Victor Hsiao Stephen Huang Kevin Wang What is Film Noir Film Noir Black Film or Cinema Coined by French film critics Nino Frank 1946 started this term Observed the dark black and downbeat look of American crime and detective films released in France in 1940s ID: 340800
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Slide1
Film Noir
Victor Hsiao, Stephen Huang, Kevin WangSlide2
What is Film Noir?
Film Noir – Black Film or Cinema
Coined by French film critics
Nino Frank (1946) started this term
Observed the ‘dark’, black, and downbeat look of American crime and detective films released in France in 1940’s
Maltese Falcon (1941); Murder, My Sweet (1944); Double Indemnity (1944); The Woman in the Window (1944); Laura (1944)Slide3
HistoryEmerged from German Expressionism and Italian Neo-Realism
German Expressionism (Post WWI)
Dark mood and deeper meaning; symbolism
Italian Neo-Realism
Documenting stories of poor and working class
American Film Noir combines both
Difficult moral/economic condition
Shadowing for dark mood
Started in 1940’s
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)Slide4
History cont.Hays Code
Heavily affected due to the harsh look it took on American life
Neo-Noir begins in 1950’s
Hays Code evaporates
Tribute to Noir
Psycho
(1960) – first neo-noir
Quinton Tarantino
Reservoir Dogs
(1992)Slide5
History cont.Neo noir is everywhere; past or present
Emulation of
Citizen Kane
(1941)
Raging Bull (1980)
L.A. Noire (PS3)Slide6
CharactersHero/Anti-hero
Corrupt characters
Villains
Hard-boiled detectives
Cops
Gangsters
Government agents
Sociopaths/killers
Crooks
War veteran
Politicians
Petty criminals
Average Joes
Morally ambiguousSlide7
Characters (cont.)
Women
Dutiful, reliable, trustworthy, loving
Femme Fatale
Mysterious, double-crossing, unloving, tough, unreliable, manipulative, desperate
Phyllis
Dietrichson
(Double Indemnity)Slide8
Characteristics
Lighting
Deep focus
Interior settings
Low-key or single source lighting
Venetian blinds
Dark, claustrophobic, gloomy
Distorts time
Non-chronological order
Usually has a gun
Femme Fatale
Black and WhiteSlide9
Characteristics cont.Cigarettes/cigars
Costumes
Men
Fedoras, suits and ties
Women
Floppy hats, low neckline, makeupSlide10
MoodDark
Suspenseful
Melancholy
Alienation
Bleakness
Pessimism
Ambiguity
Moral Corruption
Evil
Guilt
Desperation
Paranoia
Disillusionment
DisenchantmentSlide11
Types of Film Noir
Classic Noir
Neo/Post Noir
Romance Film Noir
Documentary Film Noir
Cyber Film Noir
Prison Film Noir
Menaced – Woman Noir
Hitchcock’s Menaced Woman
Imperiled Children Noir
Corruption/Crime Noir
Cross-over Noir
Variation
Pseudo
Thrillers
Animations
Horror
Westerns
Gangster
Sci-fi
Super hero films
Batman; Batman Begins
Musical
DocumentariesSlide12
Romance NoirDeadly
femme fatatles
Self-destruction
Examples
You Only Live Once (1937)
The Letter (1940)
Double Indemnity (1944)
The Woman in the WindowSlide13
Test QuestionsFilm Noir – Dark Film
American pulp fiction – source of most noirs
Maltese Falcon
– first noir
Characteristic of Film Noir – low-key lighting
LA Confidential
and
Fatal Attraction
are pseudo-noirsSlide14
Test Questions cont.
Film Noir breaks narrative linearity
Hays Code censored nudity, homosexuality, and profanity
Reflects the cynicism of innocence lost at war
Sharp, witty dialogue coincides with comedies
Women posed a threat to traditional valuesSlide15
Test Questions cont.Femme Fatale
tries to destroy the male hero
Film Noir borrows from German Expressionism
Noirs emulate visual style of
Citizen Kane
Destabilization of sexual relationships is typical of film noirsSlide16
Film History 1920’s Slide17
1920’s Silent film’s were predominant throughout the decade
Bigger, costly, more polished
Assembly line process
Organized into genres
Easily recognizable characteristics
Various genres appearing throughout this timeSlide18
1920’s cont.
Big Five
Warner Bros. Pictures (1923)
Paramount Studios (1927)
RKO (Radio – Keith - Orpheum) Pictures
Metro –
Golwyn
– Mayer (MGM) (1928)
Fox (1912) became 20
th
Century Fox (1935)Little Three
Universal Pictures
United Artists
Columbia PicturesSlide19
1920’s cont.
Expressionism flourishes after WWI
Silent comedy flourished
Charlie Chaplin
Don Juan
(1926)
First film with synchronized soundtracks
No dialogue
The Jazz Singer
(1927) – Warner Bros.
Silent film studios went out of business1930, silent films disappeared Slide20
1920’s cont.Major Musicals
The Broadway Musical
First musical/sound film to win Best Picture
On With the Show
First all color sound musical
The Gold Diggers of Broadway
The Gold Diggers
(1923) remakeSlide21
1920’s cont.
Academy Awards
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1927)
Wings
(1927) – Best Picture
Sunrise
(1927) – Best Unique and Artistic Picture
Only silent films to win Academy Awards
Jazz Singer
(1927) – special awardSlide22
1920’s cont.
Technicolor
Started out with a 2 color process
Green and Red
Evolved to a 3 color process in 1932
Technology
Cameras on dollies
Microphones on booms
Vitaphone Company (1925)
Vitaphone – obsolete by 1931
Meant to record music and sound effects