Film Noir, nowadays, is seen as a genre of film, containing certain recurring similarities in terms of characters, lighting, themes (to list a few). However, when 'Film Noir' was introduced, post world war 2 to the 50's, it wasn't intended to be seen as a genre. It was due to the fact that the conventions of the films that we today classify as 'Film Noir' were used so consistently that a whole new style of film was created. It is often debated as to whether film-makers of the time intended the films to be that way, or it was just a trend of styles that went down well with audiences of the time. It is also debated as to whether Film Noir is a genre & whether it was meant to be a genre at all.
However, one thing that is certain is that films classified in the modern day understanding of the term 'Film Noir' do have many recurring conventions that combine to form the style of film that is seen as 'Film Noir':
- Black & white (although modern day Film Noirs have introduced small amounts of colour & have a different style of black & white rather than the typical grayscale style picture from the original Film Noir films.
- Low Lighting - used to intensify the dark atmosphere, moods of characters & the feeling of mystery)
- Unusual camera angles (extreme low/high shots, change of depth of field)
- Characters: - (typically aged in their late 20's & 30's)
- Heroes/Anti Heroes (very often detectives/journalists etc. - regularly portrayed as a 'lone wolf' who is 'morally ambiguous' or a 'low life'[2]
- Main villain (sinister, usually slightly older than the hero)
- Other villains (main villain's henchmen)
- Femme Fatale (Always beautiful, often dangerous and/or double-crossing. A vital character of many Film Noir movies as the lust for the femme fatale is regularly the motive for actions that occur throughout the film)
- The protagonist often has a past that propels him/causes his 'doom & gloom' personality
- Themes:
- Crime (The films would often revolve around a central crime, from which the rest of the story is revealed to the audience. Often this would be a murder or a death. Drugs, wealth, corruption were also introduced. showing the dark side of people's personalities.)
- Romance (Often focused toward the femme fatale. Often, it is the main villain & protagonist hero that both lust after her, causing a twist in the storyline & increased risk for the hero)
- Setting:
- Urban surroundings (almost always set in an urban environment. Eg. cities, train stations, city apartments, hotel rooms, alleyways.)
- American (Film Noir movies are often set in built up American cities such as new york city. This determines the nationality of the main characters. Often, due to the period in which the original Film Noirs were created, American characters with immigrant roots are also common)
- Clothing & props:
- Of the era (Props such as radios, cars etc. from the 40's & 50's are regularly used in both the original Film Noirs of that time as well as the Film Noirs made since then. This is also true with the clothing. The most frequently used clothing is the typical hat, suit & jacket or the flowing, sexy yet classy dress as shown in the following image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxPPIPg7vgJySjyDaBodgDGMRrLuhjw-UEHA54rRaOzjs7RlhBdhzda2D_0Hp83nkWpOZs-WZitoxUyO7Hr3dH9l6V-pByytbxYzzZrEpZrTrBMBzmID_f-ahgLBFCQdoU8TfHMourkQ/s640/film_noir.jpg. Characters often smoke.)
- [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir (Accessed 20/01/12)
- [2] http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html (Accessed 20/01/12)
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