FILM NOIR

 FILM NOIR

Film noir:A term coined by by French film critics (first by Nino Frank in 1946)  to describe a type of film, that is characterized by its dark,somber tone and cynical pessimistic mood.

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classical film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. 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 prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.

Films released in France to theatres following the war:

The Maltese Falcon (1941), 

Murder, My Sweet (1944),

 Double Indemnity (1944), 

The Woman in the Window (1944)

 Laura (1944).

Film Noir has a unique   visual style including:

- Dark + Light

- Shadows 

- Silhouettes 

- Blinds and Bars
- Strange camera angles
- High contrast
- Black and white 

 visual factors and techniques that we still use today:

- Rain 

- Night 

- Cityscapes 

- Smoke/Cigarettes
- Urban areas/streets
- Cars
- Guns

Film Noir illustrates such narrative elements:

- Flashbacks

- Voice over from the protagonist (to voice inner feelings go isolation)

- Complicated and twisting plots + subplots 

- Sudden reverses of fortune
- Circular narrative
- A network of minor characters
- Tragic endings