Posted by Neil at term4-216-231-033-058.speakeasy.net on February 26, 2002 at 17:26:08:
In Reply to: Try "Double Indemnity". It's classic FN. *NT* posted by JonAskew on February 26, 2002 at 17:08:17:
I stole this from imdb's Top 50 Film Noir movies. I've cut out movies I haven't seen, ones I didn't think were actually film noir (with one exception), etc. It's a pretty good beginning list.
The Maltese Falcon
The Third Man
Double Indemnity
Touch of Evil
The Night of the Hunter - is listed under noir on imdb, I might dispute this, but it's such a fucking great movie and I can see the logic, I guess, so I'm leaving it here.
The Big Sleep
Rififi
Strangers on a Train
The Killing
Laura
Shadow of a Doubt
In a Lonely Place
The Killers
Kiss Me Deadly
Murder, My Sweet
Gilda
Key Largo
The Asphalt Jungle
Kiss of Death
The Lady from Shanghai
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Blue Dahlia
D.O.A.
It also included THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, MILDRED PIERCE and SHOCK CORRIDOR (off the top of my head) that are extraordinary films, but I honestly couldn't justify them as noir. They don't seem to qualify any more than say, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (directed by John Huston, who wrote three of the movies up there and directed two, including THE MALTESE FALCON, which is often credited as the first true noir film) which is in black & white and shares many noir themes, but doesn't quite fit.