really fucking good

I don't think there's a certain criteria for what makes a noir film good, especially when it's more of a movement then a genre and it's tied together more by aesthetics than story. There's noirs about gangsters, private eyes, screenwriters and publicists, it's a mixed bag.

That might be it. It may have been "a woman with a past and a man with no future." Either way the woman on the run or femme fatale usually sets off the story and the man has to take it for her.

Bump for more recs

It's dangerous to go alone, take this

Amazing as fuck performance by Robert Mitchum.
Weird that this movie turned out to be a coming of age story.

the maltese falcon > the big sleep

Noir, or well the best noir, tends to be simple character stories about normal people being driven to horrible acts by their own carnal desires. While the whole private dick schtick is kind of iconic to the genre the best noir usually is about this specific theme. The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity even something like The Maltese Falcon where the iconic image from the film is Bogart as Sam Spade all dressed up the movie is really about people being corrupted by their greed to do terrible things. Mostly illustrated by the final scene in the movie where Gutman, Cairo and the Whore realized that they killed two men in an attempt to get their hands on the falcon but all they ended up with was a fake chunk of lead, they cry but not out of any feeling of guilt but because they wasted so much time on a fake. That's what a noir film is to me at least.

Yeah I get that. I kinda had more of the private eye noirs in mind when I made this

Pretty much a perfect movie. An amazing piece of horror.

...

This is the good version of Casablanca.

I agree that seediness and corruption is a huge and almost necessary part for a good noir. In my opinion I kinda think that having a protagonist that sort of gets sucked in at the 3rd act of someone else's story and having to figure out the mystery while the audience goes along with them is what makes a really good noir.

Stanwyck forever.

Will there ever be a renaissance of kino Noir films?
We almost got one in the 2000s, but Black Dahlia sucked. L.A. Confidential was good though.

>Black Dahlia sucked

I have always liked the voiceover/narration. That is the key noir trait to me.

Amazing until like the last 30 seconds. Absolutely murdered (heh) my kino boner.

I couldn't really tell you honestly. Maybe if there's a rebirth of (I think it was) German expressionism that inspired noir or maybe a higher level of cynicism that isn't focused on terrorism or gangs

Idk whether this or Bioshock Infinite was the most disappointed I ever was in a video game. Idk I guess I was expecting 50s Max Payne and not a semi interactive movie.
That said I do want to replay it. I probably will enjoy much more the second time around. Maybe when it's re-released on Xbox One.

>Maybe when it's re-released on Xbox One.
This is what I'm waiting for. Also play it with the black and white filter on. It makes the game more enjoyable and more noir-like, I think anyway

I didn't know what to expect and I loved it. Great ending.

True that is always a nice touch to get me in it. For me it's the cliche smoky room and super slow fans

I think infinite was more disappointing story wise. L.A. Noire felt too long imo but the parts where you play as Jack at the end was really nice.

>I'm thinking more story wise here and less on the aesthetics
the thing is that the whole genre is almost determined by its aesthetic. Sure you can have a nice mystery story or some common themes from classic noir films, but it wouldn't be considered noir until you employ certain cinematography techniques.
I guess you could argue that cinematography doesnt count as aesthetic, but you can't deny that it has everything to do with establishing the noir tone. That's why you can have neo-noir stuff like Blade Runner.

It's a great game. Don't get me wrong. But being an ignorant teen I just thought they were going to make an ultra violent game that took place in the 50s. I thought it would be more along the lines of like a hard-boiled novel, despite reading he previews all fucking day.

I will never forgive Bioshock Infinite. Bioshock 2 is in my top 5. I bought the remaster and didn't even touch infinite but beat 1 and 2 twice each.

This game was highly underrated. Its not perfect by any stretch but Team Bondi fucking nailed the world building. I honestly can't say I've played a more immersive game.

I think I should've worded it better cause I don't wanna discount aesthetic cause it has probably the biggest role and cinematography definitely has to count for aesthetic. I just never hear much about the stories other than like the femme fatale and all that

the setting for one. pre or post ww2 is americas comfy spot. its called the golden age for a reason.put that in a place like LA or NYC in the 30s-50s is max comfy
a noir is a good mix of a thriller, a mystery, a crime movie and a damzel in distress all in one. Again, easy brownie points. Make the plot interesting, serious and not to convoluted but not too blatantly obvious and you have a an easy winner.
Noir was the capeshit of its generation and I still love it

really fuck great film. It was on my watch list for a while and I wasnt disappointed. Its more of a theater horror movie then a noir though

Mitchum as grizzled old Marlow in a straight neo-noir, solid film

un-ironically true detective season 2
its probably the only redeeming feature that it was an attempt at a modern noir

Honestly I think what fucked up infinite was that it seemed too reliant on the twist ending and the infinite loop thing.

Ya know it and westerns really were the capeshits of their times. Maybe the reason they've held up is that they were a bit more serious and could fit with adults and kids alike. Hero movies now though are more just kids movies rather and multiage oriented

Not just the story, the gameplay felt....Off. idk.

Anyway, I have Hulu and Netflix because I like giving my money to Jews. What's some good noir too look out for?
Honestly the only thing close to noir that I've loved is Brick and I know im a pleb for that.

The plot is better than the movie itself

The gameplay felt too fast paced and too streamlined I think. I wish I could help but I honestly haven't seen a lot of noirs. That being said the best I've seen so far is Casablanca, Chinatown, and blade runner. If anything I'm about as entry level pleb as it gets.

I agree, but I also think what fucked it up most is that it broke away from the philosophies of the first two and focused more on the sci-fi aspects. That and they abandoned the pseudo RPG thing the others had going on. All in all bioshock infinite wasnt even a bad game, it just didnt feel at all like a bioshock game.

Yeah I was pretty annoyed with those choices they presented in the game having no real affect on the story besides insignificant details

The only noir movie i ever seen is blade runner

I ain't far off from ya but it's a pretty good one though

Bioshock 1 and 2 allowed freedom with your tools and powers that infinite just didn't. Infinite felt like COD at times with it's set pieces.

>modern director tries to do a Noir film
>it apes the style but its shit

That's my thing man. People focus too much on the look and think it'll be good, it's gotta at least have a half decent story