Film noir, for initiates, is a French term meaning literally "night film". The style is generally credited to American filmmakers creating this style for soldiers returning from WW2 around 1943-45 who expected more realistic, less optimistic subjects than traditional upbeat 'Hollywood ending' films. Some academics say it began with Billy Wilders Double Indemnity in 1944, some point to even earlier examples from the thirties.
The initial films did take place mostly at night, or in dimly lit interiors; the characters usually smoked and drank whenever possible; and the genre is usually classified by having a lead character with questionable ethics, and often low self-esteem if not downright self-loathing.
The genre caught on worldwide, especially in Europe where the French seemed to have made nothing but noir films for awhile, but even Kurosawa paid tribute himself in Japan. The "true" film noir movie should be in black and white, and made before 1960, but sometimes more modern noir still emulates this style, such as Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, Sin City, and The Departed. I'm using the IMDB genre designation for these.
1. Sunset Boulevard [Wilder, Billy, 1950] #14 - US [photo top]
2. Third Man, The [Reed, Carol, 1948] #15 - UK
3. Touch of Evil [Welles, Orson, 1958] #30 - US
4. Night of The Hunter, The [Laughton, Charles, 1955] #35 - US
5. Notorious [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1946] #42 - US
6. Double Indemnity [Wilder, Billy, 1944] #56 - US [photo rt]
7. Maltese Falcon, The [Huston, John, 1941] #71 - US
8. Shadow of a Doubt [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1943] #104 - US
9. Strangers on a Train [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1951] #121 - US
10. Big Sleep, The [Hawks, Howard, 1946] #123 - US
11. Sweet Smell of Success [Mackendrick, Alexander, 1957] #133 - US
12. Wages of Fear, The [Clouzot, Henri-Georges, 1952] #134 - France-Italy
13. Laura [Preminger, Otto, 1944] #169 - US
14. Blue Velvet [Lynch, David, 1986] #231 - US
15. Out of the Past [Tourneur, Jacques, 1947] #238 - US [photo rt]
16. Rocco and His Brothers [Visconti, Luchino, 1964] #239 - Italy-France
17. White Heat [Walsh, Raoul, 1949] #327 - US
18. Killing, The [Kubrick, Stanley, 1956] #329 - US
19. Kiss Me Deadly [Aldrich, Robert, 1955] #341 - US
20. Asphalt Jungle, The [Huston, John, 1950] #350 - US
21. Shoot the Piano Player [Truffaut, François, 1960] #393 - France
22. To Have and Have Not [Hawks, Howard, 1944] #410 - US
23. Big Heat, The [Lang, Fritz, 1953] #466 - US
24. Mulholland Dr. [Lynch, David, 2001] #477 - France-US
25. Odd Man Out [Reed, Carol, 1947] #478 - UK
26. Detour [Ulmer, Edgar G. 1945] #493US
27. High and Low [Kurosawa, Akira, 1963] #515 -Japan
28. Gun Crazy (Deadly is the Female) [Lewis, Joseph H. , 1950] #583 -US [photo rt]
29. Ace in the Hole [Wilder, Billy, 1951] #604 -US
30. Lady from Shanghai, The [Welles, Orson, 1947] #615 -US
31. Bob le flambeur [Melville, Jean-Pierre, 1956] #767 -France
32. Woman in the Window, The [Lang, Fritz, 1944] #775 -US
33. They Live by Night [Ray, Nicholas, 1948] #785 -US
34. Pickup on South Street [Fuller, Sam, 1953] #823 -US
35. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang [LeRoy, Mervyn, 1932] #830 -US
36. Big Deal on Madonna Street [Monicelli, Mario, 1958] #911 -Italy
37. While the City Sleeps [Lang, Fritz, 1956] #951 -US
38. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt [Lang, Fritz, 1956] #1005 -US
39. Shanghai Gesture, The [von Sternberg, Josef, 1941] #1024 -US
40. Force of Evil [Polonsky, Abraham, 1948] #1160 -US
41. Killers [Siodmak, Robert, 1946] #1163 -US
42. Leave Her to Heaven [Stahl, John M. , 1945] #1165 -US
43. Moonrise [Borzage, Frank, 1948] #1215 -US
44. Angel Face [Preminger, Otto, 1952] #1254 -US
45. Rififi [Dassin, Jules, 1955] #1260 -France
Here is the IMDB top fifty film-noir as voted by users, such as myself (I'm a regular voter there). For some reason, they actually include the western The Ox-Bow Incident, but not me, that's a bit of a stretch.
