I hope everybody likes a good mystery. It just seems that nowadays, most mysteries are either horror flicks or only seem to be a mystery after a surprise ending, not during the bulk of the film. There have been several great mysteries adapted from Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, and many newer writers, which I'll leave for you guys to add.

I read all the Dashiell Hammett mysteries, and my favorite was "The Maltese Falcon". When John Huston adapted it for his first film as a director, he had the common sense to leave 95% of the plot and dialogue intact. You can't really fiddle with perfection. Huston did do an incredible job of casting the film and shooting and editing it so that there's basically not a wasted second.

On the other hand, there have been some original mysteries produced for the screen, including (if I'm not mistaken), "se7en" and "The Usual Suspects." But for my money, the best original film mystery is "Chinatown." It's not a coincidence that the main character is a private detective in California, and that John Huston plays a significant role in the proceedings. Great job by director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne.

Well, I hope I left enough for people to share, or just tell me I'm a bag of hot air. C'mon, sharin' is carin'!

quote:

beauty
Slacker
Posted 04 March 2009 07:17 PM Hide Post
i like mysterious dramas. rencently i have been watching Doctor who and Stargate Atlantis. after you see that you will found it is really classical.

Sorry about being a stalker, but wow. Your decision to post on this thread seems somewhat off topic - mysteries. While it's possible to combine genres, the series you mention are much more likely to be consider science fiction rather than mysteries, even though some or perhaps many episodes have a mystery component, but so do many other movies in other genres. Crime thrillers, romantic comedies, horror each have some element of unknown, unsuspecting questions to be answered by the end of the movie.

Ah...who cares. Your selections are ok here. At least their worthy of discussion as mysteries, except for being television episodes instead of theatrical movies or films.

I never really deliberately and conciously thought about this particular movie genre until now and having done so I find it difficult to retain a narrow definition of the movies I enjoyed that seem to incorporate a sense of "mystery" that seems to spill over into a number of other movie genres, including science fiction, horror, action-adventure. Thus, I am providing my inclusive list of favorite movies that either are mystery-thrillers or movies with a strong mystery component.


1. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). An eerie, haunting mystery of the unknown fate of three girls in the turn of the century Australian outback. Directed by Peter Weir.

2. Manhunter (1986). William Petersen (of CSI fame) provides the best dectective, techo-thriller movie made.

3. Atonement (2007). A brilliant piece of cinematic art incorporating an exciting, compelling blend of sound effects, set design, along with the creative weaving of alterative realities in this presentation a romantic drama set during World War II. Ten of out Ten Stars. Reviewed 1/5/07.

4. Nomads (1986). One of the most captivating, haunting, eerie movies made starring Pierce Brosnan in one of his finest performances as a anthropologist and the female doctor who has a strange connection to him in her attempts to discover the mystery of his man's demise.

5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). A sci fi classic that set a new standard of technical brilliance and special effects that has yet to be surpassed. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. AFI #22. IMDb #88. National Film Registry movie.

6. The Lost Room (2006). A Science Fiction Channel Mini-Series from Lionsgate, starring Peter Krause as a police detective in search of his daughter who becomes lost in an room in an alternative reality and he must search for and encounter various individuals with ordinary objects with strange powers. This is an intense, hauntingly character-driven as well as eerie driven script that perfectly captures the strangeness and diverse humanity good and evil. [Reviewed 8/8/08]. Nine out of Ten Stars.

7. Mulholland Drive (2002). David Lynch's eerie and most convoluted venture into mystery, murder, and the unfathomable. IMDb #230.

8. Carnival of Souls (Original 1962 Version). A haunting, twilight zone film.

9. The Usual Suspects (1995). One of the best twists in film-making. IMDb #16.

10. The Crying Game (1993). A great surprise ending.

11. Gone Baby Gone (2007). One of the top ten movies of the year, this mystery-thriller written and directed by Ben Affleck, starring Casey Affleck is a blunt, hard-talking movie about a private investigator looking for a missing child and eventually evolves into twists and turns with tension filled drama and unsettling emotions with no really definitive answers except as to what happened. An easy Oscar nomination and perhaps win for Ben Affleck for best screenplay. 9/10. [Reviewed 11/11/07].

12. Wicker Park (2004). An amazing post-Hickcockian mystery thriller that uses fresh, real-straight forward psychology and an amazing flashback technique from two different characters' perspectives. This love triangle of love obsession was one of the best movies of 2004.

13. The Sixth Sense (1999). Probably one of the best surprise endings in movie history. IMDb #117.

14. A Beautiful Mind (2001). A compelling and fascinating dramatization of John Forbes Nash, a schizophrenic mathematician with a shocking twist.

15. Slip Stream (2007). A movie by Anthony Hopkins who portrays a movie scriptwriter who apparently is experiencing both his life and his script and the line between reality and fantasy is torridly, chaotically smashed together in this intense, Lynch-like movie. One of the most unique, daringly different movies of 2007. [reviewed 5/2/08]. 8/10.

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999). The best low-budget, scary, amateur movie in history.

