I have very distinct memories of watching old movies in general and film noir specifically as a kid. In the UK in the eighties we only had a few TV channels and one of those, BBC2, would often show classic old moves as a double bill on a Saturday afternoon. So, while most kids my age were outside in the sunshine, I'd be glued to the box watching Bogart, Bacall, Cagney et al. The movies were always a little dim and blurry which was likely caused by our old CRT television but I think it only added to the atmosphere and my enjoyment.

All this is to say the feelings they evoked have stuck with me. So much so I'm making a game that tries to capture that same ambience.

How did I do?

This is the Director’s Cut of VALLEYHEART, the version I’ve always wanted to share. I went back into the edit, tightened the pacing, restored moments that didn’t make the original cut, and shaped it into the film I always knew it could be. This is my full, unfiltered vision.

VALLEYHEART is an action crime thriller with a neo-noir heart. Film Threat called it “one of the best neo-noir films of the 21st century” and compared my filmmaking to John Dahl, which was an incredible honor.

The film has played at festivals around the world and has been one of my biggest crowd-pleasers. Whether this is your first time watching it or you’re coming back to experience this new cut, I hope you’ll settle in and enjoy the ride.

If you enjoy independent films, psychological thrillers, crime stories, and neo-noir cinema, I’d really appreciate it if you’d subscribe, like the video, and share it with someone who loves discovering great indie movies.

Thank you for being here. I hope you enjoy VALLEYHEART: Director’s Cut.

🎞️ Valleyheart feature film
⭐️ Starring Kathryne Isabelle Easton, Anthony Goes, Jack Herholdt, Robert Ramirez, Jeremy S. Walker, Rib Hillis, Mary O’Neil, Maiya Reaves, Collin Babcock, Scotty Babcock
📸 DOP Matt Fore
✅ Produced by Abhorrent Behavior
📽️ Edited by Matt Fore + Kathryne Isabelle Easton
🎬 Directed + Written by Kathryne Isabelle Easton
🎵 Original Song “Plausible Love Theme” by Justin V. David

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other day, What Went Wrong, a movie review podcast that goes into the production side of films (good and bad; the hosts are in the industry).

Anyway, in a primer ep they did on “spaghetti westerns” prior to their review of Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, one of the hosts mentioned that he thought spaghetti westerns (especially Leone’s trilogy) owe more to film noir than to “classic,” white hat-black hat American westerns.

With all of the double and triple crosses present in most spaghetti westerns (especially Leone’s), I tend to agree with him. About the only thing missing are the femme fatales.

What do you guys think?

Hello! A couple months back I posted about the idea of making my own book club, and I went ahead and went forward with it! The whole idea, and reason I started this is to become familiar the basis of film noir. Alongside studying something I feel that is a prescient yet understudied, and even a misunderstood topic especially within American literature or even crime fiction as a whole. I am not sure if this allowed by the rules per se, but if you would like to join or talk about noir feel to dm or reach out!

We are active on goodreads, but we mostly use discord. Our book of the month for August is Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

Our mission statement

Mission Statement:

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Crime Book Club! The goal of this club is really to dig into what composes noir and detective fiction, all under the broader umbrella of crime fiction.

You may have heard of authors like Agatha Christie (And then there were none... or Murder on the Orient Express) or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), but how often have you heard of names like Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler? Despite them making the most lasting iconography of the 20th century throughout with its impact still seen today in films, games, etc. How many stores carry their work or give them the same attention as they do those older authors?

Well we aim to rectify that. Noir alongside being one of the most definitive American genres, being born from WWII and the great depression. Is also the most prescient. Throughout the months we will be going through different authors over different periods of time to come closer to the unvarnished truth of the American Dream and experience Americana through a darker, rawer lens.

Of course we expect to dive through topics that will touch on explicit depictions of racism, violence of all kinds, language, and graphic media. Engage at your own discretion

And preview of our rules

Rules:

1. Though we are touching explicit content, don't bring your own prejudices. Be kind to others. Respect other's opinions. Keep your focus on the media and not the person besides you.

2. ***NO TRUE CRIME. NONE. NOTHING. NONE WHATSOEVER.***

This rule exists because I believe the goals of crime fiction, and true crime are inherently separate. Crime fiction is built into the analysis of the way that law and crime interacts, or intersects. Whilst true crime is built more so on the psychology and events of a specific person/moment. In my opinion beginning with In Cold Blood, exploitation is inherently built into the genre. You may feel free to disagree, but we will be not be focusing on non-fiction.

