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Nicholas Christopher, Somewhere in the Night (1997) While many critics refer to film noir as a genre itself, others argue that it can be no such thing. Foster Hirsch defines a genre as determined by "conventions of narrative structure, characterization, theme, and visual design." Hirsch, as one who has taken the position that film noir is a genre, argues that these elements are present "in ...
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- Overview
- The cinema of the disenchanted
- Defining the genre
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film noir, (French: “dark film”) style of filmmaking characterized by such elements as cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashbacks, intricate plots, and an underlying existentialist philosophy. The genre was prevalent mostly in American crime dramas of the post-World War II era.
Early examples of the noir style include dark, stylized detective films such as John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon (1941), Frank Tuttle’s This Gun for Hire (1942), Otto Preminger’s Laura (1944), and Edward Dmytryk’s Murder, My Sweet (1944). Banned in occupied countries during the war, these films became available throughout Europe beginning in 1946. French cineastes admired them for their cold, cynical characters and dark, brooding style, and they afforded the films effusive praise in French journals such as Cahiers du cinéma. French critics coined the term film noir in reference to the low-keyed lighting used to enhance these dramas stylistically—although the term would not become commonplace in international critical circles until the publication of the book Panorama du film noir americain (1955) by Raymond Borde and Étienne Chaumeton.
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The darkness of these films reflected the disenchantment of the times. Pessimism and disillusionment became increasingly present in the American psyche during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the world war that followed. After the war, factors such as an unstable peacetime economy, McCarthyism, and the looming threat of atomic warfare manifested themselves in a collective sense of uncertainty. The corrupt and claustrophobic world of film noir embodied these fears. Several examples of film noir, such as Dmytryk’s Cornered (1945), George Marshall’s The Blue Dahlia (1946), Robert Montgomery’s Ride the Pink Horse (1947), and John Cromwell’s Dead Reckoning (1947), share the common story line of a war veteran who returns home to find that the way of life for which he has been fighting no longer exists. In its place is the America of film noir: modernized, heartless, coldly efficient, and blasé about matters such as political corruption and organized crime.
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Many of the major directors of film noir—such as Huston, Dmytryk, Cromwell, Orson Welles, and others—were American. However, other Hollywood directors renowned for a film noir style hailed from Europe, including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Jacques Tourneur, and Fritz Lang. It is said that the themes of noir attracted European directors, who often felt like outsiders within the Hollywood studio system. Such directors had been trained to emphasize cinematic style as much as acting and narrative in order to convey thought and emotion.
Controversy exists as to whether film noir can be classified as a genre or subgenre, or if the term merely refers to stylistic elements common to various genres. Film noir does not have a thematic coherence: the term is most often applied to crime dramas, but certain westerns and comedies have been cited as examples of film noir by some critics. Even such sentimental comedy-dramas as Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) have been cited as “noir-ish” by critics who find in its suicidal hero and bleak depiction of small-town life a tone suitably dismal for film noir. Such films are also sometimes designated as “semi-noir,” or film gris (“gray film”), to indicate their hybrid status.
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Other critics argue that film noir is but an arbitrary designation for a multitude of dissimilar black-and-white dramas of the late 1940s and early ’50s. Film scholar Chris Fujiwara contends that the makers of such films “didn’t think of them as ‘films noir’; they thought they were making crime films, thrillers, mysteries, and romantic melodramas. The nonexistence of ‘noir’ as a production category during the supposed heyday of noir obviously problematizes the history of the genre.” Yet it cannot be questioned that film noir connotes specific visual images and an aura of postwar cynicism in the minds of most film buffs. Indeed, several common characteristics connect most films defined as “noir.”
Film noir is a style of filmmaking characterized by cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashbacks, intricate plots, and an underlying existentialist philosophy. The term was coined by French critics to describe American crime dramas of the post-World War II era, influenced by German Expressionism and social disillusionment.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Jun 27, 2021 · Film noir is a stylized genre of film marked by pessimism, fatalism, and cynicism. Learn about its origin, elements, and classic movies from the 1940s and 50s, as well as modern influences.
Nov 7, 2023 · Film Noir is a type of thriller film that focuses on psychological dimensions of crime and uses heightened, stylized mise-en-scène. Learn about its origins, characteristics, influences, and legacy in this comprehensive article.
- The Maltese Falcon (1941) Though two prior adaptations of detective novelist Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon were made before this adaptation, John Huston's 1941 version remains a film noir classic.
- Double Indemnity (1944) Based on the crime novel by James M. Cain, Double Indemnity was directed by Billy Wilder, who also co-wrote the script with famed crime novelist Raymond Chandler.
- Sunset Blvd. (1950) Though Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd. eschews many of the common narrative elements of film noir, it is unarguably one of the most important works of the genre.
- Sweet Smell of Success (1957) Director Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell of Success follows New York press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) who is blackmailed by a famous newspaper columnist (Burt Lancaster) into framing a jazz musician for drug possession.
Sep 8, 2023 · Film noir is a genre of Hollywood crime drama with cynical characters, dark themes and visual contrasts. Learn how film noir started, what makes a movie noir and see examples from classic and modern films.
Jan 30, 1995 · Film noir is a French term for "black film" that describes a genre of movies with dark, pessimistic and cynical themes. Learn about the characteristics, examples and history of film noir from Roger Ebert's essay.
