Genre – Film Noir
- Dark subject matter
- 1944-1958 is the key period of Noir
- Post War, this is important as it is significant that
America - Before the war a lot of films were musicals, and therefore the film industry demanded a harder, grittier film.
- There was an increase in crime and private detectives.
- There was a growth of strong independent women who were central to Noir women were taking the centre stage in the narratives.
- Film Noir showed how powerful women are and how weak men are, they used sex as their power.
Femme Fatale – The Deadly Woman
The Black Widow – weave their webs to catch the man, they then persuade the man to do a job or something for them and after that they take no interest in the man and don’t care what happens to him.
Firm Style – to create visual mood of these films they use:
Low-key Lighting
Strong Shadows
Framing Devices – to suggest the character is trapped
Night, City, Claustrophobia
· Narrative point of view – complex – very difficult to follow, with heavy use of flashbacks and voice-overs.
- Film noir is a cinematic term used to describe stylish Hollywood Crime Dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations.
Hollywood - Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black and white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist Cinematography. Many of the ideal stories and much of the attitude of classic noir come from the tough school of crime that emerged in the United States during the Despression.
- The term film noir, means 'black film' in french. It was first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946. The term was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the classic era
Film Noir City - Website
The Big Combo - 1955
Director: Joseph Lewis
Cinematographer: John Alton