The initial films did take place mostly at night, or in dimly lit interiors; the characters usually smoked and drank whenever possible; and the genre is usually classified by having a lead character with questionable ethics, and often low self-esteem if not downright self-loathing.
The genre caught on worldwide, especially in Europe where the French seemed to have made nothing but noir films for awhile, but even Kurosawa paid tribute himself in Japan. The "true" film noir movie should be in black and white, and made before 1960, but sometimes more modern noir still emulates this style, such as Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, Sin City, and The Departed. I'm using the IMDB genre designation for these.
1. Sunset Boulevard [Wilder, Billy, 1950] #14 - US [photo top]
2. Third Man, The [Reed, Carol, 1948] #15 - UK
3. Touch of Evil [Welles, Orson, 1958] #30 - US
4. Night of The Hunter, The [Laughton, Charles, 1955] #35 - US
5. Notorious [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1946] #42 - US
6. Double Indemnity [Wilder, Billy, 1944] #56 - US [photo rt]
7. Maltese Falcon, The [Huston, John, 1941] #71 - US
8. Shadow of a Doubt [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1943] #104 - US
9. Strangers on a Train [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1951] #121 - US
10. Big Sleep, The [Hawks, Howard, 1946] #123 - US
11. Sweet Smell of Success [Mackendrick, Alexander, 1957] #133 - US
12. Wages of Fear, The [Clouzot, Henri-Georges, 1952] #134 - France-Italy
13. Laura [Preminger, Otto, 1944] #169 - US
14. Blue Velvet [Lynch, David, 1986] #231 - US
15. Out of the Past [Tourneur, Jacques, 1947] #238 - US [photo rt]
16. Rocco and His Brothers [Visconti, Luchino, 1964] #239 - Italy-France
17. White Heat [Walsh, Raoul, 1949] #327 - US
18. Killing, The [Kubrick, Stanley, 1956] #329 - US
19. Kiss Me Deadly [Aldrich, Robert, 1955] #341 - US
20. Asphalt Jungle, The [Huston, John, 1950] #350 - US
21. Shoot the Piano Player [Truffaut, François, 1960] #393 - France
22. To Have and Have Not [Hawks, Howard, 1944] #410 - US
23. Big Heat, The [Lang, Fritz, 1953] #466 - US
24. Mulholland Dr. [Lynch, David, 2001] #477 - France-US
25. Odd Man Out [Reed, Carol, 1947] #478 - UK
26. Detour [Ulmer, Edgar G. 1945] #493US
27. High and Low [Kurosawa, Akira, 1963] #515 -Japan
28. Gun Crazy (Deadly is the Female) [Lewis, Joseph H. , 1950] #583 -US [photo rt]
29. Ace in the Hole [Wilder, Billy, 1951] #604 -US
30. Lady from Shanghai, The [Welles, Orson, 1947] #615 -US
31. Bob le flambeur [Melville, Jean-Pierre, 1956] #767 -France
32. Woman in the Window, The [Lang, Fritz, 1944] #775 -US
33. They Live by Night [Ray, Nicholas, 1948] #785 -US
34. Pickup on South Street [Fuller, Sam, 1953] #823 -US
35. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang [LeRoy, Mervyn, 1932] #830 -US
36. Big Deal on Madonna Street [Monicelli, Mario, 1958] #911 -Italy
37. While the City Sleeps [Lang, Fritz, 1956] #951 -US
38. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt [Lang, Fritz, 1956] #1005 -US
39. Shanghai Gesture, The [von Sternberg, Josef, 1941] #1024 -US
40. Force of Evil [Polonsky, Abraham, 1948] #1160 -US
41. Killers [Siodmak, Robert, 1946] #1163 -US
42. Leave Her to Heaven [Stahl, John M. , 1945] #1165 -US
43. Moonrise [Borzage, Frank, 1948] #1215 -US
44. Angel Face [Preminger, Otto, 1952] #1254 -US
45. Rififi [Dassin, Jules, 1955] #1260 -France
Here is the IMDB top fifty film-noir as voted by users, such as myself (I'm a regular voter there). For some reason, they actually include the western The Ox-Bow Incident, but not me, that's a bit of a stretch.
I would also add: D.O.A. (the original bw one), Panic in the Streets
Modern Noir: Chinatown, Blue Velvet, Pulp Fiction, L.A. Confidential, The Conformist, The Departed, Sin City, Diva, La Femme Nikita, Shanghai Triad, The Long Goodbye
No film noir movie has ever won the best picture Oscar®, but these have been nominated: Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, and Sunset Boulevard (which probably came the closest to winning). Modern noir films that were nominated were Pulp Fiction, L.A. Confidential, and Chinatown.
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