Film+Noir



= Film Noir (Black Film) is either a style or genre depending on how one examines the set of American Films that fit with an evolving group of films that roughly span the early1940s to the late 1950s. =

= **Conventions of Film Noir:** =

**Characters**

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 * Females usually fall into one of two categories **
 * Femme Fatale - mysterious, duplicitous, double-crossing, beautiful, seductive, unloving, predatory, tough-sweet, unreliable, irresponsible, manipulative, desperate women.
 * A normal female : Dutiful, reliable, trustworthy, loving woman


 * Male Protagonists vary but some common characteristics are: **
 * A mysterious past
 * Hard boiled but good man in corrupt world (the detective)
 * Doomed to death or prison
 * Intelligent but easily led astray
 * Razor-sharp and acerbic dialogue

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 * Cinematography and Aesthetics **
 * Use of Blacks and whites
 * [|Chiaroscuro lighting] ( usually low key lighting)
 * [|Dutch Angles]


 * Common Locations **
 * Often urban areas/settings
 * Night scenes with deep shadows, wet asphalt, dark alleyways, rain-slicked streets
 * Dimly-lit apartments
 * Hotel rooms of big cities
 * Abandoned warehouses
 * Seedy office ( run-down /alcohol/unsafe)


 * Narratives **
 * First-person voice-over narration
 * Flashbacks
 * [|Todorovian three-act structures] involving a mystery or crime elements
 * Frequently complex/ maze-like
 * Typically told with foreboding background music
 * Flashbacks/ or series of flashbacks
 * Driven by razor-sharp and acerbic dialogue
 * Driven by sexual motivation of hero


 * Themes **
 * Fatalism (of tragic, doomed hero)
 * Sin/lust/temptation destroys an honest man
 * Corruption/Crime is everywhere (often hidden,often underneath official authority)


 * Motifs/Iconography **
 * Trench coats, trilby hats, fedora hats
 * Neon signs in the night city
 * The dark city, city streets wet from rain
 * Elaborate hair styles for the ' fatal woman"
 * Roughed lips
 * Cigarettes and smoke
 * Guns

=Resources:= Readings: Notes on Film Noir by Paul Schrader http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html http://www.esfmedia.com/page/Film+Noir http://brightlightsfilm.com/category/genres/noir/

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