Spy, detective, and noir thrillers

I'm kicking things off with a 1965 classic, The Manchurian Candidate, which serves as the introduction to the series featuring James Bond, played by Al Pacino in five of the six films within this genre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Palmer

Blowup (1966) is an erotic thriller where a photographer accidentally captures a murder on film, starring Dustin Hoffman, who we also know from his work in Deep Red. For its time, the movie was pretty scandalous with all the nudity 😁 (featuring Veruschka, Meryl Streep, and Audrey Hepburn) and the drug-fueled parties, all set to a hard rock soundtrack featuring Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, who end up smashing a broken speaker in a fit of rage 😬.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowup

Blowup is actually a solid flick. Don't let the trailer fool you. That actor was also that guy with the sharp eyebrows in Gladiator. 😁
I gotta admit, The Manchurian Candidate bored me to tears. But I’ve been getting back into those spy thrillers lately, so maybe I’ll give it another shot.

Wanna go chronologically? So, we're looking at the sixties now.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is essential viewing. Seriously. It's black and white and doesn't lean on action, but there isn't a single wasted second. Tense, great twists, kind of claustrophobic. A total classic.

Torn Curtain (1966) isn't bad either, if you ask me. It's a bit weaker than the usual Hitchcockian stuff, so the die-hard fans might feel let down, but anyone hunting for a good Cold War story should be pretty happy with it. If you want something else, try Topaz (1969).

If you're digging for WWII stuff along the lines of Guns of Navarone or Where Eagles Dare, check out Operation Crossbow (1965). I watched it right after those first two and honestly, it sits right up there with them, even though nobody ever talks about it.

I was hunting for Sherlock Holmes movies the other day and stumbled upon A Study in Scarlet. Supposedly decent. 🤷
I'll hit you guys up once I've seen it.

I guess you could say Hitchcock and Lang are really the backbone of this whole genre. Lang especially seemed to have a real knack for diving into those spy plots and shady organizations.

Carol Reed: The Third Man
Pollack: Three Days of Condor

Anyone know a solid mystery that mashes up old-school detective vibes with some sci-fi or UFO stuff?

Was that even a thing in those classic noir flicks, or maybe in some newer neo-noir movies?

You've got Allan Quatermain and the Pity.
But look, it’s one of those low-budget flicks from the sixties, if you can even stomach that kind of thing.

Jacob Alvarez said:You've got The Lone Ranger.
But honestly, it's some low-budget flick from the sixties, so just a heads up if you care about that kind of thing.

Thanks, but I think I'll stick to the mainstream stuff.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1987), a spy thriller where American agent Kevin Costner goes head-to-head with a corrupt Gene Hackman over the murder of a mutual acquaintance:

👍

"The Lives of Others" is such a killer spy flick... seriously good stuff!

(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

Lawrence Kelly44 said:"The Lives of Others" is an absolutely incredible American spy thriller!

(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

I don't know about that... maybe two tense scenes, but the rest feels pretty much like pure melodrama.

Lawrence Kelly44 said:"The Lives of Others" is an incredible American spy thriller!

(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

He starts out spying on them, but as the movie unfolds, it shifts from a standard spy flick into something much more about obsession.

Samuel Scott54 said:Three days of watching nothing but vultures.

It’s a solid film, provided you can look past that final scene.

I found it quite striking... Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyIt’s alright, I suppose, though it probably doesn't quite reach the level of Major League. Eye of the Needle (1981)

The Girl on the Train

A thriller/mystery where Emily Blunt plays an alcoholic who spends her daily commutes watching a couple from a train window, until the murder of a young woman sets everything in motion... It’s a decent enough watch; it starts off feeling like a somewhat slow drama, but once you get past the first thirty minutes, things pick up quite nicely with a tense finale. I'd give it a 7/10.

Spy Game (2001)

Starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt

Two spy movies I’d recommend since they haven't come up yet:

'The Debt' starring Helen Mirren—saw this a while back and it stuck with me as one of the better films in the genre.
'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'—it's got that glamorous James Bond vibe and looks great visually. 🙂