The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

My ballot. Outside of some glaring omissions/brain farts there isn't much I'd change. Maybe the order. I really wish Shaft and Bullitt had made the countdown. And even though I more or less knew Rolling Thunder wouldn't show up it would have still been nice to see it included. The rest are just personal favorites.


1. The French Connection (#58)
2. You Were Never Really Here (#50)
3. Get Carter (#49)
4. In the Heat of the Night (#98)
5. Blast of Silence (#48)
6. Shaft
7. Rolling Thunder
8. Taxi Driver (#4)
9. Thief (#29)
10. Hell or High Water
11. Blade Runner (#2)
12. Blood Simple (#9)
13. Badlands (#103)
14. Winter's Bone
15. L.A. Confidential (#3)
16. Harper (#101)
17. Dark City (#24)
18. One False Move (#73)
19. No Country for Old Men (#12)
20. Blood and Black Lace
21. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
22. Bullitt
23. Drive (#14)
24. Point Blank (#72)
25. Collateral (#33)

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Nice.

Chinatown is popular everywhere, and empirically it is the clear and obvious choice for top Neo Noir.

You can go off people, can't you?



Before I get to the meat of it all, HTH did The Taking of Pelham One Two Three qualify? Now, I love that film (like top 100 love it) but I still don't think I'd have voted for it even if I knew it did. Though, I do really love it, so maybe I would've? Anyway, seems weird to me but then, what else is new?

Had I known Wild Things counted I'd have defintely added that to my list (and I can see the noir there) as that's a damn good film (if a little heavyhanded with the metaphors) too I'll say the same for The Killer (which I did look at but couldn't see the Neo-Noir tag for) and Hard Boiled, which I love but really don't think of as Noir and, had I already had The Killer, I think I'd have left it off anyway as being too far removed from what I think of neo noir. But I love all those films and, along with Angel Heart (which I shamefully forgot and After Dark, My Sweet which I decided against, plus a couple more I've thought of since, Miami Blues and Kill Me Again) I'd have gotten close to a full list. Ah, well. Them's the breaks.

At least you all got #1 correct. Double Indemnity should be the #1 choice for classic noir, but Chinatown had to be. It's the best example and the best film. I'd have liked to have seen L.A. Confidential at #2, but the fandom of Bladerunner is very strong and it's not as if there's any argument to be made that it isn't neo-noir, is there? It just is, even for someone like me. I could've done my bit though, as I only had it at #16, which I can't explain at all beyond I made the list quickly and it must've gotte lost in the shuffle as I tried to get my list in before the deadline.

Thanks for running a good countdown, Thief. Excellent work.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Thanks Thief for volunteering to do this portion of MoFos' first (and hopefully not last) duel countdowns. You did an excellent job!!!
I totally appreciate you helping out so that the MoFo community could turn out two different Top 100 Film Noir/Neo Noir list. Without this countdown the Film Noir countdown would not have worked!

Thanks to everyone who participated here in the Neo Noir countdown, hope everyone had fun!

Here's my Neo Noir ballot:
1. Le Samouraï (1967)
2. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)...
3. The Hustler (1961) ***
4. The Naked Kiss (1964)***
5. The Long Goodbye (1973)
6. Thelma & Louise (1991)
7. Strange Days (1995)***
8. The Hole (1960)
9. Body Heat (1981)
10. Blood Simple (1984)
11. L'avventura (1960)
12. Seconds (1966)
13. Blue Ruin (2013)***
14. Blow-Up (1966)
15. Road to Perdition (2002)
16. L.A. Confidential (1997)
17. Alphaville (1965)***
18. Gone Baby Gone (2007)
19. Mulholland Drive (2001)***
20. Miller's Crossing (1990)
21. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)***
22. Blade Runner (1982)
23. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
24. Dark City (1998)***
25. Portrait in Black (1960)

I just logged off and was heading to work when I realized I need to thank Yoda ....Chris does all the behind the scenes work that makes the auto generated images and auto generated ballot tabulations that the Neo Noir countdown used. And he has to work with the data base and do a whole bunch more work to get both countdowns' list into the MoFo list section. So a big thanks to Yoda for making all this possible for all of us MoFos! This is what I love about the site it feels like a community

A friend to Noir, Yoda is.