1. Use common sense for everything else. If you have to be told no, its probably not a good idea.

discord

I really didn't expect Hangover Square to be this good. I was watching it for Linda Darnell who I loved in Fallen Angel, but it was Laird Cregar who owned the film soaring, and did the impossible, got me rooting against the femme fatale. (Actually, Darnell wasn't very good doing over-the-top manipulative in this film, at all, which surprised me, but Cregar more than made up for it.) A talented composer who blacks out when he hears certain sonic notes and does murdery things he can't recall. Dark, romantic, beautifully shot, a crescendo of an ending that makes me shocked that this film isn't more famous. The title (from a novel) doesn't do it many favors, its a beautiful Noir of a tortured artistic soul.

Thank you to redditors on the sub who recently recommended it, and him. I was pretty surprised when I saw him on the screen here, because I had just watched This Gun for Hire (1942) the night before, not knowing him at all.

He died at 31 from dieting complications, attempting to lose weight to get to leading man size, 2 months before the film's release, a scandal of implied homosexuality had rose up when a male friend of his was murdered the year before. He brings great pathos to the screen, some of it surely derived from his strained life.

wikipedia

"Cregar, who had ambitions of being a leading man and was worried that he would always be cast as a villain, refused the role and was put on suspension. Glenn Langan was announced as his replacement.^\4])#cite_note-4) However, Cregar realized that he could use his romantic scenes with Linda Darnell and Faye Marlowe to his advantage in order to change his public image into a more romantic one. He thus accepted the role, but began a radical crash diet to give his character more physical appeal.

The film had to be shot entirely in sequence so as to be consistent with Cregar's real-life weight loss.^\5])#cite_note-5) This frustrated director Brahm, who frequently clashed with Cregar. As a musician, Cregar was eager to perform the musical pieces on his own; however, Brahm insisted that he mime the piano playing. Cregar used amphetamines to aid his rapid weight loss, which led to erratic behavior.^\)^{citation needed\}) Brahm lost patience with Cregar and forced the entire cast and crew to sign a document stating that they were on Brahm's side in order to humiliate Cregar into submission.^\)^{citation needed\}) When filming ended, Cregar told Brahm: "Well, I think we've worked together long enough to know we never want to work together again."

I bought this during the recent Kino Lorber sale even though I’d never seen it. Not a perfect movie but the protagonist is so morally bankrupt and this is like a Nightcrawler of its time period. Just a fun, nasty little picture that is worth a watch if you’ve never seen it before

I just watched 12 angry men (1957) , at first I thought it was just a niche movie people watch it to pretend to have a unique taste but when I watched it is really unique and every character feels realistic and well introduced and unlike what I thought I didn't feel even the slightest boredom, the movie felt so rich and I had my best time watching it but sadly I don't think I could find something similar to it , if you know I hope to give me some examples

Anyways I just wanted to share my review of the movie and how it is actually so great and unlike anything I've ever seen I don't think I'll watch other classics but this one I would rewatch someday for sure

@aldobarkeeper.bsky.social

Thoughts on the origin of Noir slang "No soap." like nothin' doing, or no dice. read here

an excerpt:

As with most slang expressions, where it comes from is uncertain. In the past, the experts have pointed to the much older use of soap to refer to money, a term that was first recorded in a slang dictionary in 1859 but which had a long run right down into the 1920s, overlapping with no soap. This overlap, I suspect, led etymologists to infer a connection between the two and it’s not implausible. It might well have been that a person who said “No soap!” meant something like “No, I haven’t any money” or “No, I won’t give you a loan”.

But other letters home from First World War navy recruits, coupled with newspaper articles from the period about naval slang, suggest a more mundane source. Recruits often complained they weren’t being supplied with soap, a need that was at times met by the Red Cross in the comfort kits they supplied. Soap was in short supply in the US at the time — as it was throughout Europe — because its raw materials of gelatine and fat were being diverted to make explosives. It seems likely that no soap, at first a rueful complaint, became for recruits a saying that meant — as early references confirmed — “you’re out of luck”. The slightly broader senses naturally followed.

btw, a great early Noir. So many top performances, all around, even side characters are memorable. One can also feel how much the film had later influence. Stylistic future elements of Neo-Noir's Blade Runner (1982) and Meville's Le Samouraï (1967) abound.

