Dames, Coppers, and Crooks: A Look At Film Noir
Film noir is a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, became prominent in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic “Golden Age” period until about 1960. Frank Nino, a French film critic, first coined the label film noir, which literally means black film or cinema, in 1946. Nino noticed the trend of how “dark” and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France following World War II. In fact, only French critics used the term film noir in their work until the era of noir was over. The French label did not become widely known until the 1970s. The term film noir is now a more familiar term and it is used more often.
There are many historical factors that influenced the creation of film noir. During the 1930s, American was struggling with the Great Depression. There was widespread unemployment. The country also led an isolationist political belief, had beliefs of lasting world peace and pledged neutrality. They also had a very small standing army. America had all of these beliefs as they entered World War II.
The United States emerged as the one great victor of the war. The war had devastated Europe and shattered Asia. America, however, had not had any major warfare on its own territory, and during the war it had managed to leap out of the depression and reach almost full employment for it’s inhabitants. America also had the world’s largest military force and the world’s most threatening weapon. The country now had interests and responsibilities all over the world, but especially in Europe. As the Americans emerged from the war, they were elated and proud, happy of their victory and proud of their military and industrial might.
The 1940s and 50s were an era of economic boom, partly upheld by military demands during and after WWII, and partly by the Americans new consumer demands. Most people wanted newer and better things, which they now could also afford. It was at this time that the G.I. Bill of Rights was created. This bill was a veteran funding system that led to an increase in both college education and the founding of the suburban homes of the 50s. This was a kind of social revolution with consequences lik...
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...d by them and the film noir is generally very closely connected with the 1940s Hollywood. This particular criticism of noir as a genre relies upon whether one regards the more recent films as a continuation of the noir tradition or not. Furthermore, film noir tends to cross traditional genre boundaries. There are noir westerns, gangster films and comedies to mention some.
Other critics avoid these problems by viewing film noir not as a genre, but by emphasizing the stylistic elements. Here, tone and mood are given considerable weight. Maybe it would be best to simply state that all of the above describe some aspects of what one can call the film noir phenomenon.
Works Consulted
The Development of Post-war Literary and Cinematic Noir. 29 Jan 2005 http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/Film%20Noir.html. Dirks, Tim. Film Noir. 29 Jan 2005 http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html.
Hordnes, Lise. Does Film Noir mirror the culture of contemporary America?. 6 Mar
2003. 29 Jan 2005 http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/noir/noir01.html.
Horsley, Lee. Thriller (Noir), 1930-. 20 Oct 2001. The Literary Encyclopedia. 29 Jan
2005 http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=11251.html.
1959 was an exciting year in the history of filmmaking. An extraordinary conjunction of talent throughout the globe existed. In France, Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol, Rohmer, Rivette, and Resnais all directed their first films, thus establishing the French New Wave. In Italy, Fellini created the elegant La Dolce Vita, and Antonioni gave us L’avventura. Most importantly, though, in America, famed British director Alfred Hitchcock gave us the classic thriller North by Northwest, the father of the modern action film.
Barry, , Keith, and Grant, ed. Film Genre Reader III. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press,
Janey Place and Lowell Peterson article “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir” establishes noir as a visual style and not a ...
The 1950s were a decade in American history that was filled with many of successes. Everybody was excited and relieved now that the war was finally over and that their loved ones were safely home with their families. Families in the 1950s were very conservative and always had the perfect family image, until the “teenagers” came along. Teens were not the most likable people in society, because they listened to crazy, tasteless music and were known as rebels. The crazy, tasteless music changed music forever. Since the 50s were right after WWII, many foreign policies emerged, some provided assistance to countries that were in need. The U.S. was also dealing with and epidemic for years, until the early 50s when a vaccine was created which also changed the way vaccinations were given to the public. The 1950’s were the most influential decade towards contemporary America because, throughout this decade not only did we discover vaccinations that saved hundreds of live, but we also had the rise of Rock N’ Roll which changed music forever including a foreign policy which helped rebuild economies in Europe called the Marshall Plan.
Defining a film genre is in some ways difficult and simplistic. Every genre has stated what would define its boundaries. The difficult part is finding one that is solidified by the movies in the genre. The stated definition that this paper will digest and regurgitate is that a Western is a film which is set in the American frontier west. The typical time setting is somewhere in the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century(Dirks, 1). They glorify the past-fading values and aspirations of the mythical by-gone age of the American West(Dirks, 1). Over time, however, Westerns have been redefined, re-invented and expanded, dismissed, re-discovered, and spoofed. This actually makes the definition more lucid, making other films flexible enough to fit quite nicely into the genre.
