The film noir encompasses a series of plots: the central character can be a private detective (The Big Sleep), a plainclothes policeman (The Big Heat), an aging boxer (The Set-Up), an unfortunate crook (Night and the City), a law-abiding citizen lured into a criminal life (Gun Crazy) or simply a victim of circumstances (D.O.A.). Although film noir was originally associated with American productions, the term has been used to describe films from around the world. Many films released from the 1960s onwards share attributes with the film noirs of the classical period and often deal with their self-referential conventions. Some call these modern works neo-black. Film noir shots have inspired parody since the mid-1940s. [4] One of the most important themes of film noir is its European influence, which deals with post-war challenges, extremely realistic concerns and crime. They contained propaganda topics that were very controversial, mainly because they were first published when there were few people brave enough to speak out. Think of film noir as an exciting way to talk about social issues. The gangster films of the 1930s, such as Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931) and Scarface (1932), paved the way for film noir and everything else with a morally bankrupt protagonist (The Sopranos, Peaky Blinders, The Godfather et al. Mob Flicks). Film noir is also known for its use of low-angle, wide-angle and oblique or Dutch angle shots.
Other means of disorientation that are relatively common in film noir include shots of people reflected in one or more mirrors, shots through curved or frosted glass or other distorting objects (such as during the strangulation scene in Strangers on a Train), and special effects sequences of a sometimes bizarre nature. Night shooting, contrary to the Hollywood norm of day and night, was often used. [187] Beginning in the mid-1940s, black filming became more and more frequent. [188] Most film noirs are set in New York or Los Angeles. The city has a bright façade and a dark lower abdomen. Several film noirs shot in Los Angeles have used on-site filming instead of studio films. What distinguishes cynicism in cinema? Is it a dialogue dripping with sarcasm and discipline? Or is it simply the high-contrast lighting in every scene. Note the dark feel of the three classic film noirs. The question of what constitutes film noir and what category it is is a constant debate.
[5] “We would oversimplify things if we were to describe film noir as dreamlike, strange, erotic, ambivalent and cruel..” – this set of attributes represents the first of many attempts to define film noir undertaken by French critics Raymond Borde and Étienne Chaumeton in their 1955 book Panorama of American Film noir 1941-1953. The original and revolutionary treatment of the subject extended. [6] They point out that not all film noir embody all five attributes equally – one might be more dreamlike; another, particularly brutal. [7] The authors` reservations and repeated efforts for an alternative definition were repeated in subsequent research: over the next five decades, there were countless other attempts at definition, but in the words of film historian Mark Bould, film noir remains an “elusive phenomenon.” still out of reach.” [8] Other critics argue that film noir is just a random term for a variety of black and white dramas from the late 1940s and early `50s. Film specialist Chris Fujiwara claims that the directors of these films “did not consider them to be `film noir`; They thought they would make crime movies, thrillers, detective novels, and romantic melodramas. The non-existence of `black` as a production category at the supposed peak of black obviously problematizes the history of the genre. However, it can only be questioned in the minds of most moviegoers, film noir signifies specific visual images and an aura of post-war cynicism. In fact, several common characteristics connect most films defined as “black”. The neon films, emphasizing the use of artificial and neon light in film noir of the 40s and 50s, accentuate this aesthetic with electrifying colors and manipulated light to highlight their sociocultural critique and references to contemporary and pop culture. Neon Noir films present themes of urban decadence, consumerist decadence and capitalism, existentialism, sexuality, and issues of race and violence in contemporary culture, not only in America, but in the globalized world as a whole. Want to go further? Maybe darker? Our next article comes a bit to the southeast of our French friend Black and explains this Italian lighting technique and how it was used to create the black style.
Learn more about Chiaroscuro below. Neon-blacks try to bring back contemporary black, somewhat watered down under the aegis of neo-black, to the study of culture: class, race, gender, patriarchy and capitalism. Neon blacks present an existential exploration of society in a hyper-technological and globalized world. Black neon lights, which portray society as decadent and consumerist and identity as confused and fearful, reposition contemporary black in the context of urban decadence, often depicting scenes in underground city centers: brothels, nightclubs, casinos, strip bars, pawnshops, laundromats. It is controversial whether film noir can be classified as a genre or subgenre or whether the term refers only to stylistic elements common to different genres. Film noir has no thematic coherence: the term is most commonly used for detective novels, but some westerns and comedies have been cited by some critics as examples of film noir. Even sentimental comedy-dramas such as Frank Capra`s It`s a Wonderful Life (1946) have been called “noir-ish” by critics, who find a dark tone appropriate for film noir in their suicidal heroes and dark depictions of small-town life. These films are sometimes called “semi-noir” or grey film (“grey film”) to indicate their hybrid status. The truth is that many of the iconic film noir that Hollywood produced in the `40s were based on novels written in the `30s. It can therefore be argued that World War II had nothing to do with the source material, but that it could explain the popularity of films made later.
The themes and styles of film noir were often pessimistic. The films were inspired by the plots of cheap pulp fiction thrillers. The following features shaped the dark atmosphere of film noirs: In a different direction, films began to appear that confidently recognized the conventions of classic film noir as historical archetypes that needed to be revived, rejected, or reinvented. These efforts are typical of what has become known as neo-noir. [104] Although several late black classics, particularly Kiss Me Deadly, were deeply self-known and post-traditional, none swung so obviously that it was noticed by American critics at the time. [105] The first major film to openly address this angle was À bout de souffle (1960) by French director Jean-Luc Godard, which literally pays homage to Bogart and his crime films while exchanging a bold new style for a new day. [106] In the United States, Arthur Penn (1965`s Mickey One, inspired by Truffaut`s Tirez sur le pianiste and other French New Wave films), John Boorman (1967`s Point Blank, also caught up, albeit in the deeper waters of the New Wave) and Alan J.