17. The Thing (1982 remake by John Carpenter). One of the scariest movies and straight forward sci fi/horror that uses the thrilling chilling unknown factor of the deadly it could be anybody scenario.

18. Planet of the Apes (1968). One of the greatest twists in sci fi history bringing a new a respectability to the genre.

19. The Name of the Rose (1986). A fascinating, epic detective murder, mystery thriller starring Sean Connery in a monastic setting. Rich with historical detail.

20. Chinatown (1974). A classic film-noir movie.

21. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). AFI #64.

22. Memento (2000). A man tries to solve a mystery, having only notes to remember his past that he forgets every day. IMDb #22.

23. Silence of the Lambs (1991).

24. Solaris (2002). A re-make of the Russian sci-fi classic.

25. Se7en (1995). Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman directed by David Fincher offer an intense murder detective mystery with a slam dunk ending that will be etched in the memory forever. IMDb #43.

26. Wait Until Dark (1967). Audrey Heburn (nominated for best actress by Academy and Golden Globes for her performance) plays a blind wife who is left alone to confront sinister drug dealing who will stop at nothing to get their stash somehow hidden in her home. This movie has one of the most riveting and scary thriller climatic scenes in movie history. [belated addition 2/1/09.] 9/10.

27. Liquid Dreams (1992). A brilliant film noir, R-rated Soft Porn movies.

28. The Matrix (1999). Set a new level of science fiction subgenre - virtual reality theme with Keanu Reeves.

30. The Secret of Roan Inish (1995). A very strong performance and almost mystical, haunting movie about a young girl who searches for the secret of the magical selkies in Ireland.

31. Fate is the Hunter (1964). A Glenn Ford and Robert Taylor in a haunting investigation of an airplane crash.

32. Confidence (2003). A well written, tight con game movie with fascinating twists, good acting, (Dustin Hoffmann playing off-type). [Seen again 3/30/05].

33. The Da Vinci Code (2006). An entertaining and intellectually stimulating movie regarding a religious conspiracy to cover up Jesus and his relationship with Mary of the Magdalene starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. Reviewed 5/21/06. Eight out of Ten Stars.

34. The Andromeda Strain (1971). A hard-edged, serious sci-fi movie about the possible contamination of earth from outside. [Re-reviewed 11/19/08]. 8/10.

35. Dark Water (2005). The best psychological-supernatural thriller of 2005 creates through its color choice, music, and superb acting one of the most finely layered, textured creepy and qualitatively eerie movies in years. Using the childhood terror of divorce and living in a strange and institutionalized feeling apartment complex, along with mentally disturbing images from both the past and present, Dark Water is a retro-classic of The Birds (1963). [Reviewed 2/20/06]. 8/10.

36. The Cell (2000). Jennifer Lopez stars in this psychological/crime/horror thriller that has Ms. Lopez as a researcher/psychologist who is required to go into the mind of a deranged killer in order to obtain the location of his latest intended victim before she dies. The fantastic dream sequences, imagery have yet to be surpassed. A psychological LDS trip with a haunting probing look into the mental condition. [Reviewed 11/25/08]. 8/10.

37. The Triangle (2005). Television mini-series. An excellent science fiction thriller about the Bermuda Triangle that captures the essence of mystery, science, suspense along with a credible even somewhat off-balance ending. Even with less than superlative special effects and a few editing weaknesses, this series shines. 8/10.

38. The Bourne Identity (2002). The original first outing of Jason Bourne played by Matt Damon in this taut espionage action thriller who has amnesia. Lots of mystery, good action, and strong script. [Re-reviewed 3/1/06].

39. Charade (1963). IMDb #215.

I love the Hitchcock mysteries best- Rear Window, Marnie, The Trouble with Harry (caught this again recently), Rebecca, etc, etc.

Other favorites include Mulholland Drive, Bunny Lake Is Missing, The Seven-Percent Solution, Smilla's Sense of Snow, Manhattan Murder Mystery, the already mentioned Memento and especially Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Terenigma, did you mean Memento? If you did, I agree that that was a great mystery. One of my favorites is also Minority Report. I think this movie was genius and is way under appreciated. The sci-fi futuristic-ness combined with mystery and action along with good acting from Tom Cruise and excellent direction by Steven Spielberg or as Tom Hanks calls him "The Big Cheese."

I gotta go with "The Usual Suspects" here. I looooove that film.

I've always been a pretty huge fan of "Deathtrap" (1982) starring Christopher Reeve, Michael Caine, and Dyan Cannon. At the time, I remember that the most shocking thing about the movie for me, as a fairly sheltered 11-year-old, was the fact one guy passionately kisses another guy on the big screen. But after I got over that one, the climactic final scenes were absolutely terrifying. It also has some amazingly cool twists. If you haven't seen it, I'm sure you'd like it.

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Ima Go With Momento And Basic Is Also A Kool Mystery Kinda Film That I Love

I like se7en but didnt think it was that great. As for recent movies, momento was a good mystery. So was minority report. The Silence of the Lambs was a good mystery, at least if you would consider it a mystery.

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