Mob City on TNT

[Old Hipster]

I like it, have watched 4 of the 6 episodes so far, will finish it up tonight.

It's pretty good! I have been a film noir nut since I was a kid, and this is a pretty decent attempt at film noir. It's like film noir light, it is just impossible in my estimation to make a decent neo-noir, I mean one that can really make you feel you are watching an original.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mob_City


If you plan on watching it, don't read the plot summaries at the end, it will ruin somethings for you!

 

[SifuPhil]

I wonder about any series that has had 3 title changes in 2 years - doesn't speak well of their research and/or their focus.

When asked about details concerning the show, Darabont said that various cultures, such as that of African-Americans and Hispanics, will likely be explored, as well as that he is interested in expanding upon already touched upon aspects from Buntin's book.

Sends up alert signals. Worrying about pleasing all the minority groups instead of focusing on the historical aspects doesn't bode well, nor that he is "expanding" upon the book - authors spend a wee bit of time and blood creating their universe just the way they want it and just the way it will work - who is Darabont to change that? He may have directed The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, but he isn't a scriptwriter. He just knows how to move the pieces around the chessboard that's already been supplied.

Just a little note - the real Bugsy Siegel died in June of 1947; the first episode of the series has him alive sometime in 1947. If it's later than June it's an historical inaccuracy.

 

[Old Hipster]

It's just a TV show, I am not touting it as a historically accurate documentary.

It has some decent actors and I like a good mystery, there is a sub plot. I give them an A for effort, if for no other reason than trying to revive a genre and maybe, just maybe, will get some younger people interested in noirs.

If I personally could introduce mainstream cinephiles to the gloriously seedy dark world of Noir, I wouldn't be directing them to Mob City, but just trying to get some people to even watch a black and white movie is like pulling teeth.

So maybe Mob City will be cool enough to get somebody to want to check out what real film noir was and never will be again.

 

[SifuPhil]

It's just a TV show, I am not touting it as a historically accurate documentary.

I know - I'm just indulging my OCD side.

I love noir, so I'm very careful about putting my heart out there whenever something claiming to be noir shows up.

Plus, I don't get TNT so I'll have to play pirate to get the episodes.

But thanks for the heads-up - I'll check it out one of these days and give my prejudiced opinion.

 

[Old Hipster]

I know - I'm just indulging my OCD side.

I love noir, so I'm very careful about putting my heart out there whenever something claiming to be noir shows up.

Plus, I don't get TNT so I'll have to play pirate to get the episodes.

But thanks for the heads-up - I'll check it out one of these days and give my prejudiced opinion.

I'm sure you will.

I have watched other neo-noirs that really left me flat, modern noirs try too hard. They just don't really get it. They are always too pristine, which Mob City is guilty of and it at times appears about to topple into a tar pit of noir clichés. Ok now you have me pickling it apart.

When I describe Film noir to a novice I express it as a feeling I get brought about by cheesy snappy dialogue, spiffy clothes, dark demented characters, black humor, intentional and unintentional humor, a dark world inhabited with people with black souls. A world where the protagonist is more times than not flawed, you are hard pressed to find any redeeming characters in most noirs. And it's usually some sad sack who is his own worst enemy.

The feeling a good noir instills me with, a good part of it is nostalgia I rather imagine. As a child of the 1950's it is like seeing all the grown ups I remember behaving badly. Back when men wore suits and Fedoras, women dressed up more and wore hats and everybody smoked.

These movies, despite their grim subject matter still have an innocence about them. Nobody is swearing and we have to imagine what goes on behind closed doors and bad men and rotten women almost always get what's coming to them. There is always atonement in one form or another.

I need to go watch Murder My Sweet or Born to Kill right now.

 

[SifuPhil]

I have watched other neo-noirs that really left me flat, modern noirs try too hard. They just don't really get it. They are always too pristine, which Mob City is guilty of and it at times appears about to topple into a tar pit of noir clichés. Ok now you have me pickling it apart.

Not a problem - I was actually hoping you would.

When I describe Film noir to a novice I express it as a feeling I get brought about by cheesy snappy dialogue, spiffy clothes, dark demented characters, black humor, intentional and unintentional humor, a dark world inhabited with people with black souls. A world where the protagonist is more times than not flawed, you are hard pressed to find any redeeming characters in most noirs. And it's usually some sad sack who is his own worst enemy.

The feeling a good noir instills me with, a good part of it is nostalgia I rather imagine. As a child of the 1950's it is like seeing all the grown ups I remember behaving badly. Back when men wore suits and Fedoras, women dressed up more and wore hats and everybody smoked.

Good summation. I always saw noir in terms of the protagonist being that flawed character you mentioned, going against their better judgement and doing the right thing in the end. Bogey is always the first that comes to mind for me, even though he became a caricature of himself in the later years. In Casablanca he gave up the girl even though his heart said not to; in The Maltese Falcon he turned his love over to the cops.

Then you have the original Mike Hammer novels - even though they didn't start up until late in the post-War period they still had an abundance of darkness, nastiness and violence. Mike was a torn character - his urge to do right and his toughness was always balanced by his innate desire to help the less fortunate. The dialogue was priceless, almost a parody of tough-guy lingo -

"I smashed his teeth in, then kicked him in the ribs for mumbling"

You can't BUY that kind of dialogue anymore!

These movies, despite their grim subject matter still have an innocence about them. Nobody is swearing and we have to imagine what goes on behind closed doors and bad men and rotten women almost always get what's coming to them. There is always atonement in one form or another.

I agree that they just don't have the panache that the originals have - that's why I'm so late to the game when they come out with yet another attempt. I have to get into the right frame of mind to watch them.

I need to go watch Murder My Sweet or Born to Kill right now.

... and I'll go get my well-worn copy of My Gun is Quick.