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Classic Film Noir

Here be those darkly vexing offerings one should include in their diet periodically. Film Noir (literally 'black film or cinema') was coined by French film critics (first by Frank Nino in 1946) who noticed the trend of how 'dark' and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France following the war. It was a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, became prominent in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic "Golden Age" period until about 1965. With the list below Alice has included many "Contempory Noirs", making browsing that much more "coloured"..... Right: Orson Wells stars and directs "A Touch Of Evil".

Just Another Love Story (2007)

7.2/10
Director: Ole Bornedal
Starring: Anders W Berthelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Charlotte Fich, Dejan Cukic, Rebecka Hems...

After Jonas (Anders W. Berthelsen) causes a car accident that leaves Julia (Rebecka Hemse), a mysterious stranger, crippled with amnesia, he's compell... Read more

Married Life (2007)

6.3/10
Director: Ira Sachs
Starring: Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, David Wenham

Set in 1949, Chris Cooper is Harry, a middle-aged businessman agonising over how best to leave his wife, Pat (Patricia Clarkson), so he can marry Kay... Read more

Taxi Driver ( Blu-ray ) (1976)

8.3/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Albert Brooks, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Jodie Foster, Peter Boyle, Robert...

A disturbingly brutal depiction of a lonely, unstable New York City cab driver (Robert De Niro) who stalks a presidential candidate, then turns his vi... Read more

Max and the Junkmen (1971)

7.4/10
Director: Claude Sautet
Starring: Romy Schneider, Michel Piccoli, Bernard Fresson

A classic French noir with Michel Piccoli as Max, a former judge who joins the police force in an obsessive attempt to bring criminals to justice. He... Read more

The Conformist (1970)

8.1/10
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Dominique Sanda, Pierre Clementi

Derived from the novel by Alberto Moravia, acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci's visually electrifying masterpiece about sex, politics, repression... Read more

In Cold Blood (1967)

8/10
Director: Richard Brooks
Starring: Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Scott Wilson, Jeff Corey

An engrossing true story, masterfully adapted from the Truman Capote novel, tracing two young killers, their motives and eventual arrest after the mur... Read more

Japanese Crime Noir Classics ( Tokyo Drifter / A Tattooed Life / Branded to Kill / Youth of the Beast ) (1966)

Director: Seijun Suzuki
Starring: Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tetsuya Watari, Joe Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, An...

A collection of four Japanese crime noir classics from maverick director Seijun Suzuki. "Tokyo Drifter" (1966) - Warned by studio bosses to play it sa... Read more

The Killers (Blu-Ray) (1964)

7.1/10
Director: Don Siegel
Starring: Angie Dickinson, Claude Akins, Clu Gulager, John Cassavetes, Lee Marvin, Norman...

Two hitmen kill an ex-getaway driver, then hunt for the money he purportedly stole in a previous robbery. They probe their victim's past, seeking clue... Read more

Lady in a Cage (1964)

6.9/10
Director: Walter Grauman
Starring: James Caan, Olivia de Havilland, Rafael Campos

Olivia de Havilland plays an aging, wealthy widow who is recuperating from a recent hip operation and is forced to use an elevator to get from one sto... Read more

The Naked Kiss (1964)

7.4/10
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante

AKA 'The Iron Kiss.' A reformed big city prostitute who tries to start again in a quiet town finds that beneath the little town's squeaky clean veneer... Read more