Yes, yes, thank you, Yoda.

__________________
"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Yes, by all means, thank you to Yoda for all his behind the scenes work in making these two countdowns such polished and top drawer affairs.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... BLADE RUNNER


Roger Ebert said:

Ben Sherlock, from Game Rant, said:

@John McClane said:

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WHAT DID YOU THINK OF... CHINATOWN


Roger Ebert said:

Glenn Frankel, from The Washington Post, said:

@Daniel M said:

Ok, the only one from my list that didn't make it was my #25, Brian de Palma's Femme Fatale.



Admittedly, I haven't seen it in a good while, but it's still a film that stuck with me for its vibe, mood, and twisty story, which I think made it a perfect fit for this countdown. I expected it to be a one-pointer, but someone else voted for it, so I guess I'm happy about that.



SEEN: 73/100
MY BALLOT: 24/25

*sees @Wigram liked this*

I can't find my review of Chinatown, but it was #1 on my list. I consider it to be the greatest neo-noir ever, followed by Body Heat. The story, the acting, the directing, the settings and production design were all in the stratosphere. I also liked The Two Jakes, but it didn't click with the public as much as its predecessor. I wish Nicholson would have made a third.

I liked Blade Runner, but I had the 2017 version at #21. I probably could have used the '82 version, but I didn't...

Thanks very much to Thief for running this countdown!

He's a great guy, and it takes a lot of time and effort to put one of these things together.

Many thanks, you old cinephile you!

~Doc

AWARDS?


Blade Runner received several nominations and awards. These are some of the most notable:

• Eight (8) BAFTA Film Award nominations, including a win for Best Cinematography (Jordan Cronenweth)
• Four (4) Saturn Award nominations, including a win for Best Supporting Actor (Rutger Hauer)
• Two (2) Academy Award nominations, including Best Visual Effects
• One (1) Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Score (Vangelis)

AWARDS?


Chinatown received several nominations and awards. These are some of the most notable:

• Eleven (11) Academy Award nominations, including a win for Best Original Screenplay (Robert Towne)
• Eleven (11) BAFTA Film Award nominations, including a win for Best Actor (Jack Nicholson)
• Seven (7) Golden Globe Award nominations, including a win for Best Picture
• One (1) Writers Guild of America Award for Best Writing (Towne)

Stats: Finish Line

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Now that we hit the finish line, here's were we ended up after 100 entries:

Decade Breakdown

• 1960s = 13
• 1970s = 15
• 1980s = 12
• 1990s = 30
• 2000s = 17
• 2010s = 13
• 2020s = 0

As expected, the 1990s end up taking the prize. However, it's interesting that after that, the field is pretty much even all across. Also, the 1970s had the strongest showing in the Top 10 with 3 entries.


Recurring Directors

• Coen Brothers = 6
• David Fincher = 4
• Michael Mann = 4
• David Lynch = 3
• Martin Scorsese = 3
• Christopher Nolan = 3
• Quentin Tarantino = 3
• William Friedkin = 3
• Ridley Scott = 2
• Robert Altman = 2
• Jean-Pierre Melville = 2
• Brian de Palma = 2
• Bong Joon-ho = 2
• Shane Black = 2

Also as expected, the Coen brothers dominated with 6 entries total. Fincher and Mann settle for the second spot with 4, while this last batch brought Scorsese his third notch, and Ridlsey Scott his second.

Also Bad Lieutenant didn't make it - a bit surprising. So that's 21/25 for those of us who are counting, which is just me I'm sure.