L.A. Confidential

http://blogs.amctv.com/future-of-classic/2008/07/top-ten-neo-noir.php

The name of this movie seemed to keep coming up.

Although very grim at moments, I found this movie a pleasure from beginning to end. The plot was fast moving and challenging to follow in a pleasurable way. The entire texture—the sets, the lighting—was distinctive. It was nightmarish, but wit and intelligence, not violence and fear, seemed to be at center-stage.

The 39 Steps

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4572944656503512466

Another Hitchcock classic I hadn’t seen.

Reading over its plot in Wikipedia, I’m struck by how similar the this movie is to North by Northwest. Same rhythms, same basic idea, same way of working the romantic interest in. I enjoyed the detailed, gritty look of London in this early film of the director’s.

Blade Runner

This image is actually from a BMW ad based on images from the movie.

I read the story that was this movie’s inspiration, and loved its narrative pulse, its futuristic jargon, and its immediacy.

While not as densely charged as the story, it’s still densely charged, and powerfully suspenseful throughout, with crowded, visually dramatic imagery that serves as an analogue to the punchy language of the source. It does seem larger, more epic than the original. Harrison Ford’s performance grounds things in a satisfying way. A favorite discovery since I started subscribing to Netflix.