10 best film noir

And although classical noir lasted only two decades, it managed to spawn several masterpieces and still influences cinema. Among the modern heirs of the direction are, for example, "Sin City" by Robert Rodriguez, "Dead Man" by Jim Jarmusch, "Seven" by David Fincher and "The Man Who Wasn't" by Joel and Ethan Coen. But in this collection we will only look at the outstanding films of the era of classic noir from The Maltese Falcon (1941) to The Seal of Evil (1958).

1. Maltese falcon

United States, 1941.
Noir, detective.
Duration: 101 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.

While investigating the murder of a partner, private investigator Sam Spade gets involved in a dubious case, during which it turns out that the girl who hired his late friend is not at all who she claims to be.

It was this film that made Humphrey Bogart a star of the first magnitude and allowed the actor to later star in Casablanca. The film was nominated for an Oscar in three nominations, but never received a single award. Nevertheless, the tape anticipated a whole genre: many of the cinematic techniques shown in the film fell in love with the creators of noir and were reflected in dozens of films.

2. Shadow of doubt

USA, 1943.
Noir, a psychological thriller.
Duration: 108 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 9.

Cheerful high school student Charlotte has never seen her uncle Charlie, but she often dreams of meeting him. However, when they finally get the chance to meet, the relative is not at all as wonderful and kind as his niece imagined him to be.

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece is based on the true story of 1920s serial strangler Earl Leonard Nelson. The film made the British director famous and marked the beginning of his career in America.

3. Double insurance

USA, 1944.
Noir, thriller.
Duration: 107 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 3.

Insurance agent Walter Neff falls in love with the femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson. By agreeing to kill her husband in order to pass off his death as a suicide for the sake of insurance payments, the man gets into an extremely unpleasant story.

It was in this film by Billy Wilder that the characteristic features of the noir genre stood out most vividly - an unpredictable crime story and a man who found himself in trouble thanks to the charm of an insidious woman.

4. Mildred Pierce

USA, 1945.
Noir, family drama, detective.
Duration: 110 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.

Director Michael Curtitz combined several genres at once in Mildred Pierce: family drama, detective story and psychological thriller. In the story, the police are investigating the murder of a ruined aristocrat, with his wife being the main suspect.

This film gave the great actress Joan Crawford the opportunity to triumphantly return to cinema. For her performance, the Hollywood film star received the long-awaited Oscar. The picture also became the basis for the eponymous series starring Kate Winslet, which was released in 2011.

5. Deep sleep

USA, 1946.
Noir, detective.
Duration: 114 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 9.

Elderly General Sternwood hires detective Philip Marlowe to find and repel the extortionists who are blackmailing his youngest daughter. However, the detective does not manage to complete the task: all the suspects are killed one by one.

Howard Hawks' classic noir is considered one of the finest examples of the genre. It is curious that the image of Philip Marlowe, played by Humphrey Bogart, served as an inspiration for the creation of the protagonist of the movie "Blade Runner".

6. The postman always rings twice

USA, 1946.
Noir, crime melodrama, thriller.
Duration: 113 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 5.

The adaptation of the novel of the same name tells the story of Frank Chambers and Cora Smith in love with each other. The lovers plan to get rid of the hated husband of the heroine, who interferes with their happiness, but everything goes awry.

Prior to this, James Kane's novel had already been filmed by the master of French poetic realism Pierre Chenal and the Italian genius Luchino Visconti. The newest version of 1981, where the magnificent Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange played, came out much more frankly than its predecessors, turning into an erotic thriller.

7. Lady from Shanghai

USA, 1947.
Noir, drama.
Duration: 87 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 6.

A simple guy Michael O'Hara rescues a dazzling beauty from bandits, who turns out to be the wife of a wealthy lawyer Arthur Bannister, crippled by polio. Succumbing to the charms of the girl, the hero agrees to work on her husband's yacht, where something is clearly going on.

The genius of Orson Welles' film starring Rita Hayworth was recognized only decades later. Admirers of this noir film ideal include Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier.

8. Sunset Boulevard

USA, 1950.
Noir, drama.
Duration: 110 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 4.

The silent film star Norma Desmond, forgotten by all, invites the young playwright Joe Gillis to rewrite the obviously hopeless script, where she will be assigned the main role. The hero agrees to stay in her mansion at Sunset Boulevard and gradually finds himself completely dependent on a despotic woman who is slowly losing touch with reality.

Billy Wilder's film about the pitfalls of Hollywood life is considered one of the director's best works. Although there are no characteristic signs of the noir genre, but the tragic predetermination (the picture begins with a scene in which the audience is shown the floating corpse of the protagonist) makes the tape a full-fledged part of this film direction.

9. Kiss me to death

USA, 1955.
Noir, detective thriller.
Duration: 106 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 6.

Private detective Mike Hammer, who specializes in adultery, gets into a very strange story with two mysterious women and a nuclear suitcase.

The ruthlessly cynical film directed by Robert Aldrich based on the novel by Mickey Spillane, according to many film critics, completes the classic era of cinema noir. Unusually, the traditionally positive image of the detective here was replaced by a selfish sadist, and the entire film is saturated with paranoid fear of atomic weapons.

10. The seal of evil

USA, 1958.
Noir, crime drama.
Duration: 111 minutes.
IMDb: 8, 0.

In a small town on the US-Mexican border, terrible things are happening. A Mexican police officer turns into a vengeful madman when his wife is raped and drugged. Meanwhile, the American detective is ready to go to extreme measures to close another case.

Another film by the creator of the great "Citizen Kane" Orson Welles, which is considered a classic of noir and at the same time the end of an era. But much later - in the first half of the 70s - pictures began to appear on screens from time to time, playing on the aesthetics of classical noir. The latter are often paid tribute to Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Nicholas Winding Refn and other eminent directors.