Film Noir is a genre of films that are bleak, black and white and always have the theme of crime -creating tension and a mysterious and suspicious atmosphere. They originate from old Hollywood and generally were made during the 1940's and 1950's. Films nowadays can look like they have been inspired by Film Noirs but in an up-to-date way. Stereotypically, the main female role in the films is normally very beautiful and the male character is normally handsome and very popular with women. The main male character and female character are typically very attracted to each other creating a love story inside of a crime drama. The lighting in the films are very low-key and dark, this is comparable to the very low-key and dark characters. A lot of long shadows were created and rooms were filled with smoke to create a claustrophobic and pessimistic feel. The contrast of the black and white is very strong (very black and very white, so not as soft as other films around this time) creating a sharp, harsh and dramatic mood. Also many scenes in this film genre were set in dark alleys, steaming hot rooms and quiet eerie streets, all living up to the mysterious characteristics of a Film Noir. The visual aspect of a Film Noir is very important because it can tell us quite a lot about a character before we know who he or she is. For example, in the film 'The Killers' (1946), 2 men walk into a bar dressed in sharp suits, hats and are carrying guns. These men didn’t take their hats off before they entered the bar and are fearlessly holding guns. We assume that these men are in this bar to cause trouble, be rude and not to play by the rules. The person that tries to stop these men doing bad things is normally classed as the hero. The characters we get to know normally have troubles like paranoia, alcoholism, obsession, jealousy and love drama. These make the films more dramatic and make us feel more sorry or protective over the characters.
The ending of a Film Noir is normally a happy one for the hero and heroine of the film. The attraction between them throughout the film then results in them falling in love. Even though we always knew that the male and female characters will get together, we still want to find out more and see them falling in love with our own eyes. The baddies always get what they deserve, whether it is jail, not getting what they wanted or even getting killed themselves.
Below i have created a prezi that shows my evidence of my research into the Film Noir genre.
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