The Best of Film Noir

Starring:John Houseman, Janet Leigh, James Bacon, Jeffrey Wells (II), Lauren Bacall, Orson Welles, Greg O'Neill, Rod Steiger, Humphrey Bogart, Charlton Heston
Studio: PASSPORT VIDEO
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
The films about the tough guys and the femme fatales. Film Noir is Hollywood's truly original vision of the shadowy, smoky underworld. In films from the 40s and 50s, they entertain us with intrigue, conflict, and lust. The Best of Film Noir takes you to that other side of life which only a movie can - the Hollywood of not only yesteryear, but today as well. Films like The Maltese Falcon, Kiss Me Deadly, Double Indemnity, This Gun for Hire, Mildred Pierce, DOA, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Bad and the Beautiful, Detour, Touch of Evil, Out of the Past, including the original coming attraction trailers for Rear Window, Notorious, Vertigo, and many others! Stars such as Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, John Garfield, Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Lee Marvin, Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Ingrid Bergman, Fred MacMurray, Alan Ladd, Jane Greer, Janet Leigh, Ralph Meeker, Cloris Leachman and many more!

Amazon.com essential video

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. --Tom Keogh

Description

L.A. private eye Phillip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case...and a trail peopled with murderers, porographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Humphrey Boart plays Raymond Chandlers' legendary gumshoe and director Howard Hawkes serves up snappy character encounters (particularly involving Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore in the certified classic.

Customer Reviews:

It still sizzles after all these years.......2007-06-15

If someone ever asked me to name a better "non-sensical" film than The Big Sleep," I would be hard pressed to ever name one . This film moves so fast, and is loaded with some of the most snappiest and memorable dialog, it hardly matters that the film as a whole doesn't make much sense. It's like it was specifically created to toss away any conventional story, and simply provide fast and furious entertainment....and boy does it ever. Bogart and Bacall are in it for the ride, and are absolute dynamite. But, just as good are Martha Vickers and Dorothy Malone. In fact, the entire cast seemed to be completely aware of what kind of film this was to be, and decided to have a blast.
We, the audience, can only be thankful for such a unique and enjoyable film. 61 years later, this film still ssssssmokes and will leave you breathless. It's truly tremendous fun and is highly recommended entertainment.

Bogart's best film -- pure excellence!.......2007-06-12

Where can I possibly begin to comment ?!? There's so much to say. Well, first I'll mention that this DVD has TWO SIDES, yielding two slightly differing versions of the film, so THAT is certainly a big bonus. I don't detect that one is greater than the other but I can say that both are magnificent. This is one film that I watch over and over, never tiring of it -- clearly it's counted in my top 10-rated films. The original story was also Raymond Chandler's premiere mystery, in my personal opinion, so it becomes a double-double whammy. There are so many details in this film that it's almost mandatory to watch it six or eight times just to hone in on all of them. The casting, cinematography, story-line, and locations are all better than brilliant. If I have a complaint with this film, it's that it's not shot in letterbox format -- I think that The Big Sleep might pre-date that particular technology, though, so my gripe is anachronistic and really not a legitimate one. Still, all-around, it's an absolute killer. Collector or not, buy this spectacular old Black and White classic and you'll not regret it once you've watched it for the first time.

DESERVES A BETTER DVD!!.......2007-05-29

This is a fantastic film. I highly reccomend it to fans of noir, classic films, crime dramas and "The Big Lebowski". My only problem is with this DVD itself. Dirt and scratces on the original film are evident in almost every scene. "The Big Sleep" is a great old film that deserves the rejuvenation treatment that Citizen Kane, the 3rd Man, the 2-disc Cassablanca and others have recieved.

murky it may be, but you cant help wallowing in the murk.......2007-05-05

ok, can YOU explain just what happens in this movie? if you can, youre the first in 60+ years whos done so! bogey & bacall are worth watching, and the direction by howard hawks will leave you dizzy -- but whether or not you enjoy that is purely a matter of personal taste. as a whodunit its not a great one; as a piece of atmosphere it is. if somebody ranked this *****, i wouldnt argue with him; if somebody ranked this *, i wouldnt argue with him. me? im a middle-brow kinda guy, so ill just go straight down the middle.

