Region 1 playable in north america the us, canada, mexico, etc. Ive always thought of film noir as the offspring of german expressionism, pulp fiction, and the hardboiled crime novels of. Odd man out is a film directed by carol reed with james mason, robert newton, cyril cusack, f. Films such as this make a strong case for the black and white film era. The only thing he did was change up the premise from this film and basically redid it and called it the third man.
This is not third man, but certainly there are some great shots and scenes that serves as a great example. Just like most of carol reed early work, they all have this great film noir vibe, especially on the cinematography, even if the movie does or doesnt fit the genre in question. Would you consider carol reeds odd man out 1947 a noir. But odd man out is a fantastic chance to see the directors film noir roots at work, in one of the genres most eclectic and beautifully tragic examples.
Film noir received its name in 1946 when french critic nino frank expressed his fascination with dark hollywood melodramas of the time. Johnny mcqueen, leader of a clandestine irish organization, has been hiding in the house of kathleen and her mother, planning a holdup that will provide his group with the funds needed to continue. Odd man out is a 1947 british film noir directed by carol reed. Not rated 1h 56min crime, drama, filmnoir 23 april 1947 usa odd man out poster. Odd man out is the 1947 crime drama thriller from legendary noir director carol reed the third man, oliver.
Taking place largely over the course of one tense night, carol reeds psychological noir, set in an unnamed belfast, stars james mason as a revolutionary excon leading a robbery that goes horribly wrong. Many people are familiar with carol reeds odd man out, an oscarnominated film noir starring james mason set in belfast. Rent odd man out 1947 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Odd man out is all film craft before computergame culture hijacked the art of film making. Odd man out is a soul searching thriller where love and loyalty do battle with cowardice and betrayal, in the labyrinth of a dying man s journey to the grave. Odd man out is a british classic from 1947 that fits the film noir.
In this film the movie lends the conflict to senselessness, by the end of the film the goals of both sides seem like a moot point, and that all that happened as a result of the conflict was a lot of violence, murder, turmoil, and nothing achieved. The film, starring james mason as an injured excon on the run in belfast, has all the genre standards. Filmmaker roman polanski has repeatedly cited odd man out as his favourite film. Green, the film tells the story of johnny mcqueen james mason, who is a district chief of a rebel organization, and the people who exploit his fate. Before he turned vienna into a labyrinth of shadows with the third man, carol reed brought film noir to belfast for this stylishly fatalistic tale of. Camera trickery is used to mindbending effect and odd man out s hallucinatory tone is.
James mason runs the gauntlet of belfasts back streets in 1940s classic film noir. James mason, dan oherlihy, dennis odea, robert newton, w. The film the informer is how you make a irish film with these themes. A lot of film noirs have a convoluted plot, but thats not the case here. Oh yes, that other movie he did that put me to sleep, the third man.
In odd man out, producer and director carol reed blends film noir with poetic realism, while trying to remain apolitical. This week in the best of film noir, im taking a look at a film from across the pond called odd man out. The ira film noir odd man out, 73 years on irishcentral. Perhaps the best film ever set in the city, it has stood the test of time. It is a tragic and timeless story about life gone wrong. The gene siskel film center screens carol reeds stark psychological thriller odd man out, which stars james mason as an exconvict who plots a robbery to fund his rebel organization. Carol reeds 1947 british thriller odd man out is one of the great suspense dramas and one of the great film noirs. Odd man out 1947 the criterion collection bluray this is it. It was the rattattat releases of 1947s odd man out good, 1948s the fallen idol better and 1949s the third man best that marked carol reed as a worldclass filmmaker.
Rent odd man out 1947 starring james mason and robert newton on dvd and bluray. While undeniably noir, reeds urban nightscapes are never entirely hostile. The film was adapted from a novel of the same name, written by laurie green and adapted by him for reeds film. Theres more than meets the eye to odd man out, a laurie green novel turned into a movie in 1947 but does it glorify the irish republican army.
Odd man out 1947 is a film noir that is filled with suspense and action, and the plot is pretty straightforward. Filmmaker roman polanski repeatedly cited odd man out as his favourite film. Odd man out a film by carol reed starring james mason, robert newton, cyril cusack, kathleen ryan, f. Odd man out uk tv series, a 1977 sitcom starring john inman. But even in its failures, odd man out is admirable.
Set in an unnamed northern irish city, it is based on the novel of the same name by f. The camera work and composition is incredible and i love some of the night scenes around belfast. Today few would deny that odd man out is one of reeds great triumphs, and also a high point of 1940s british cinema. Carol reeds odd man out is a great irish drama and. In 1947, carol reed famously turned laurie green s novel odd man out into an oscarnominated film noir with james mason in the lead role and many of the leading lights of irish acting.
Review of carol reeds 1947 film noir odd man out, starring james mason, robert newton, cyril cusack. Odd man out was carol reeds first postwar feature and the first of a quartet of films, including the fallen idol, the third man, and outcast of the islands, which were to mark the highpoint of a lengthy film making career. This is the seventh in a series of exchanges between noir enthusiasts david lehman and suzanne lummis lets go to the land of tea at four, a pint of bitter, roast beef, yorkshire pudding and brexit. A robbery that goes wrong and being on the run is what were dealing with here, but there are twists and turns. Odd man out 1947 1 h 56 min crime, drama, film noir, thriller james mason, robert newton, cyril cusack, f. Its an irish odyssey that wrings every drop of tension from its subject. Carol reeds odd man out is certainly one of his most wellknown works, while serving the unfortunate position of being a very good film from a great filmmaker that came out not too long before the third man, which simply dwarfs over the rest of reeds filmography. Odd man out 1947 action crime drama film noir thriller. Reed and his cinematographer, robert krasker, would go on to make the third man together two. No, its better than noir, bigger than noir, more terrible than noir, an ancient thingits tragedy, and tragedy. Odd man out 1977 a chip off the old block duration.
Odd man out generally gets filed under film noir, which makes sense from a purely visual standpoint. The film received the first bafta award for best british film. The lukewarm reception the film received on its release probably had more to do with its sympathetic portrayal of an ira terrorist than its obvious artistic merits. Green, the film tells the story of johnny mcqueen james mason, who is a district chief of a rebel. James mason stars as an ira man on the run in carol reeds belfastset film noir. Carol reeds 1947 film odd man out, playing in a new 35mm print for 2 weeks starting september 4, is more recognizably noir, yet equally subtle in its execution. Johnny mcqueen james mason is already an odd man out when the movie opens. Shazaaaam much to like in this one, including a great finale, but the subplot with the artist was so bizarre and exaggerated that it really turned me off the film. The fallen idol is photographed by the french cinematographer perinal, the jugoslavian editor hafenrichter, and the hungarian set designer vincent korda. Odd man out 1947 film noirgangster tcm message boards.
But noir as a genre only took shape retrospectively, and the bitter arguments over what it is continue to the present. Odd man out feels like the work of a stylist stepping up, taking a topic of the times and shrouding it in gentle brogues, heavyduty spirituality and the illfated affections of a young lass ryan. The first of these odd man out remains to this day a. Carol reed has made his film with deliberation and care, and has achieved splendid teamwork from every member of the. Reed at his best has the unique ability to portray the most complex of human relationships with voices lowered. Odd man out is a 1947 british film noir set in an unnamed northern irish city and directed by carol reed. Odd man out uses this conflict to portray an idea of peace, an idea to stop killing, and to stop violence.
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