Tension: Who's Guilty Now?

Jump into the world of Film Noir and look at how the technology and economic factors gave birth to a genre that still deeply influences the way filmmakers work today. Take a look at 4 Film Noirs spanning the beginning and end of the classic film noir era: "The Stranger on the Third Floor", "Double Indemnity", "The Big Combo" and "Touch of Evil".

A documentary about film noir films made in Los Angeles.

Spain. 1978. Year of the first democratic elections following the dictatorship, and of the birth cine quinqui (delinquent movies): films that rapidly became a big commercial success, showing things that were banned by the censorship not too long before.

When a new murderer in town travels through the phone, Detective Rick finds that all signs point to the culprit being a bear. But bears can't use phones. Can they?

After emerging victorious from the horrors of World War II, the U.S. eagerly pushed into a new era of optimism, hope, and success. But the shadowy and cigarette-stained B-side to the bright, shiny America emerged: the film noir. Made for cheap, these dark tales scratched at a different society, filled with twisted psyches and sinister motives. Filmmaker Tom Thurman teams up with film critic and narrator David Thomson to weave together a hypnotic collage of a dark world that influences our national identity to this day.

Documentary on the film noir Side Street with director Oliver Stone and critic Richard Schickel.

Documentary on the film noir Decoy, with Dick Cavett and Molly Haskell.

Richard Schickel and Oliver Stone are among the experts who talk about the film noir Crime Wave.

Von Scerscen.- Diario di un'indagine

Film critics, actors, film historians and other personalities share their experiences and curious stories on the acclaimed Billy Wilder's masterpiece "Sunset Blvd."; its cultural importance by being one of the most iconic and revolutionary films ever made and a picture that still stands the test of time.

Film Noir burrows into the mind; it's disorienting, intriguing and enthralling. Noir brings us into a gritty underworld of lush morbidity, providing intimate peeks at its tough, scheming dames, mischievous misfits and flawed men - all caught in the wicked web of a twisted fate.

Film noir, which enjoyed particular success in the 1930s and 1940s, is probably the most profound genre of classic Hollywood cinema. Eckhart Schmidt tries to show the background and developments and speaks, among others, with directors such as Richard Fleischer and Robert Wise as well as with "femme fatale" actresses. Filmmakers of the following generations explain how the style and themes of noir continue to shape cinema today.

Mario, the son of a police captain killed in the line of duty, is completely surrendered to the police organization. Instructing some errands meet Elsa, original and fascinating beauty, beginning an illicit affair and exciting. This makes his firmest principles are shaken, transformed his life completely absurd entering a maelstrom revolving around the existence of Elsa surface.

A family drama involving a wife torn between her husband and her criminal ex-lover.

An unexpected bond develops between a fugitive killer and a runaway orphan on an odyssey across England.

A wealthy real estate investor is forced to watch the rape of his girlfriend and then is sent a film showing the fact. He hires a hitman, Sho, and shows him the film, so that the detective can get rid of the criminals. But the boss of the criminal band is Ko, Sho's archnemesis, who raped and murdered his girlfriend.

A boxer (William Bishop) jailed for murder proves his girlfriend's (Ann Richards) wealthy father and a ward boss framed him.

An attorney (Tom Conway) learns he was duped into being his gangster murder client's (Steve Brodie) alibi.

The wealthy owner of a modeling agency keeps a new student in the high life, unaware that she and a recently released convict share a criminal and personal history.

A newspaper reporter uncovers a killer when he makes contact with the names listed in a dead man's address book.