Elevator To The Gallows (1958)

Elevator to the Gallows (1958; Ascenseur pour l’echafaud) is a French film noir directed by Louis Malle that doesn’t waste any time, introducing its adulterous lovers – Julien (Maurice Ronet) and Florence (Jeanne Moreau) – on the phone in gorgeous close ups plotting the murder of her husband, his boss. Getting straight into this carefully […]

Gloria (1980)

The first time I saw John Cassavetes’ Gloria (1980) as a teenager I was like “I don’t know, it’s okay; not enough action scenes.” Watching it again, there is enough action scenes. However, the true action is not the shoot outs or any gun play – it’s more the indomitable Gena Rowlands herself. As the […]

New Rose Hotel (1998)

New Rose Hotel (1998) is based on a William Gibson short story but is pretty low-tech in terms of being anything cyberpunk. For director Abel Ferrara (of Bad Lieutenant and King Of New York), it’s more about the raw emotions surrounding what is basically a classic noir plot – a honey trap designed to secure […]

Laura (1944)

Laura (1944) has always been held up as a classic and a key title when it comes to the genre of film noir. What I was surprised by was, in comparison to say Raymond Chandler adaptations, there is something sophisticated about this film, a drawing room mystery rather than a plunge into the dark, gritty […]

Cutter’s Way (1981)

My high school library had a copy of Dan Peary’s book Cult Movies 2 and I’ve been trying to track down and watch the 50 films covered in there ever since. One that always intrigued me was Cutter’s Way (1981) if only to reconcile the hapless dad from Home Alone looking like a young pirate […]