Combining the hard-boiled American crime fiction of the Great Depression with the dark visual style of German Expressionism, the genre now known as Film Noir emerged in the 1940s and ‘50s and has continued to endure well into the 21st Century. This month, Kanopy is celebrating the genre with “Noirvember,” and you can stream dozens of classic and modern “Neo-Noir” films there for free using your Livingston Library card. Check out some of the recommended titles below, or browse Kanopy’s complete Film Noir Collection here. (Descriptions provided by Kanopy.)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948, directed by Anatole Litvak)
In this chilling tale, a bedridden woman (Barbara Stanwyck) overhears two men plotting a murder on the telephone and begins to suspect that one of the voices is her husband’s and that she is the target. Stanwyck was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
The Third Man (1949, directed by Carol Reed)
In 1949, an American writer of westerns, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), arrives in post-war Vienna to visit his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). On arrival, he learns that his friend has been killed in a street accident, and when he meets Calloway (Trevor Howard), chief of the British Military Police in Vienna, he is informed that Lime was in fact a black marketer wanted by the police. He decides to prove Harry’s innocence, but is Harry really dead?
Sunset Boulevard (1950, directed by Billy Wilder)
Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness, created two of the screen’s most memorable characters in Sunset Boulevard. Winner of three Academy Awards, director Billy Wilder’s powerful orchestration of this bizarre tale is a true cinematic classic.
The Night of the Hunter (1955, directed by Charles Laughton)
A tall, handsome “preacher” roams the countryside, spreading the gospel…and leaving a trail of murdered women in his wake! To Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), the Lord’s work is more about taking souls than saving them, especially when money is involved. Now his sights are set on $10,000, but two little children are the only ones who know where it’s hidden and it’s their secret … for now.
The Long Goodbye (1973, directed by Robert Altman)
Elliott Gould stars in Robert Altman’s quirky send-up of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. Marlowe (Gould) faces the most bizarre case of his life, when a friend’s apparent suicide turns into a double murder involving a sexy blonde, a disturbed gangster and a suitcase of drug money. But as Marlowe stumbles toward the truth, he soon finds himself lost in a maze of sex and deceit – only to discover that in L.A., if love is dangerous … friendship is murder.
Blue Velvet (1986, directed by David Lynch)
Clean-cut college boy Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) finds his Mayberry-like hometown is not so normal when he discovers a human ear in a field. His investigation catapults him into an alluring, erotic murder mystery involving a disturbed nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) and a drug-addicted sadist (Dennis Hopper). Soon Jeffrey’s led deeper into their depraved existence, finding himself obsessed with this dark, enigmatic underworld…to the point of no return.
King of New York (1990, directed by Abel Ferrara)
In New York, crime gets done Frank’s way, or it doesn’t get done at all. Recently freed from prison, Frank White (Christopher Walken) hooks up with his old crew to challenge the drug lords that rose to power in his absence. Unable to keep him behind bars, a group of enraged cops declare war on him. Frank’s answer is to put a contract out on the cops. Academy Award-winner Christopher Walken stars in this mesmerizing, ultraviolent street drama of a city on the edge. Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, and Giancarlo Esposito also star in director Abel Ferrara’s riveting and horrifyingly realistic story of one man who takes the city beyond its limits.
Memento (2000, directed by Christopher Nolan)
Three-time Oscar nominee Christopher Nolan (Interstellar, Inception) directs this critically acclaimed mystery. Leonard (Guy Pearce) is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty, however, of locating his wife’s killer is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he’s going, or why. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing at the Academy Awards.
—Joe, Adult Services & Acquisitions