A list of the best film noir movies. While not every film noir is on this list, the best film noir titles are here. If you believe we missed one of the film noir classics, though, feel free to add it to the list of the best film noir titles yourself. Film Noir began in the 1940's and continued into the 1950's. Today we have neo-noir.
What are the best film noir movies? Borrowing high contrast cinematography from Germany, film noir based its storytelling on characters who were ultimately doomed. Film noir filmmakers were also masters of skirting the Hays Code (censorship in the name of decency) through the use of implication, subtext, and suggestive dialogue in their film noir classics. Today, Film Noir is easily one of the most resilient genres to survive the Hays Code, with films that still stand up to today's modern films.
The Best Film Noir Movies,
Chinatown
Key Largo
Released: 1948
Shadow of a Doubt
Released: 1943
Strangers on a Train
Released: 1951
Sunset Boulevard
Released: 1950
The Maltese Falcon
Released: 1941
The Night of the Hunter
Released: 1955
The Third Man
Released: 1949
Touch of Evil
Released: 1958
Double indemnity
Released: 1944