Introduction
Since “baby, its cold outside” still prevails, we will take another trip down under. Now that we’ve covered film noir we explore neo-noir films, which expanded on what directors of film noir first explored. Since we talk about movies a lot on our show we can’t forget the impact a great film score has to influence mood and atmosphere.
Warming Up Down Under Redux
While many wine lovers focus on Australia’s Shiraz and Chardonnay wines, we’re going to explore lesser-known grape the Aussies know how to craft into fine wines; Semillon. The following information is from the www.wineaustralia.com website; a great place to get all the details. General information comes first.
- Semillon is a thin-skinned variety, just like some people I know.
- Conditions in Australia aren’t conducive for the production of botrytis affected wines
- Sauterne region of France has morning fog off the river to stimulate botrytis
- Often picked early to preserve natural acidity and made into a dry, light-bodied wine
Vinification
- Cool temperature, stainless steel fermented is common for certain styles
- Barrel fermented approach is also used but rarely in the Hunter Valley
Maturation
Some styles, such as those from Barossa Valley and Margaret River, spend time in oak barrels
Hunter Valley: New South Wales
Hunter Valley is a grape growing zone that includes the region of Hunter and the sub-regions of Upper Hunter Valley, Broke, Fordwich, and Pokolbin. It is north-west of the New South Wales city of Newcastle and has a warm and humid climate. Total area is 6437 acres of vineyards. The main varieties grown in the region are Shiraz, Semillon, Chardonnay, and Verdelho; a Spanish grape.
- Harvested early and fermented to dryness in stainless steel – bottled early
- Light and lemony with high acidity when young
- Develops complex fig, toast and honey character with 6–8 years of age
- Can age gracefully for 40 years or more
Barossa Valley: Southern Australia
The Barossa Valley region is located north-east of the city of Adelaide. The region has a total of 28,686 acres of vineyards. This region has warm grape-growing areas on the valley floor and cooler meso-climates at higher altitudes in the surrounding hills. The main varieties grown in the region are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache. Regarding Semillon:
- Two different styles have emerged in the Barossa
- Richer, ripe, more full-bodied oak aged versions
- Lighter, crisper unoaked styles
Margaret River: Western Australia
Margaret River, located in the far south-west corner of Western Australia, is one of the most geographically isolated wine regions in the world. It has the most marked maritime climate of any region in Australia in terms of rainfall.
The region has a total of 14,146 acres of vineyards. The main varieties grown in the region are Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon, and Chardonnay.
- Semillon often blended with Sauvignon Blanc in Margaret River as in Bordeaux
- Can be made in a juicy, fresh unoaked style
- More age-worthy styles tend to be oak fermented and/or oak matured
Tyrrell’s Wines – Sémillon, Hunter Valley – 2019, 10% ABV, $23.00 ($20 at wine.com)
This wine shows a lifted nose of citrus freshness, the palate continues with fresh citrus and concentrated grapefruit flavors. The palate is light to medium bodied with a perfect balance of fruit and soft acid. Sourced almost entirely from the HVD vineyard, which is situated between two dry creek beds and features fine sandy soils over coarse river sand. Generally one of our higher cropping Semillon vineyards.
Neo-Noir Movies
While the classic film noir movies of the forties and fifties are what many movie fans consider film noir, their influence on modern day filmmakers is undeniable and has given us some great movies as well.
Mark Conard defines neo-noir as “any film coming after the classic noir period that contains noir themes and noir sensibility”. Another definition describes it as later noir that often synthesizes diverse genres while foregrounding the scaffolding of film noir. And still another definition states that neo-noir movies are self-aware and film noir movies aren’t.
Neo-noir film directors refer to ‘classic noir’ in the use of Dutch angles, interplay of light and shadows, unbalanced framing; blurring of the lines between good and bad and right and wrong, and thematic motifs including revenge, paranoia, and alienation.
According to Wikipedia: The Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, vortex plane, or oblique angle, is a type of camera shot which involves setting the camera at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame.
The canted angle is often disorienting to the viewer and can emphasize a dramatic scene such as a dead body in frame.
There have been many names associated with neo-noir, including directors Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers, and Quentin Tarrantino. Actors include Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Kevin Spacey and the wonderful Frances McDormand. Here is my list of the top twelve, listed chronologically.
La Samourai (1967): Director: Jean-Pierre Melville with Alain Delon, François Périer
After professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner. And of course, the French love film noir so its influence on modern French films is significant.
Chinatown (1974): Director: Roman Polanski with Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder. Robert Towne’s script is considered one of the greatest and I read it in preparation for my own first screenplay. One of Nicholson’s best roles.
Taxi Driver (1976): Director: Martin Scorsese with Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action. Jodie Foster was an atypical character for neo-noir, but she made it work. The off-screen narration was also effectively used in the next movie.
Blade Runner (1982): Director: Ridley Scott with Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator. Yes it is Sci-Fi but with a film noir setting of despair and darkness few movies have rivaled. While not a classic detective, Harrison’s blade runner still has a mystery to solve.
