I'm beginning to think Cape Fear may be top ten for me. I don't know why The Killers & Crossfire aren't in the top 100.
I've seen both twice. My most recent mini-review of each:
The Killers - How funny that my old review says "I'm not a big noir guy." Oh, how things can change in 8 years. But one thing hasn't changed: I still think this film is merely "okay." It's beautifully shot, but other than that I don't find it all that special. Edmond O'Brien is good, but Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner only get a few moments to really shine. The fractured flashback structure is an intriguing and novel way of unraveling the mystery, but there's a slight sluggishness and lack of tension to the proceedings. It's a fine movie, especially at the chilling start and the fatalistic end... it just doesn't rev my engine that much. As a sidenote, Criterion's DVD includes Paul Schrader's essay "Notes on Film Noir," possibly the best overview of the genre I've read. Rating:
7Crossfire - Liked it a little bit more this time. It didn't seem as heavy-handed as I thought before, although the scene where the message is clearly spelled out does strike me as rather awkward. There are a few really killer scenes, especially the ones with or related to Gloria Grahame. But the movie still seems to have a lot of downtime and I wouldn't rank it among the best noir. Rating:
7If Night & The City ranks as a noir then you need to see Brighton Rock MT.
Brighton Rock has been on my need-to-see list for a while. They just announced a DVD release, so I'll probably get to it pretty soon.