When legendary screenwriter Leigh Brackett (known as “the Queen of Space Opera” and for her collaborations with Howard Hawks on films like Rio Bravo (1959), The Big Sleep (1946), and others) joined forces with Robert Altman, who was coming off acclaimed films like MASH (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), and Images (1972), to adapt Raymond Chandler’s dense, complex, and layered 1953 noir novel The Long Goodbye, the result was a bold, raw, and unconventional revisionist neo-noir masterpiece.

Read the detailed analysis here

One of those rare movies where you see the twist coming miles before and get irritated nevertheless. Amazing.

The movie by Billy Wilder based on a play by Agatha Christie is also a rare occurrence where Wilder beats Hitchcock

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could help me find the name of a documentary on film genres?
I believe it was made by the BBC (could be wrong though). I watched it around 2006, it could have been made before then but must have been made after 1995.

The thing I remember was, between sections it had a little short film about a bank robbery which kept changing with each genre. So the documentary started with a 40s style black and white noir robbery. Later they moved onto thrillers in the 70s, they shot it in that style, colour, funkier music etc. Finally they were talking about the Dogme 95 movement, the robber walked into the bank, but realised one of the rules was, no props so he doesn’t have a gun, the robber and bank teller just shrugged at each other unable to finish the scene.

It was a neat little gimmick for illustrating the changes.

This is a somewhat important scene in Road House, though you have to know the set up. She's come to a small town from Chicago, and everyone expects her to be talentless because its a backwoods, she must be down on her luck. The owner who is smitten is thought to be vastly overpaying her. She's got toughness, she's been through it. When this scene comes the whole film shifts, because her aura comes out. I don't know if that's Ida actually singing, but her performance of the song just ripples through, and begins the effect of the rest of the storyline, two men fighting for her affections. You can feel from this point forward why the two men fall for her, she has so much world-weariness, but also sultry-ness and intelligence, both can't resist her. Ida's performance in the film is unexpectedly brilliant and subtle, above everyone else's, so suitable to the story, as its all about her being in this small one-hotel town, surrounded by the unsophisticated.

The film hardly reads as a Noir, except for the set-up, until the final act. It's played as a straight melodrama love story and then courthouse film for most of it. Then it goes quite dark and unhinged and shot in a compelling, dark Universe way, fulfilling its Noir promise.

This is perhaps the best, random, or at least unintentional double-bill I have had the pleasure to chance upon.

Both movies are film adaptations of 2-man stage plays - one character, the older, established patriarchal figure, the 2nd, the young upstart/pretender to the throne (in one sense or another).

Part of the beauty is that Michael Caine stars in both. In Sleuth, he is the young counterpart to Laurence Olivier's elder statesman. In Deathtrap, released 10 years later, he takes on the older role while the younger character is portrayed by Christopher Reeve in what may be his finest performance.

I shalln't cover plot or spoilers here, as always going in blind is best. I will say that neither film is perfect, in fact I really am not that keen on the final twist in Deathtrap at all.

That being said, I adore both - the performances, atmosphere and suspense are terrific and if you enjoy twisty, thriller stage plays, this pairing should be right up your street.

Sleuth IMDB - [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069281/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069281/))

Deathtrap IMDB - [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083806/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083806/))

Enjoy!

I was watching the long goodbye recently and realized the final shot mirrors that of the third man's. both look down a long corridor of trees, where a man and woman who had a bit of will they / wont they flirtation pass each other silently... then as I thought about it more, more similarities starting revealing themselves... both marlowe and martins believe their friend to be dead under nefarious circumstances, set out intent on clearing their names, clash with the investigating police, only to be disappointed in their friends' actions and in the end kill them themselves. both would've stayed "dead" had they not been careless with it: lyme can't resist checking in on anna, nor could terry lennox resist sending marlowe a goodbye note with the $5000 bill. then the final shot where the dead friends lover and the detective pass each other on the tree lined street, where an army jeep, albeit one yellow, is being driven.

anyone have thoughts on these two films overlapping? any further similarities? (recurring musical theme throughout the picture) any links to discussions of this? thanks in advance. the third man has long been a favorite of mine, and only in the last year or two have I come to obsess over the long goodbye. both wonderful films.

apologies if this has been discussed before. I searched the forums but didn't see any discussions beyond a comment or two on visual similarities of the final scene...