Wake up.......2007-04-13

Humphrey Bogart's most famous roles are as Sam Spade and Rick Blaine, a pair of callous wise-guys. But he played a softer-hearted tough guy in "The Big Sleep," adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel by the legendary Howard Hawks -- a fast, witty, tough-fisted thriller, with excellent acting and sizzling chemistry.

Private "shamus" Philip Marlowe (Bogart) is hired by the decrepit General Sternwood to hunt down a man who's blackmailing his creepy, childlike daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). It seems like a straightforward case -- but when he manages to track down the blackmailer, he finds him shot dead in a porn studio -- and a drugged Carmen sitting nearby.

Marlowe drags her home, and orders her fiery sister Vivian (Lauren Bacall) to say nothing of where she's been. Now the investigation is more serious, and Marlowe finds himself walking a tightrope of blackmail, pornography, gambling, mobs and other charming illegalities -- and at the heart of it is the location of one of Sternwood's employees.

"The Big Sleep" was a confusing book -- even Raymond Chandler couldn't follow all the threads, and wasn't able to pin one of the murders on anyone. So it's not surprising that the movie adaptation is similarly befuddling, even with some plot elements smoothed out to simplify the story. It still takes three or four viewings to even start figuring it out.

But it is really enjoyable. Hawks captures the taut, slightly humorous tone of Chandler's writing. That's especially hard, considering everybody except Marlowe and the General are double or triple-crossing somebody else, and the plotlines are murky enough that even at the end, you can't tell what's going on.

But Hawks fills it with classic lines ("What's wrong with you?" "Nothing you can't fix.") and tight action scenes, such as when Bogart sends a man out the door to be shot by his own men. There are moments of humor too, such as when Vivian and Marlowe play a prank call to a policeman ("I can do what? Where? Oh, I wouldn't like that, and neither would my daughter!").

Marlowe's a more likable character than Rick or Spade -- he may be rough and wise-cracking, but he also has soft spots and a likable sense of humor ("I don't like [my manners] myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings"). And he has sparking chemistry with real-life wife Bacall, who plays a hardened rich girl who is desperate to protect her dad and sister, even to the point of framing herself.

"The Big Sleep" is a classic for good reasons -- it may be murky to the point of imcomprehensibility, but it's also wickedly funny, taut and tightly directed. Definitely a must-see.

Average customer rating:

It still sizzles after all these years
Bogart's best film -- pure excellence!
DESERVES A BETTER DVD!!
murky it may be, but you cant help wallowing in the murk
Wake up

The Big Sleep (Snap case)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , John Ridgely , Martha Vickers , and Dorothy Malone
Director: Howard Hawks
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Collector's Edition)
To Have and Have Not (Snap case)
Key Largo (Snap Case)
Dark Passage (Snap Case)
Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)

ASIN: B00002E227
Release Date: 2000-02-15

Amazon.com essential video

Description

L.A. private eye Philip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case...and a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more. Humphrey Bogart plays Raymond Chandlers' legendary gumshoe and director Howard Hawks serves up snappy character encounters (particularly involving Lauren Bacall), brisk pace and atmosphere galore in the certified classic.

Customer Reviews:

It still sizzles after all these years.......2007-06-15

Bogart's best film -- pure excellence!.......2007-06-12

DESERVES A BETTER DVD!!.......2007-05-29

murky it may be, but you cant help wallowing in the murk.......2007-05-05

Wake up.......2007-04-13

Average customer rating:

Disappointing
Another Film du noir
Not the best laid film, but it gets extra points for originality
Contrived, convoluted, but somewhat watchable
shocking and a very hooking story

Best Laid Plans
Starring: Alessandro Nivola , Reese Witherspoon , Josh Brolin , Gene Wolande , and Jonathan McMurtry
Director: Mike Barker
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Neo-Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Freeway
Fear
S.F.W.
Overnight Delivery
Twilight

