Get the inside scoop on Noir City 2020 from "Czar of Noir" Eddie Muller in this SIFFcast episode.
Noir City
February 14 - 20, 2020
America doesn't have a monopoly on swaggering gangsters, larcenous lovers, surly ex-cons, corrupt cops, and scheming femmes fatales. The 2020 edition of Noir City will feature an array of classic films from around the globe—a wide-ranging, thematically cohesive immersion in a sordid world of sinister and sexy affairs presented by TCM host and Czar of Noir Eddie Muller.
Passes and individual film tickets on sale now!
"Now, more than ever, it's essential to resist the dread and paranoia of contemporary times by looking beyond our differences. Let's appreciate the noir ethos for the creativity it inspires and the warning flares it long ago flashed on screens worldwide. Noir has no national boundaries. It's the same story, everywhere."—Eddie Muller
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Friday, February 14
6:30 PM - Opening Night Film: The Beast Must Die (La bestia debe morir) *35mm*
9:15 PM - The Black Vampire (El vampiro negro)
Saturday, February 15
Seattle-based contributors to Noir City Magazine, Vince and Rosemarie Keenan, will take over hosting duties for Eddie Muller on Saturday, February 15.
12:30 PM - Panic (Panique)
3:00 PM - Razzia (Razzia sur la chnouf)
6:00 PM - Finger Man (Le doulos)
8:30 PM - Any Number Can Win (Mélodie en sous-sol) *35mm*
Sunday, February 16
12:30 PM - A Colt is My Passport (Koruto wa Ore no Pasupōto)
3:00 PM - Branded to Kill (Koroshi no rakuin)
6:00 PM - Pale Flower (Kawaita hana) *35mm*
8:30 PM - Rusty Knife (Sabita naifu)
Monday, February 17
12:30 PM - The Facts of Murder (Un Maledetto Imbroglio)
3:15 PM - A Woman's Face (En kvinnas ansikte)
6:00 PM - Never Let Go *35mm*
8:30 PM - Victim *35mm*
Tuesday, February 18
6:00 PM - ... and the Fifth Horseman is Fear (... a páty jezdec je Strach) *35mm*
8:30 PM - 90 Degrees in the Shade (Třicet jedna ve stínu)
Wednesday, February 19
6:00 PM - The Housemaid (Hanyo)
8:30 PM - Black Hair (Geomeun Meori)
Thursday, February 20
6:00 PM - Closing Night Film: The Devil Strikes at Night (Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam) *35mm*
8:30 PM - Black Gravel (Schwarzer kies)
The Beast Must Die
Argentina | 1952 | 104 minutes | Román Viñoly Barreto
February 14, 2020
In this Argentinian restoration, a writer adopts a new identity to track down the hit-and-run driver who killed his son. Based on a landmark 1936 novel of psychological suspense.
The Black Vampire
Argentina | 1953 | 90 minutes | Román Viñoly Barreto
February 14, 2020
A proto-feminist reimagining of Fritz Lang's 1931 classic M, about the hunt for a serial killer who preys on children.
Panic
France | 1947 | 99 minutes | Julien Duvivier
February 15, 2020
A social outcast is framed for the murder of a woman in a rural French village. The finest film in the storied career of director Julien Duvivier.
Razzia
France | 1955 | 105 minutes | Henri Decoin
February 15, 2020
French legend Jean Gabin plays a gangster trying to manage the influx of drugs into the Parisian underworld. A lurid, yet oddly dignified film.
Finger Man
France | 1962 | 108 minutes | Jean-Pierre Melville
February 15, 2020
Jean-Paul Belmondo is a shady character insinuating himself in the lives of career criminals—but is he a rat? A Melville crime masterpiece.
Any Number Can Win
France | 1963 | 118 minutes | Henri Verneuil
February 15, 2020
Aging mastermind Jean Gabin plots his greatest caper—but can he trust his super-sexy young cohort (Alain Delon)? An underrated heist classic!
A Colt is My Passport
Japan | 1967 | 84 minutes | Takashi Nomura
February 16, 2020
A hit-man is trapped between competing yakuza gangs. This combination gangster picture, film noir, and Spaghetti Western is Normura’s most famous film.
Branded to Kill
Japan | 1967 | 91 minutes | Seijin Suzuki
February 16, 2020
This colossal car wreck of a movie (hit-man competing to be hit-man #1) is a favorite of style-loving cineastes. Pure mayhem – leave logic at the door.
Pale Flower
Japan | 1964 | 98 minutes | Mashahiro Shinoda
February 16, 2020
An ex-con falls under the spell of a reckless young gambler whose pursuit of danger has no limits. A superbly stylish masterpiece of existential noir.
Rusty Knife
Japan | 1958 | 90 minutes | Toshio Masuda
February 16, 2020
A young ex-con is enlisted to help bring down a yakuza boss, but he really wants to avenge the murder of his fiancé. Vital Nikkatsu crime–JD hybrid.
The Facts of Murder
Italy | 1959 | 115 minutes | Pietro Germi
February 17, 2020
A home break-in seems trivial until the victim's neighbor turns up dead. An intricate mystery that's equal parts thriller, policier, and black comedy.
A Woman's Face
Sweden | 1938 | 100 minutes | Gustaf Molander
February 17, 2020
Legendary star Ingrid Bergman, pre-Hollywood, plays a disfigured gang boss who goes against her criminal cohorts in a last chance at redemption.
Never Let Go
United Kingdom | 1960 | 90 minutes | John Guillermin
February 17, 2020
A salesman whose car is stolen risks his life to retrieve it in London's underworld. The villain? Peter Sellers in an unexpected, terrifying turn.
Victim
United Kingdom | 1961 | 96 minutes | Basil Dearden
February 17, 2020
Dirk Bogarde gives a brave and compelling performance as a prominent British barrister blackmailed for his closeted homosexuality. A landmark film!
...and the Fifth Horseman is Fear
Czechoslovakia | 1965 | 100 minutes | Zbynek Brynych
February 18, 2020
A former doctor defies the Nazis by trying to save a resistance fighter during one long, surreal night in Prague. A Czech New Wave masterpiece.
90 Degrees in the Shade
Czechoslovakia | 1965 | 100 minutes | Jiří Weiss
February 18, 2020
A liquor store audit results in life-altering revelations for everyone involved, both guilty and innocent. A unique Czech-British co-production.
The Housemaid
South Korea | 1960 | 111 minutes | Kim Ki-young
February 19, 2020
A middle-class Korean family spirals into a delirious nightmare after hiring a young housemaid. A unique mix of soap opera, noir, and horror.
Black Hair
South Korea | 1964 | 105 minutes | Lee Man-hui
February 19, 2020
The mistress of a gangster is scarred and tossed aside after she's raped by one of his henchmen. Only she's not going down without a fight.
The Devil Strikes at Night
West Germany | 1957 | 97 minutes | Robert Siodmak
February 20, 2020
The hunt for a serial killer in Nazi Germany runs afoul of the Reich when the culprit doesn't fit their desired profile. Late classic by a noir master!
Black Gravel
West Germany | 1961 | 113 minutes | Helmut Käutner
February 20, 2020
A black-market trucker, whose former flame is married to a U.S. officer, tries to hide a fatal hit-and-run. Rescued Cold War cinema at its bleakest.
