Film Noir Tournament (2 Viewers)

[Angelo.M]

third: blade runner
second: dark city
second: seven

nominate: the usual suspects

 

[george kaplan]

I was perusing the list, and while I certainly have no problem with a flexible definition of film noir, I'd hate to see one of the undisputable classics not even get nominated. Can someone please nominate Gilda?

 

[SteveGon]

Agreed. I don't mind including a FEW noirish offshoots like Blade Runner for the sake of variety, but the noms are rapidly getting out of control: The Big Lebowski?

Right now, I'm not sure if I want to continue with this.

 

[Gabe D]

I probably wouldn't have thought to nominate it, but The Big Lebowski, though played for laughs, certainly has the plot and themes of a classic film noir. I could easily believe it was tweaked from a book by Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler.

And if you were to hand out more nominations, I'd be happy to nominate Gilda.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I probably wouldn't have thought to nominate it, but The Big Lebowski, though played for laughs, certainly has the plot and themes of a classic film noir.

A film noir that is a comedy is called a Screwball Comedy.
I’m not trying to be patronizing, but noir translates to black
I presumed that we all knew this. Even if the source of a movie came from a classic pulp detective writer, the film still has to have the right feel.
Steve, you can be the judge, but I’ll try:
Nominate:
High and Low. I don’t know if this meets the test or not, but it certainly has the feel.

 

[george kaplan]

Steve,

Please continue with this, but feel free as moderator to rule out films if you want. I love Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and it's certainly more noirish than Big Lebowski, but I didn't even consider nominating it.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Second George's statement

 

[Gabe D]

Yes, noir does translate to black, and I think "black comedy" is a much more apt classification for Lebowski than "screwball" is. Lebowski is most definitely black, and I think it's worth mentioning that the elements that would qualify Lebowski for this tournament are not the source of the comedy. The comedy comes from the characters who find themselves in a classic film noir plot. It's a tribute to the classic films noir, not unlike Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

For the record, I'm just trying to point out why someone would have nominated The Big Lebowski. I am not lobbying for its inclusion. If Steve wants to expel it, that's his prerogative. If this is intended to be a tournament of classic noir films only, I don't have any problem with that. It just seemed to me that Steve thought Lebowski was a ridiculous suggestion for the tourney, and I (mildly) disagree.

 

[JenB]

I second what Gabe said and I also think that Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid would be appropriate for this tournament and I would nominate it also if Steve and enough other people thought it should be there.

 

[Rand]

Second:
The Lady From Shanghai
Laura

Close to half the nominations so far I wouldn't classify as film noir. This particular genre/movement really needs a fairly strict definition up front I think or nominations will be all over the map, as they're proving to be here.

 

[Tommy G]

Third:
Laura
One third left.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Third: The Lady from Shanghai
Looking at some of the nominations, and some of the films that aren't in; I can already see that this tournament is going to piss me off.
- Walter.

 

[Rain]

Nominate:
Kiss Me Deadly
Third:
Shadow of a Doubt
_________________

The Sweet Smell of Success

As was pointed out to me recently, there is no "the" in the title.

 

[Vickie_M]

Third:

Dark City
Gaslight

I'd nominate Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid too.
Out of noms, 2nds and 3rds.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Second:

Blood Simple

 

[Brian Kissinger]

Not sure if it qualifies, but I'd like to nominate The Sound of Music.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Well there are Nazis. And some of them do wear brown and black.

And the ingénue does have to leave her boyfriend behind. Of course he has turned into a Nazi, so maybe that’s a good thing.

And I do believe that I detected one of the kids singing just a little sharp in ‘Do, a Deer’.


Be patient, Brian. I’m just checking to see if I still have a second.

 

[Rand]

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Right now, I'm not sure if I want to continue with this.

I echo George's statement that as moderator of this Tourney, you should feel free to preclude any movie from being in the tourney that you don't feel is appropriate!
I third Blood Simple.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I like the list the way it is, but I'll throw in something.
Third
Memento
Just to add something to SteveGon's comments about black and white. I'm a big fan of color and all, but IMHO I can't think of a better medium for film noir than black and white.
My money's on The Maltese Falcon, the one that supposedly started it all.