Film Noir Variants
I wouldn't presume to try and list the best Films Noir out there, but I would presume to catalogue all the strange variations of the genre that have surfaced in the years since the fad faded.
While I've seen them suggested on the internet, The Matrix, Terminator, Ghost in the Shell, and Minority Report all have much too much cool action to ever be considered Noir. While The City of Lost Children (which I love) merely has a quasi-forties design scheme, and is more of a twisted Sci-fi Fairy Tale.
...No, I don't consider Kiss Me Deadly to be Sci-fi.
These are in Chronological order.
While I've seen them suggested on the internet, The Matrix, Terminator, Ghost in the Shell, and Minority Report all have much too much cool action to ever be considered Noir. While The City of Lost Children (which I love) merely has a quasi-forties design scheme, and is more of a twisted Sci-fi Fairy Tale.
...No, I don't consider Kiss Me Deadly to be Sci-fi.
These are in Chronological order.
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- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsEddie ConstantineAnna KarinaAkim TamiroffA U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsDarren McGavinCarol LynleySimon OaklandAn abrasive Las Vegas newspaper reporter investigates a series of murders committed by a vampire.Horror Noir
The 1973 sequel The Night Strangler (while the better movie in my view) has a lighter, more straightforward tone, and thus isn't really noir. - DirectorRichard FleischerStarsCharlton HestonEdward G. RobinsonLeigh Taylor-YoungA nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorGerald PottertonJohn BrunoJohn HalasStarsRichard RomanusJohn CandyJoe FlahertyA glowing green orb that embodies ultimate evil terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories.One of the segments is Animated Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsChevy ChaseJoe Don BakerDana Wheeler-NicholsonWhile working undercover wisecracking newspaper reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is offered a large sum by a millionaire with a terminal disease to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the full story behind the offer.Comedy Noir
...You're an Oxy-moron!
Much as I like them, I'm not counting 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' or 'The Cheap Detective', as they are parodies of the film noir genre. Fletch is a real movie with an actual Noirey plot, just with some comedy sprinkled on top. - DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMickey RourkeRobert De NiroLisa BonetA private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.Horror Noir
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsBob HoskinsChristopher LloydJoanna CassidyWhen a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.Cartoon Noir
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsFred WardDavid WarnerJulianne MooreIn a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.Fantasy Noir
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsDennis HopperPenelope Ann MillerEric BogosianIn a twisted 1950's where everyone does magic, a private detective investigates a murder case without it.Fantasy Noir
The not-so-great sequel to Cast a Deadly Spell - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsRalph FiennesAngela BassettJuliette LewisA former cop turned street-hustler accidentally uncovers a conspiracy in Los Angeles in 1999.Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorClive BarkerStarsScott BakulaKevin J. O'ConnorJ. Trevor EdmondA private detective gets more than he bargains for when he encounters Philip Swan, a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world, but they are not really what everyone thinks.Fantasy Horror Noir
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsEthan HawkeUma ThurmanJude LawA genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.Comedy Noir
It's pretty much just the plot of 'The Big Sleep' with comedy. - DirectorAlex ProyasStarsRufus SewellKiefer SutherlandJennifer ConnellyA man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.Sci-fi Noir
- CreatorShin'ichirô WatanabeHajime YatateStarsKôichi YamaderaUnshô IshizukaMegumi HayashibaraThe futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.Animated Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorShin'ichirô WatanabeMary Elizabeth McGlynnTensai OkamuraStarsBeau BillingsleaMelissa FahnNicholas GuestA terrorist explosion releases a deadly virus on the masses, and it's up to the bounty-hunting Bebop crew to catch the cold-blooded culprit.Animated Sci-fi Noir
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittLukas HaasEmilie de RavinA teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.High School Noir
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Val KilmerMichelle MonaghanAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.Comedy Noir
- DirectorChristian VolckmanStarsDaniel CraigCatherine McCormackJonathan PryceA young gene researcher, Ilona, is kidnapped in a future Paris. Police Captain Karas and his team are in charge of finding her.Animated Sc-fi Noir
- DirectorDebra GranikStarsJennifer LawrenceJohn HawkesGarret DillahuntAn unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.Author Daniel Woodrell has described his work as 'Country Noir'
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixJosh BrolinOwen WilsonIn 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.Comedy Noir
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRussell CroweRyan GoslingAngourie RiceIn 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.Comedy Action Neo Noir
- CreatorSarah-Violet BlissCharles RogersMichael ShowalterStarsAlia ShawkatJohn ReynoldsJohn EarlySearch Party is a dark comedy about four self-absorbed twenty-somethings who become entangled in an ominous mystery when a former college acquaintance suddenly disappears.Quirky Hipster Noir
Great, but it's so much darker than I thought it would be. I just thought 'Oh, it's Maeby from Arrested Development solvin' mysteries. Sounds like a hoot!'
Yeah, no. - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHarrison FordRyan GoslingAna de ArmasYoung Blade Runner K's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.More Sci-fi Noir