Blood Simple (1984): Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen with John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered. This was the Coen brothers’ first feature, made on a small budget and with an early role for McDormand who went on to many more Coen films.
Blue Velvet (1986): Dir: David Lynch with: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child. We are in Lynchian version of neo-noir, elements like nightclub singers harkens back to classic noir, and has a fairly linear plot. Even though we are in what seems an innocent town with all the trappings, it hides a sinister underbelly.
Pulp fiction (1994): Dir: Quentin Tarantino with John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. A brilliant screenplay somehow holding four separate stories in place, even jumping back and forward in time. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. “You know what they call a Big Mac in Paris?”
The Usual Suspects (1995): Dir: Bryan Singer with Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin
A sole survivor tells of the twisty events leading up to a horrific gun battle on a boat, which began when five criminals met at a seemingly random police lineup. Keep watching or you’ll stop tracking all the elements that make this a great neo-noir mystery with an excellent cast.
Seven (1995): Dir: David Fincher with Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives. This was one of Morgan’s best roles in a very chilly thriller filled with darkness and a diabolical killer.
Fargo (1996): Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen with William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard’s inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen’s bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson. Once again a great performance from McDormand. The assembling of the plot by three guys who never should have begun signals doom from the first meeting of Jerry with his confederates.
David Olsson’s comments are spot on: “Fargo stretches the limits of neo-noir, contradicting and subverting the genre in every discernible way it can while still unmistakably residing in the neighborhood.”
- Where film noir loves a shadowy, urban underbelly, the Coen brothers opt for a snowy, rural town.
- Where film noir loves intricate mysteries, the Coen brothers pick incompetent mishaps.
- And, where film noir loves a cynical detective, the Coen brothers give us Frances McDormand.
“We behave as though the coastal elite cities are gate-keeping villainy, but ruthless killers can be found even in the most docile of middle-American towns. Fargo gives us “Darn tootin” and “Yah, you betcha” and “Whoa, daddy” and then it gives us the wood chipper scene.
But that’s the beauty and the confusion of neo-noir. It twists the tropes in ways its parent genre wouldn’t dare.”
LA Confidential (1997): Dir: Curtis Hanson, Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen – one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy – investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice. Placing the movie in the 1950s was also a nod to film noir tropes. We see three detectives with different approaches to a crime and a classic femme fatale in Kim Basinger who also scored an Oscar.
Mulholland Drive (2001): Dir: David Lynch with Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality. We have a doomed would be actress (Watts) solving her own mystery in a form not too removed from 1962’s Carnival of Souls with Candace Hilligoss immerging from a watery grave and finding her life altered in some mysterious way.
Music: Movie Soundtracks
Many movies are enhanced with a good film score. It contributes to atmosphere most certainly, which might be why so many film noir and neo-noir movies use jazz. It can also signal danger or suspense; as long as it doesn’t intrude with the musical equivalent of a jump scare. On the other hand it can destroy or cripple a movie when used inappropriately or when it subverts or conflicts with the atmosphere.
When director and composer are on the same page the result is a glorious union of sight and sound. Bernard Hermann and Alfred Hitchcock teamed up several times. Vertigo (1958) and its soundtrack are a good illustration and Hermann’s decision to use an all-string orchestra for Psycho (1960) surely contributed to the feeling of menace. The shrieking strings emphasized every slash of the knife.
So here are a few soundtracks that remind us of the movies they came from.
Ennio Morricone wrote for westerns, mysteries, horror, giallo, suspense and thriller. His score for Once Upon a Time in America was one of his best. The 50 year span of the lives of four friends that become criminals is masterful. At nearly 2-1/2 hours the film is in part held together by Morricone’s score. The US shortened version, by almost an hour, should be avoided at all costs.
Vangelis utilized new age elements for Blade Runner (1982) and a score that emphasized the neo-noir aspect of the film.
Bernard Hermann composed many film scores and not just for Hitchcock. His gritty score for Taxi Driver (1976) was one of his best. When De Niro narrates over the jazzy score it becomes a seamless interplay of words and music signaling doom.
Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting melody that pervades Chinatown (1974) added weight to quoted lines like “it’s Chinatown, Jake”, which meant it’s life, what can you do? If that’s not a film noir trope I don’t know what is.
Miles Davis’ score for Siesta, (1987) which was his new exploration of Sketches in Spain infuses the neo-noir and otherworldly feel of this underrated Ellen Barkin movie.
John Barry’s sultry film score for Body Heat (1981) was one of his best. If Kathleen Turner needed any hints of her seductive trap of William Hurt, the music provided it. And then there were the chimes.
Local Wine Events
Vine in the Pines Wine Festival Ruidoso Convention Center Sat, Feb 18, 12 PM – Sun, Feb 19, 6 PM
The Taos Winter Wine Festival: January 26 – January 29
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