by Fiona Underhill, Contributor

After the hey-day of classic noir in the 1940s, some notable noir films came out of the 50s – often favoring color over the classic black and white. The 1960s were a fallow period for American noir, with the French New Wave picking up the slack. The 1970s continued to be largely a noir desert, with some notable exceptions such as The Long Goodbye, of course. But once 1980 hit, American filmmakers went into neo-noir overdrive. The noir collided with the erotic thriller for the most fertile period for the genre since the 1940s. Of the 45 movies I’ll be discussing here, around half are erotic thrillers – which just goes to show how dominant that particular flavor of noir was during this decade.

While 1940s noirs made stunning use of the shadows, silhouettes and sharp angles that crisp black and white photography provided, the 80s neo-noir had a very different feel. Frequently neon-drenched, or using the orange and pink color palette of Los Angeles or Florida – the 80s made full use of color photography, perhaps most notably by Donald Thorin in Michael Mann’s impeccably-shot Thief. The 80s also certainly exploited the signature noir look of smoke-filled light streaming in through slatted blinds. Something the 80s really added to the genre was the use of saxophone and synth-filled scores, which definitely aided the distinctive atmosphere. The femme fatale was very much alive and kicking in the 80s – usually clad in slinky white silk (eg. Kathleen Turner in Body Heat or Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct) or black suits (Sean Young in Blade Runner), sometimes with furs, red lips, stilettos and an ever-present cigarette.

While there were some notable entries from outside the US during this period – from Wong Kar-Wai, John Woo, and Luc Besson – we’re going to focus on American neo-noir here. Bob Hoskins also made two excellent British noirs – The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa – before making the best noir pastiche of all time; 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Of course, British directors such as Alan Parker, Stephen Frears, and most notably the Scott brothers bravely took on the most American of genres.

While 1992 may seem an arbitrary cut-off point for the neo-noir boom, there is compelling evidence that it was a pivotal and transitional year for the genre. Paul Verhoeven released what many may consider the culmination and quintessence of the erotic thriller in 1992 – Basic Instinct. But at the same time, diverse directors such Kathryn Bigelow and Bill Duke were bringing new, fresh perspectives to the genre. David Lynch’s utterly unique spin on the genre – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me - was another sign that the neo-noir was becoming unrecognizable from the early 80s version. But the final nail in the coffin was a young Hollywood renegade called Quentin Tarantino. The release of Reservoir Dogs in 1992, followed by the passing of the torch from Tony Scott to Tarantino that was True Romance in 1993, and finally 1994’s Pulp Fiction – all meant that the distinctly 80s flavor of neo-noir, and especially the age of the erotic thriller, was well and truly over.

So, who were the directors and stars who defined the era? Paul Schrader and Brian De Palma are certainly two of the major players, with seven neo-noirs (almost all of which were erotic thrillers) released between them during this period. In the erotic thriller arena - there was Adrian Lyne, Bob Rafelson, Jim McBride, and Curtis Hanson – who all released two each. The Scott brothers – Ridley and Tony – released four between them. Michael Mann and William Friedkin released 4 films between them which defined the crime neo-noir away from the erotic thriller. The Coen Brothers made their first forays into noir during this period - with Blood Simple and Miller’s Crossing. This would be a genre they would frequently return to, often putting a darkly comedic spin on it. Even Martin Scorsese got in on the action – with his remake of Cape Fear in 1991, and with the brilliantly sleazy masterpiece After Hours in 1985. In terms of actors – three men dominated the genre – Richard Gere and Willem Dafoe, who made 5 neo-noirs each, and Jeff Bridges, who made 4.

As well as the filmmakers and actors involved, the other thing that has a huge effect on the tone and style of a neo-noir is whether it’s set on the east coast, west coast, or the south. Sometimes the individual city can make a huge difference to the colors and textures of a neo-noir. As was seen in the 1940s, Los Angeles is a city that was born for noir. A whopping ten movies used LA as a backdrop for notable neo-noirs – such as the Gere movies Breathless and American Gigolo. Some took advantage of LA architecture – such as Body Double and To Live & Die in LA, and some used distinctive LA locations such as 8 Million Ways to Die (Exposition Park) and Bad Influence (La Brea Tar Pits).

Staying on the west coast, Cutter’s Way and The Postman Always Rings Twice are both sent in Santa Barbara, and Basic Instinct makse use of San Francisco (which was a great setting for classic noir). And of course, Twin Peaks is a fictitious town in the Pacific Northwest, which is as distinctly unique as only Lynch can be.

On the east coast – there are films that take advantage of New York’s seedy underbelly or among the blue-collar workers of the NYPD – Blue Steel, After Hours, Cruising, and Light Sleeper. If you’re looking to hang out with the rarefied set uptown – there’s The Hunger, Dressed to Kill, Fatal Attraction, and Nine ½ Weeks. Elsewhere on the east coast, there’s Blow Out (Philly) and The Bedroom Window (Baltimore). Chicago has been the setting for many a mob drama or gangster flick, but wasn’t much used in neo-noirs – there’s Thief (which starts there), and Miller’s Crossing which takes place in an unnamed city that is probably based on Chicago.

The south has provided surprisingly fertile ground for the neo-noir. There’s Body Heat (Florida), Blood Simple (Texas), Manhunter (Florida and Alabama), and Cape Fear, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart which all use North Carolina. One of the best back-drops for the sultry and steamy neo-noir is New Orleans, which is probably second only to LA as the best setting for the genre – as can be seen in Angel Heart, The Big Easy, No Mercy, and Cat People. There are also a few outliers – Black Widow moves all over the US, but its most memorable section takes place in Hawaii, Tony Scott’s Revenge and Against All Odds both use Mexico well, and then there’s the Venice-set The Comfort of Strangers. Venice is an under-used noir setting, but a very fitting one.

Some of the best neo-noirs were genre hybrids. The most famous example is of course Blade Runner, which is the ultimate sci-fi noir. There were also several that crossed noir with horror and the supernatural, such as The Hunger, Cat People, Angel Heart and of course Fire Walk with Me. And then there’s Point Break, which is an action noir. It is also interesting to see how there were peaks and troughs in the neo-noirs across this time period. 1981 was a big year for the genre, then 1982-1985 was a steady period, with maybe three per year, before another peak in 1986-1987. For some reason, 1988-1989 provided almost no notable neo-noirs, before 1990 went all-out, with eight notable releases. 

So, if you’re looking to dive into the neo-noirs of 1980-1992, there are so many to choose from. The period was so rich and fertile, it’s hard to narrow them down. I’ve come up with a list of my Top 25 neo-noirs – just make sure you have smoky light streaking through your blinds before attempting to watch any of these – and enjoy!

25. Breathless (Jim McBride, 1983)

24. The Comfort of Strangers (Paul Schrader, 1990)

23. Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne, 1987)

22. Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)

21. American Gigolo (Paul Schrader, 1980)

20. Against All Odds (Taylor Hackford, 1984)

19. Black Widow (Bob Rafelson, 1987)

18. Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984)

17. Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982)

16. Deep Cover (Bill Duke, 1992)

15. Blood Simple (Coen Brothers, 1984)

14. The Grifters (Stephen Frears, 1990)

13. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

12. Cutter’s Way (Ivan Passer, 1981)

11. Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)

10. Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992)

9. Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)

8. The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983)

7. To Live & Die in LA (William Friedkin, 1985)

6. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992)

5. Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)

4. After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985)

3. The Big Easy (Jim McBride, 1986)

2. Body Heat (Lawrence Kasden, 1981)

1. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)