WHAT IS FILM NOIR? Actually‚ I am tempted to answer: "Film noir is a label which film critics use merely because it sounds good." The correct pronunciation is [film nwar] by the way. Originally‚ it is a French expression‚ meaning "black cinema". The term was borrowed from "roman noir"‚ gothic horror stories from 19th century England. The thing is that film noir cannot easily be defined. There are a few movies which most cineastes and critics label film noir‚ though. I would like to divide these
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Film noir "Film Noir" is a term that was applied to a style of American cinema that was popular in the 1930’s and 40’s. The term translates to "Black Film‚" which refers to both the characteristic lighting and the dark subject matter. Noir films often depict different aspects of the criminal underworld‚ and are most commonly set in the ’mean streets’ of the city. Many of the most recognizable early noir films were mysteries involving a hard-boiled detective like Sam Spade (played by Humphrey Bogart)
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photography‚ It is because of my admiration of classic Hollywood movies I have decided to recreate Film noir style images that will look like film stills‚ most of them staged‚ models performing and dressed as different characters as expected in Film noir style movies. I see Film noir as stylistic approach to photography‚ it is beautiful and inventive cinematography that is still highly popular within modern film industry. What draws my attention to it is black and white contrast photos with intense shadow
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Howell Film 2700 12 November 2012 Word Count: 1411 Film Noir to Neo-Noir: A Shift in Cultural Tides Film noir of the 1940s captivated audiences through its distinct form of storytelling. Strongly influenced by German Expressionism‚ these films have a definitive look and style that still resonates with modern audiences today. Like other classical Hollywood genres‚ film noir sought to bring to light tensions felt within society‚ namely those that affected men following World War II. Neo-noir films
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The term film noir can be defined as a style of film which was marked by a period of pessimism‚ self doubt and fatalism. The term was applied by French critics in the 1946 to a group of US films that were made during the war and that were released in quick succession after 1945. Ultimately there has been much debate surround the ambiguity of the term‚ but it is now understood that film noir is more of a narrative and stylistic tendency and ultimately “a critical category” rather than a genre in
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Film Noir Presentation 1 Film Noir meaning black film or film of the night‚ was prevalent in post world war 2 in America and found a popular audience in France and got his name from the French critics. The term is most often applied to crime dramas. A genre that won’t mess you about and misleads you into thinking there will be a happy ending. The locations reek of the night‚ shadows‚ taxi drivers and bartenders who have seen it all‚ and also everybody in film noir seems to be smoking all
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Film noir is generally associated with a ‘dark’ type of film in the era following WWII. Film’s that are categorized in this genre are marked by a style that generally contains certain distinguishing elements – dark rooms with Venetian blinds‚ dark alleys‚ rain-slicked streets‚ dark offices and low key lighting. The plot usually deals with the dark aspects of humanity-greed‚ murder‚ deceit and paranoia. There are also distinguishing characters‚ the main character a detective or an investigator usually
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Existentialism and Film Noir Existentialism and its worldview are believed to have derived from Nietzsche’s provocative and controversial statement “God is dead”. The underlying meaning to Nietzsche’s controversial statement is that empirical natural science has replaced metaphysical explanations of the world. As a result of this‚ according to Nietzsche we no longer have any sense of who and what we are as human beings. He concludes that no foundation exists anymore for the meaning and value of
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Media genres are a reflection of society. Film noir is a movie that conveys a mood of pessimism‚ fatalism‚ menace and cynical characters. French critics used it to describe American thriller or detective films in the 1940s. The term literally means ‘Black Film’ and features extremely negative themes. Fedora hats‚ trench coats and nighttime make up some of the distinguishing features of film noir. Film Noir of this era is associated with low-key black and white visual styles that have roots in
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Film Noir is most often seen as a man’s world- the hard boiled detective is the ultimate masculine hero‚ and the he fits right into the dirty world around him. However‚ with a shift in perspective‚ we see that just maybe the opposite gender are the ones who are the heroes of the genre. The women are certainly memorable. Through analyzation of the typical hero’s journey and comparison to the stories of the women in film noir‚ we see that they are the true heroes of the genre. This again begs the
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