This paper has attempted to investigate the ways in which Alfred Hitchcock blended conventions of film noir with those of a small town domestic comedy. It first looked at the opening scenes of the film in which the two conventions were introdruced. It then went on to analyse the film with the aid of Robin Wood's article Ideology, Genre, Auteur. From these two forms we can see that film noir and small town comedy were used as a means of commenting on the contradictions in American values.
From the beginning of cinema as an art form to cinema today, film has evolved and developed drastically. Each era of film from the Silent Film to the French New Wave was influenced by prior film generations and influenced those films that came after it. The era of Silent Film was very basic as it emerged when motion pictures had only begun. Across the sea, the age of German Expressionism, a film genre with features of the Silent Film era which conveyed the German people's struggle after World War I had started. Afterwards, the Studio Era surfaced and portrayed larger than life heroes in narratives with the gloss of a storybook. During the Studio Era, films like these were produced quickly because of success and began to appear mass produced
It is true because most of the film noir greatly influenced by the German expressionism style, where most of the scenes are shot in night time, uses of extreme artificial lighting in film, chiaroscuro lighting creates the high contrast lighting to produce the focus points, deep shadows and obscured scene such as rain to highlight the confused emotions of the character in films. According to Jerold J. Abrams (2007), he mentioned that the evolution of film noir, Neo noir have been formed after classic noir, while neo noir is certainly new but some things never change. In this statement, although neo noir are formed after classic noir, but the techniques of film noir in classic noir are still retained and continue to be used in Neo noir
Film noir is not a genre of film but rather defined through its subtle qualities of tone and mood. Noir was also a specific period in Film history, mostly sprouting in the 40’s. Numerous amount of films helped contribute to the popularity of film noir, but there were some that innovated the way we portrayed it. Maltese Falcon was one of the pioneers of film noir that influenced many more noir type of films such as The Devil in a Blue Dress. With plots being different but yet a similar feel towards the movie. Similar character roles are very common in noir, like in the Maltese Falcon and The Devil in a Blue Dress. Both films use very alike characters that help give it a better noir feeling. In the Maltese Falcon, Sam spade is the main character but unlike regular plots. Sam is an anti-hero that works
Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s was the golden-age of a new era of filmmaking. The films of that period went beyond the silent films being produced in the past. Diagetic sounds like dialogue and more advanced filmic techniques would push cinema to a new mode of filmmaking, that being classicism. The classical Hollywood structure was being developed in the past with silent films but it came to full fruition in the 30’s, where many filmmakers would produce feature-length films with fully developed storylines and the use of glamorous lighting and larger-than life characterizations to give audiences a more cinematic experience. Genre films like: the gangster, comedy, western, horror, and other various genres of the era, provided large revenue for studios and the creative means for filmmakers to manipulate the mise-en-scene to make each genre films slightly different from the rest. Classicism would provide audiences with clear-cut characterizations, simple storylines, non-intrusive directing, and simple but entertaining conclusions that neatly wrap up the story.
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.
The genre film noir has some classical elements that make these films easily identifiable. These elements are displayed in the prototypical film noir, Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity. These elements include being filmed in black and white, a morally ambiguous protagonist, and a prominent darkness. However, the most striking part of a film noir is the femme fatale, a woman who craves independence through sexual and economic liberation. In his film, Chinatown, Roman Polanski uses many of the classic elements of a film noir, however he twists many of them to reflect the time period. This is particularly evident in his depiction of his “femme fatale,” Evelyn Mulwray.
First and foremost, film noir refers to the visual style of a picture. The imagery of film noir was influenced by early 20th century German expressionism, featuring distorted, sinister shapes and shadows. These precursors to film noir used abstract figures and looming shadows for bizarre, emotionally stirring results. Techniques such as chiaroscuro were used to give a dark and minimalistic feeling. In many cases lighting is limited to a single harsh light source, which obscures the image, and even throws shadows across actors’ faces. These elements ensure that an audience regards the actors and the setting with equal importance. Oblique angled shots permeate many film noirs, naturally provoking anxiousness and apprehension in the viewer. In Sun...
Genres are ways of providing films with the intended associations. It is a convention in which people can refer to initially grasp the notion of a film, “for the vast publicity system that exists around filmmaking, genres are a simple way to characterize film. In fact, reviewers are often central in gathering and crystallizing notions about genres.” (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 110).
In this essay the following will be discussed; the change from the age of classical Hollywood film making to the new Hollywood era, the influence of European film making in American films from Martin Scorsese and how the film Taxi Driver shows the innovative and fresh techniques of this ‘New Hollywood Cinema’.