Classic examples of the film noir genre include:
- 1941
- High Sierra
- The Maltese Falcon
- 1942
- This Gun for Hire
- 1944
- 1945
- Detour
- The House on 92nd Street
- Mildred Pierce
- The Scarlet Street
- 1946
- The Big Sleep
- Gilda
- The Killers
- The Postman Always Rings Twice
- So Dark the Night
- 1947
- Born to Kill
- Brute Force
- Kiss of Death
- Out of the Past
- Possessed
- Red House
- 1948
- The Big Clock
- Cry of the City
- '\'The Guilty''
- The Naked City
- The Pitfall
- 1949
- Criss Cross
- D.O.A
- The Reckless Moment
- The Third Man
- White Heat
- 1950
- The Killer That Stalked New York
- Night and the City
- Sunset Boulevard
- 1951
- The Racket
- Roadblock
- 1952
- The Captive City
- 1953
- The Blue Gardenia
- 1955
- 1958
- Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
- Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
- Colorado Territory (1948)
- The Furies (1950)
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid -- a parody pastiche by Steve Martin using footage from old films, black and white.
- Play It Again, Sam -- a parody tribute by Woody Allen.
- Blue Velvet
- Point Blank (1967)
- Klute (1971)
- The Long Goodbye (1973) -- Altman's post-noir take.
- Chinatown (1974)
- Night Moves (1975)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- Body Heat (1981) -- remake of Double Indemnity
- Blade Runner (1982) -- science fiction noir
- Blood Simple (1983)
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)--billed as a "toon-noir"
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- The Last Seduction (1994)
- L.A. Confidential (1997)
- Lost Highway (1997)
- A Simple Plan (1998)
- The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)