Coming Soon, By Request

You may be new to film noir or the seasoned, hardboiled, cynical type who’s seen everything. Either is fine. Regardless, I have something for you all coming soon.

A little over a month ago, one of my paid subscribers asked if I would put together a list of my (1) Top 50-100 essential film noir movies, (2) Top 50-100 titles serious collectors should own, and (3) movies that aren’t necessarily essential, but worth a look.

Okay… So far I have come up with over 250 movie suggestions from the classic film noir era (roughly 1941-1959) that I plan to share with you in the coming months. But first, a few questions you may have…

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Why should I listen to you?

Good question. I don’t consider myself an expert on film noir, not in the same league as people like Eddie Muller, Alan K. Rode, Imogen Sara Smith, Alain Silver, James Ursini, etc., but I’ve been seriously watching, studying, reading, and writing about film noir for 10 years. I’ve watched and rewatched over 600 film noir movies and have presented dozens of them to audiences in person and online. I’ve attended several Noir City festivals, appeared on podcasts, and have been published in the NOIR CITY Magazine (#38). I’m also a collector of film noir on physical media and create monthly videos on my YouTube channel of new film noir and neo-noir releases. In short, I’m really into this stuff.

What will these lists look like?

With each title, I’ll give you a brief rundown of the story as well as the director and stars. I’ll have less to say about the more recognizable titles in the “Essentials” list than I will the lesser-known pictures, but you’ll get the gist of each movie. In some cases, I’ll link to articles or reviews I’ve already written about the film.

I’ll also give you my choice of the best way to view these films on physical media with links. Know that sometimes the best physical media releases of these films may be on European (Region B) discs, but if that’s the case, I’ll try to give you some North American options. Because streaming changes from day to day, I will confine recommendations to physical media only. (A few titles I’m recommending are not yet available on physical media, and some may never be. I haven’t decided whether I will include those in their proper categories or on a separate list.)

For now, I am including only English-language films. If there’s enough interest, I’d love to include a list of international film noir titles. I’m hoping that will happen because there’s so much treasure to be found in international noir.

Who can see these lists?

I’m delighted to put these lists together, but it takes considerable time. Since that’s the case I am making these lists available to paid subscribers only.

When will the lists appear?

I am hoping to get the first list published on Substack by the end of August 2024.

You didn’t list _________ as an essential movie! You’ve got movies in the wrong category! _______ isn’t even a film noir!

These are my lists and my opinions. Everyone has different tastes and various ideas of how to define film noir. A movie I think is essential you might consider secondary and vice versa. Ask me again in a few years and these titles may look different. Things change.

I hope these lists will be valuable to you and those just diving into film noir. Stay tuned. In the meantime, thanks for reading.