In the glow of the Academy Awards, I wanted to do something that was both crime fiction and film-related, but I’ve seen too few of the current award contenders. I retreated to the past. Though I realize I have no special standing other than being a long-time fan, here is a revised list of my favorite crime films, most of them written about on this blog during the last four or five years.
1. Blade Runner — Is it possible for a robot
to have a soul? Director Ridley Scott builds a fantastic marriage of
noir and science fiction. Just as L.A. Confidential recreates the recent
past, Blade Runner creates a believable near future. (Based on the novel, Do androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip
K. Dick)
2. No Country for Old Men
— Heads or
Tails, die now or later. It makes no difference — whatever you do, evil
stalks you and yours. The typical Coen Brothers dark humor rides a desolately bleak thin line as the movie
tells us there is no escaping evil or the collateral damage it brings. (Based
on a book by Cormac McCarthy).
3. Gosford Park — This is an Agatha Christie tale on steroids, though it was not
based on an Agatha Christie story. Before he created television’s continuing
compulsion “Downton Abbey,” Julian
Fellowes created Gosford Park, a kind of murder-in-the-parlor
mystery that tops the cozy sub-genre. Robert Altman directs a sterling
cast.
4.
Fargo — The Coen Brothers do
it again and again. They can make you believe in the absurd. Unlike No
Country, Fargo’s dark humor is laugh out-loud. The people are so
real and yet what they do is so insane. That’s why we laugh. It’s so
true.
5.
The Godfather — This is the
standard against which “mafia” movies are measured. However, it is much more
than that. Francis Ford Coppola sets up the relativity and the
complexity of right and wrong in a powerful, richly told tale that transcends
genre. (Based on the bestselling book by Mario Puzo).
6.
The Maltese Falcon —What can I
say? As a mystery writer favoring private investigator fiction, this just might
be as good as it gets. Unlike the uneven screenplays based on Raymond
Chandler’s classics, this Hammett genre tale directed by John Huston may be the first best
private eye film, perfectly rendered.
7. The Talented Mr. Ripley
(also Purple Noon) The second version is the
American film, starring Matt Damon and directed by Anthony Minghella; while Purple Noon is the
same film done earlier by the French with Alain Delon and directed by René Clément. Both are excellent portraits
of the charming, ingenious sociopathic Ripley. The films are intricate, fun,
and stylish. Cynicism at its best. Timeless. Ripley’s Game, with John
Malkovich as Ripley, is also a fine crime film. (Based on novels by Patricia Highsmith)
8.
L.A. Confidential — You can
choose to watch a movie made in the 1950s. Or you can watch a 1950s film from
the perspective of the late 1990s. Oddly, the rear-view mirror approach in this
case gives us cinematography not available in the fifties. It was directed by Curtis Hanson, based on the novel by James
Ellroy.
9. The Kennel Club Murder Case — William Powell stars as Philo Vance giving us an unintentional
preview of his famous characterization of Nick Charles in the popular,
light-hearted Thin Man series. The
movie was based on the novel by S. S.
Van Dine. It was directed by Michael
Curtiz and costarred Mary Astor.
10. Chinatown — Roman Polanski may be one of the most
underrated directors by American critics. However, this film shows up on nearly
everyone’s list. There’s no question about its qualifications. It’s Los Angeles
a couple of decades after L.A. Confidential. Being a cop in L.A. doesn’t
get you a ticket to heaven. (A lesser-known Polanski film, Frantic, is also well-worth watching.)
11. Atlantic City —
Burt Lancaster
proves he was more than a big star — he was a fine actor. This is an unlikely,
unpredictable and some would say “quirky” film about a gangster sent out to
pasture. Directed by Louis Malle and
written by John Guare.
12. Key Largo — Edward
G. Robinson
steals the movie from Bogart and Bacall, though it wasn’t fun seeing the old
gangster in a bathtub, it’s a work of art. Black and white never looked better.
Directed by John Huston and based on the play by Maxwell Anderson.
13. Laura — Gene
Tierney (no
relation, unfortunately) may have been the draw, but Clifton Webb makes
a good and mysterious film extraordinary. Vincent Price and Dana Andrews also
appear. Directed by Otto Preminger, and based on the book by Vera Caspary.
14. Red Rock West — Of all the definitions of noir
— and I admit a bit of confusion — this one seems to hit all the marks. One
bad, desperate, but seemingly harmless decision leads to trouble, followed by
more trouble. Directed by John Dahl.
For those who love to disparage Nicholas
Cage, forget about it. He’s great in
this one. Dennis Hopper is also
featured.
15. Blood and Wine — It’s worth watching if for no
other reason than to see Michael Caine and Jack Nicholson compete
for the nastiest character in an entertainingly nasty film. Directed by Bob
Rafelson.
16. The Good Thief — A sometimes dark, sometimes
hilarious and often sexy caper movie. No one could have played the thief better
than Nick Nolte. Directed by Neil Jordan, the film was based on Bob le flambeur by Jean-Pierre Melville and Auguste
Le Breton. The rare appearance of actress Nutsa Kukhianidze is a plus.
17. Rififi –
Perhaps this should be higher on the list. Directed by American Jules Dassin, but based on a book by
French author Auguste Le Breton,
this meticulous heist film loses nothing in translation and is no doubt
inspired by and an inspiration for US. Noir films of the 1950s. It stars Jean
Servais.
18. Twilight — This is a small, but
well-constructed film that may be the last best P.I. film. Add to this Paul
Newman, James Garner, Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon in masterful late-in-life performances,
and you have a jewel. Directed by Robert Benton.
19.
To Catch a Thief — Many of Alfred Hitchcock’s
films are arresting, fascinating, and could be on this list. But none, in my
opinion, combine acting, story and setting in as polished a way as To Catch
A Thief, based on the book by David F. Dodge.
20.
Point Blank — Lee Marvin dominates this near-perfectly
rendered and unexpectedly stylish film directed by John Boorman. Point Blank was based on Richard Starke’s (Donald Westlake) book, The Hunter.
4 comments:
I'd say you nailed it. At least you included all my favorites--Key Largo, the Maltese Falcon, To Catch a Thief and best of all, Laura! I hadn't thought of Gosford Park, but it's a perfect fit on this list!
Always hard to argue with your taste in film. Several of these make my list of all time best for any genre. Difficult to replace any of these, but some additions/honorable mentions might include: Double Indemnity, Heat, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Eastern Promises, and The Big Sleep.
Thanks Teri. I'm surprised Gosford Park hasn't had more of a revival.
Adam, it was hard not to put a Chandler movie on the list. Maybe if I had gone to the top 25. I hadn't thought of Eastern Promises. Excellent film. ",.. Good and Evil" is one of my favorites, but somehow it fell a little short of the book for me. Double Indemnity is a classic and is on most lists. Again the Chandler movies are difficult. There's Bogart and Mitchum and a surprising performance by Dick Powell a strange one from Elliot Gould, even one by James Garner.
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