Sunday, September 21, 2014

10 Best Film Noir Films In Color




1) Chinatown.

Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway burned up the screen in this troubled tale of corruption -- government, business and familial.

2) Blade Runner.

There's no real pairing in this film, a necessary tool of film noir, but on every other noir meter -- including mood -- it hits the right notes.

3) After Dark My Sweet.

Jason Patric's a drifter, Rachel Ward's a user, the chemistry between them is undeniable.

4) Vertigo.

Alfred Hitchock's masterpiece that was ahead of its time when released and still feels current today.

5) Black Widow.

What if the private dick who falls for the bad woman is a woman?  Debra Winger and Theresa Russell star in this 80s classic.

6) Rush.

Jason Patric teams with Jennifer Jason Leigh in this tale of an undercover operation gone horribly wrong.  Lili Fini Zanuck directed this 90s classic.

7) To Die For (tie) Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (tie) Peeper.

Can noir be a comedy?  Bob Hope proved it could with My Favorite Brunette.  Nicole Kidman burns in the sharp and acid take on noir.  Steve Martin plays opposite Rachel Ward and -- via film editing -- opposite Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster and many more. Steve's film is in black & white but we're including it on the color list because it's more neo-noir than noir.  Michael Caine really just has Natalie Wood but she's more than enough in this underrated comic gem that remains a high point of both Wood and Caine's 70s work.

8) Against All Odds.

Jeff Bridges teams with Rachel Ward in this remake of Out Of The Past.

9) The Two Jakes. 

The sequel to Chinatown was savaged but it's deserved a reappraisal for some time now.


10) The Long Goodbye.

Robert Altman's classic finds Elliott Gould offering a new take on the role of the private dick.