Tension: Who's Guilty Now?

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.