ASIN: 630571486X
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Amazon.com

At first, Best Laid Plans comes off like yet another all-flash-no-substance crime thriller, but it's one of those rare films that end better than they start. Nick (Alessandro Nivola from Face/Off), broke and desperate to get out of his suffocating small town, agrees to take part in a drug heist. When his partners get caught, he has less than a week to come up with $15,000 or suffer the consequences. When his college buddy Brice (Josh Brolin--Flirting with Disaster) comes back to town, Nick and his girlfriend Lissa (Reese Witherspoon) hatch a plan to bilk Brice out of a rare collectible. Of course, things go wrong--which is where things get entertaining. The plot could use a few more twists to really crackle, but the surprises it does have work, and the ending is both clever and affecting. Along the way, the best scene features a drug dealer who quotes economic theory from the bible of capitalism, The Wealth of Nations. In the past few years, Witherspoon has turned in superb performances in such varied movies as Freeway, Pleasantville, and especially Election; Best Laid Plans doesn't make much use of her talent, but she's always watchable. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Welcome to Tropico, a gray little town smack dab in the middle of nowhere where nothing ever happens- until a botched robbery leaves Nick (Alessandro Nivola) 48 hours to pay up or die. Desperate, Nick and his girlfriend Lissa (Reese Witherspoon) undertake drastic measures to get their hands on some fast cash. Enter Nick's old college chum Bryce (Josh Brolin), a seemingly easy mark who holds the ticket to the couple's salvation. But before long, all three young people will find themselves entwined in a dangerous web of betrayal and seduction that L.A. Weekly calls "a treasure map of double crosses and hairpin turns."

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2007-03-12

A Professor of literature has a woman accuse him of rape. The Professor goes berserk. I won't give more of the story away. Basically, the movie is a thriller and there are two twists in it. The first twist I saw from a mile away but I was surprised about the second one. The good thing about this movie was the romantic story, you felt the actors actually had some chemistry and genuinely cared for each other. This is in contrast to other movies where there is no character development and the romantic portion of the story feels forced.

I was expecting an exciting thriller. The movie's script is average, the acting is OK, and the ending was not that good. For me, there was no likable character in this movie.

Another Film du noir.......2006-06-10

I saw the scene,where they have Lissa chained to the pool table and gagged in the basement.I didn't understand most of the movie. I bet Kim Possible,Ron Stoppabl,and Rufus can deal with them.

Not the best laid film, but it gets extra points for originality.......2006-03-22

I must say that 'Best Laid Plans' is in a league of it's own. I have never seen a movie that took me for the turns this film did, and anyone who says that they guessed the ending is just lying to make their hatred for this movie resonate. This film may not be perfect, and there are some boring scenes as they try to hard to explain the state Nick is in, but the overall plot of this film is one I've never seen done before. From the opening scene in the bar when Reese enters till you find her chained up in the basement and she tells Nick "we're screwed" you start to realize that what you think you know, you don't...and thats the case throughout this entire movie. From the start to the finish you have no clue who's involved in what. When Nick (Nivola) makes the bad choice of stealing some dope with friends and his friends are caught he ends up at the bad end of the gun. He has just a few days to get $15,000 or he's going to be worse than dead...Then his friend Brice (Brolin) moves back and Nick and Lissa (Witherspoon) come up with a plan, only it backfires, and then they find a way out of it, but that plan backfires and before you know it their back where they started, litterally. THis movie, for all it's twists and turns and ORIGINALITY, while not being perfect still is a recomended film for anyone who wants to see something fresh and different than the normal popcorn munching drama. 4 1/2 stars.

Contrived, convoluted, but somewhat watchable.......2005-12-28

This mostly forgotten thriller starring Reese Witherspoon (Lissa) and Alessandro Nivola (Nick) suffers from a mightily contrived plot and a "Huh?--What happened?" ending. Nick is a guy who works at the local recycling plant (that's a new workplace for celluloid protagonists) who is about to inherit some big bucks from his father who has just kicked the bucket.

Meanwhile some of his coworkers are scheming up a plot to...well, no spoilers here. Let's just say that the viewer does not find out about this plot until the end, and then it seems a little...well, lame.

Along comes Lissa looking mighty fine and they fall in love, although I must say the chemistry certainly didn't spark up the screen. Now comes complication number one: the old man blew almost all his money and what he didn't blow the IRS is grabbing. Because of this Nick gets tempted into driving a get-away car for a drug rip off... Things go awry and Nick ends up in deep doo-doo, and in desperation gets Lissa to help him rip off an old school chum...which... Well, what these people do in desperation is a little on the unbelievable side.

I'm sorry that's all vague, but at least it's enough information to let you know if you actually saw this movie or not. Now, if you like probability-challenged, convoluted plots with loose ends and a lot of unlikely twists and turns, you might find this movie interesting. And if you like Reese, and you should, you might also find a reason for sticking around until the end. I know I did. She does a good job and looks good doing it.