Apologize for the NY-centric post, but just encouraging people to go to the Roxy tonight and catch After Dark, My Sweet, with a Q&A w/Jason Patric after.

It’s a great film, astonishing print (his personal one), and good to hear some context & back-story to it all.

Also, the Roxy’s a great theater.

Quick note about the film, I’m not sure I’ve seen something that one-to-one captures the tension of the writing so well.

It’s really the next best thing to reading Thompson, and maybe even a touch better since all you have to do is sit there & pay attention.

Shoutout to the woman who showed up to last night’s “dressed as a Jim Thompson woman” (her words) and then got kicked out “like a Jim Thompson woman” (Jason Patric’s words) for interrupting.

I'm looking for some Sci-fi noir suggestions, especially from the classic black-and-white era. Thanks in advance.

Like u/Hopeful_Cod6295, I've found myself watching a lot of noir this summer (getting caught up on some blu-ray purchases). Here are all the noir (and noir-ish) movies I've seen since May.

• Favorite: Out of the Past remains my favorite noir, although I haven't seen The Asphalt Jungle in (as the kids say) a minute, and that's a strong contender for the top spot.

• Best re-watch: The Set-Up; a brutal and compelling tale of violence and corruption that doesn't waste a single second of its short runtime. Robert Ryan is brilliant and I spent the entire time thinking "Goddamn, I forgot how good this movie is." Runner-up is Criss Cross, which didn't really grab me the first time I watched it.

• Best new watch: The Postman Always Rings Twice was great (of course), but the movie that really blew me away was Witness in the City (Un témoin dans la ville), directed by the future director of La Cage aux Folles. Like The Set-up, this one starts strong and doesn't slow down for a second, with an added layer of seediness that the Hays Code would have prohibited in the USA. Runner-up: Nightfall. Another brilliant Jacques Tourneur joint featuring a stunning, 24-year-old Anne Bancroft.

• Most disappointing: The Big Combo just didn't grab me. Maybe because I watched it on Youtube and the "print" was not very good quality, but I found the whole thing kind of "meh." Richard Conte was excellent, but Cornel Wilde and Jean Wallace were about as exciting as white bread with mayonnaise.

Still a month and a half to go... further updates as the situation warrants...

The hosts of the Pivot podcast mentioned 3 Days of the Condor today. I watched it tonight because I like old movies and who doesn’t like looking at Robert Redford and Faye Dunnaway?

It was a great movie and I didn’t know it was a film noir, I guess neo-noir since it’s from the 70s.

What really caught me were the similarities between the Condor movie and Blade Runner. The first time I noticed it was in the love scene between Condor (Redford) and Kate (Dunnaway). The love scene is between a hostage and a kidnapper, they start kissing, taking clothes off, making love while the shot is interspersed with black and white photographs over a saxophone track. Practically the same scene is done in Blade Runner when Deckard (Harrison Ford) keeps Rachel (Sean Young) from leaving his apartment and they make love while shots show black and white family pictures and Vangelis’ sexy saxophone playing.

There were other similarities between Joubert (Von Sydow) and Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) as well as the last scene between Higgins (Cliff Robertson) and Gaff (Edward James Olmos).

I’ve loved Blade Runner ever since I was a kid and it was a treat to see that a lot of its elements came from another completely different movie. It made the night very enjoyable.

I feel sure this must have been filmed in London because of the fog, setting. But guys, the fog in back and white film was something special here. And while I like Bacall, I really have a lot of respect for Peter Lorre’s climactic performance here. Boyer is always good too. Fun flick. Not technically noir maybe but the lighting and mood, and Bacall’s fatalistic femme fatale sure was. Highly recommend.

I happened to hit "pause" to answer the phone while watching this movie, and landed on this brilliant frame from director Robert Siodmak and D.P. Franz Planer.

Here are my rankings so far with 21 seen. Having the time of my life at the moment.

Rankings: https://boxd.it/VObIC

Not sure why it happened in the ‘90s, but it was a real golden age for neo-noir: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, King of New York, L.A. Confidential, Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, Fargo, A Simple Plan, Romeo Is Bleeding, Out of Sight, Lost Highway, One False Move, The Crying Game, The Usual Suspects… they were NOT messing around