Bottom line: although the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, it can also be said that the most meticulously contrived plots sometimes turn out about as convincing as pseudoscience. Incidentally the title is a paraphrase of the 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns's line: "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft a-gley."

shocking and a very hooking story.......2005-02-26

see this
it will shock you
move you
thrill you
excite you
chill you
freak you out
it's one amazing, strange movie
it really takes a while to understand it at times
but it has many valuable lessons one can learn
Witherspoons performance is shattering and remarkable among other things. a great movie. will be seen more times then I can count the next times I play it in my player

Average customer rating:

one star is too kind
the last heist s/have been more!
A collection of trailers with truncated films
Not worth your time or money.
INFORMATIVE

The Best of Film Noir
Starring: John Houseman , James Bacon , Humphrey Bogart , Charlton Heston , and Janet Leigh
Manufacturer: PASSPORT VIDEO
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Classic Film Noir 9 Movie Pack
Ultimate Film Noir Collection (5 dvd set)
Film Noir 10 Movie Set
Hammer Film Noir Collector's Set (Bad Blonde / Blackout / The Gambler and the Lady / Heat Wave / Man Bait / Stolen Face)
Pulp Cinema

ASIN: B00000IBQG
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Description

The films about the tough guys and the femme fatales. Film Noir is Hollywood's truly original vision of the shadowy, smoky underworld. In films from the 40s and 50s, they entertain us with intrigue, conflict, and lust. The Best of Film Noir takes you to that other side of life which only a movie can - the Hollywood of not only yesteryear, but today as well. Films like The Maltese Falcon, Kiss Me Deadly, Double Indemnity, This Gun for Hire, Mildred Pierce, DOA, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Bad and the Beautiful, Detour, Touch of Evil, Out of the Past, including the original coming attraction trailers for Rear Window, Notorious, Vertigo, and many others! Stars such as Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, John Garfield, Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Lee Marvin, Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Ingrid Bergman, Fred MacMurray, Alan Ladd, Jane Greer, Janet Leigh, Ralph Meeker, Cloris Leachman and many more!

Customer Reviews:

one star is too kind.......2002-09-30

Derived almost exclusively from trailers from the worst source prints imaginable, the accompanying serious narrative includes such gaffs as: Raymond Chandler is the author of The Maltese Falcon (a mistake that is made repeatedly); and the plot of Notorious described as: "a man in love with a scientist's daughter - the scientist is held captive by Nazi collaborators." I kid you not.

the last heist s/have been more!.......2001-05-18

"the new jazzy film noir film" The last Heist"should make quentin tarrintino sit up and take notice!" he should veiw this good one and take notice and notes! THE CAMERIDERIE AND DIALOGUE IS REAL REAL AND HOMOROUS & GRITTY. VIOLENCE DRAMATIC AND DIFFINETLY NEEDED!

A collection of trailers with truncated films.......2001-03-11

This is the oddest DVD: A collection of trailers for various film noir works, weak narrative connecting them, and some VERY truncated pieces of "DOA". Unless you want to watch a bunch of trailers, or a VERY edited version of DOA, don't bother.

Not worth your time or money........1999-07-07

Film Noir is a rich and complex genre but you would never know it from this supposed documentary on the subject. "The Best of Film Noir" is actually an arbitrary assemblage of period trailers linked by some very superficial commentary. The films mentioned seem to be limited to the trailers available to the producers, and include some movies that are only Noir by a far stretch and exclude many of the most significant items in the genre. A newcomer to the genre would never learn that it was a visually rich expressionistic form with complex emotional textures from "The Best of Film Noir," and the shallowness of the production will probably annoy anyone who knows anything about it. You won't see any notable scenes nor get any real analysis. At the most you'll see a lot of Bogart trailers and hear Lauren Bacall say a few very clever lines.

The second program includes a few badly produced and pointless short interviews, some random Oscar footage, and "condensed" versions of "D.O.A." and "Detour," both misguided and both taken from shabby, visually inferior prints of the films. "The Best of Film Noir" is a waste of time and certainly a waste of money.

INFORMATIVE.......1999-01-06

I enjoyed this video but nothing new here. The films showcased were pretty much standard Film Noir fare. Quality of the films were not very good.

DVD:

DVD

Joseph Schmidt: Star Fell from Heaven (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: The James Bond Collection Volume 2

Stephen Hawking's Universum Teil 2 - Schwarze Löcher und die