Film Noir's Effect on Modern Cinema

1373 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay on film noir

Film Noir's Effect on Modern Cinema

High heels click on wet pavement, shady detectives stand in the shadows, shots ring out through the cold, dark city night-just another moment in film noir. These seedy, almost underground films are considered to be some of the best and most influential pictures in the history of Hollywood by anyone's standards, most certainly some of the darkest. Even though the glory days of film noir have long passed and given way to big budget productions, their influence and effect on the industry can be felt and seen throughout the movies of today.

The term film noir is a French term literally meaning, black cinema. During the second world war occupying Germans would control what pictures the people of France saw, and it was not until after the war that the French got a glimpse of what American cinema had been doing for nearly five years. The first thing they noticed was how dark the films were both literally and figuratively; hence the name 'black cinema' [1]. Critics were shocked to see plot lines focusing on betrayal, murder, and topics thought to be taboo at the time including drug use and rape. These films were indeed revolutionary in their time, pushing the limits of what was thought to be acceptable on a motion picture screen in America during the 1940?s and 1950?s.

There will be more detail on the plot lines of film noir, as well as examples. But for now, let us focus on the memorable characters introduced to the viewing public through the dark lens of a noir camera. The most prevalent was often the hard boiled detective or private eye, always a male he was considered to be an anti-hero because he was himself no angel and was often corrupt somehow (the most common example was fall...

... middle of paper ...

... and there. However, it is allowed to come out of the shadows as the classic movies have an enormous following of fans and students wanting to study them and the techniques used to bring them such unique life. No matter what though, these films will never go away so long as there is a wet side street with high heels clicking down it, with the echo of a far off gunshot somewhere in the cold dark night.

Works Cited

Miklitsch, Robert. ?A Panorama of American Film Noir, 1941-1953?.

[Film Quarterly, Berkeley Summer 2004].

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3&did

Dirks, Tim. ?The Greatest Films-Film Noir?.

http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html

No author. ?The Internet Movie Database- The Matlese Falcon/Cape

Fear/Double Indemnity

http://www.imdb.com

Dirks, Tim. ?Review- Blade Runner (1982).?

http://www.filmsite.org/blad.html

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Basil Davidson's 'Different But Equal'

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first segment of his film series, Different but Equal, Basil Davidson sets out to disprove the fictitious and degrading assumptions about African civilization made by various Western scholars and explorers. Whether it is the notion that Africans are “savage and crude in nature” or the presumed inability of Africans to advance technologically, these stereotypes are damaging to the image and history of Africa. Although European Renaissance art depicts the races of white and black in equal dignity, there was a drastic shift of European attitudes toward Africa that placed Africans in a much lower standing than people of any other culture. The continent of Africa quickly became ravished by the inhuman slave trade and any traditional civilization

    Read More

  • “Dark Film” and Sunset Blvd.

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.

    Read More

  • Chinatown as Film Noir

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    Films that are classified as being in the film noir genre all share some basic characteristics. There is generally a voice-over throughout the film in order to guide the audience's perceptions. These movies also involve a crime and a detective who is trying to figure out the truth in the situation. This detective usually encounters a femme fatale who seduces him. However, the most distinctive feature of the film noir genre is the abundance of darkness.

    Read More

  • The Use of Classical Hollywood Theory in Die Hard

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...

    Read More

  • Film Noir: The Big Sleep

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    Film Noir is a genre of distinct and unique characteristics. Mostly prominent in the 40s and 50s, the genre rarely skewed from the skeletal plot to which all Film Noir pictures follow. The most famous of these films is The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks. This film is the go to when it comes to all the genre’s clichés. This formula for film is so well known and deeply understood that it is often a target for satire. This is what the Coen brothers did with 1998’s The Big Lebowski. This film follows to the T what Film Noir stands for.

    Read More

  • Male Failure and Genre Affirmation in New Hollywood Westerns and Noir

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the classical Western and Noir films, narrative is driven by the action of a male protagonist towards a clearly defined, relatable goal. Any lack of motivation or action on the part of the protagonist problematizes the classical association between masculinity and action. Due to inherent genre expectations, this crisis of action is equivalent to a crisis of masculinity. Because these genres are structured around male action, the crises of action and masculinity impose a crisis of genre. In the absence of traditional narrative elements and character tropes, these films can only identify as members of their genres through saturation with otherwise empty genre symbols. The equivalency between the crises of genre and masculinity frames this symbol saturation as a sort of compensatory masculine posturing.

    Read More

  • The Princess Bride -x

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    The princess bride is an incredibly entertaining book. Although it was written mostly as a parody it contains many themes. The developments seen in the dynamic characters are astounding ones. The theme, or motif, which I'm going to follow through the story is that of Fezzik and his quest for self confidence and a good self image. From the time that the novel starts to the end, Fezzik achieves a good self image. He starts out with a very low self image and, by the end, he finds in himself talents that give him a better image of himself.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the film Double Indemnity

    2717 Words  | 6 Pages

    Janey Place and Lowell Peterson article “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir” establishes noir as a visual style and not a ...

    Read More

  • An Obituary For The Progressive Movement Analysis

    2307 Words  | 5 Pages

    The progressive movement of the early 20th century has proved to be an intricately confounded conundrum for American historians. Who participated in this movement? What did it accomplish, or fail to accomplish? Was it a movement at all? These are all significant questions that historians have been grappling with for the last 60 years, thus creating a historical dialogue where in their different interpretations interact with each other.

    Read More

  • Sexism In Noir Films

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    As a society we value and admire heroes who represent the idealized version of ourselves whom we stride every day to become. This is why they are sometimes scrutinized, unless they are an anti-hero, of course. The anti-hero is also admired by some even if he utilizes unlawful methods to achieve his goal, because he represents the good in a corrupt world. But this is not always the case as it is seen in some Noir stories. In Noir stories, the anti-hero is supposed to be a modern knight. Transgressing society's corrupt rules in order to reaffirm for its male audience the need to act justly do rightly; however, the anti-hero through this false nobility and sexism reinforces the social problems that plague contemporary society.

    Read More

  • The Big Sleep Movie and Novel

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Film noir (literally 'black film,' from French critics who noticed how dark and black the looks and themes were of these films) is a style of American films which evolved in the 1940s. " The Internet Movie Database LTD. Film noir typically contains melancholy, and not so moral themes. Another characteristic of film noir is just because the main character has the title hero, that does not mean that he will always be alive at the end of the book, or that the hero is always "good." Marlowe in The Big Sleep is a prime example of this concept.

    Read More

  • Reform and Society: The Progressive Era

    307 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Progressive Era was the period of reform and social activism from 1895 to 1920, it was an attempt to get rid of all the ills that had penetrated American society during the Gilded age. The Progressives were people who tried to make the life of the average American better, they believed in the ability of humans to create a better world. Industrial capitalism, burgeoning cities, the influx of immigrants, and the depression of the 1890s were some of the sources of the reform impulse of the era. The Progressives were primarily middle class citizens such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, businessmen, etc. Many of them were part of the Republican and Democratic parties. They were greatly influenced by the Europeans.The Progressives believed

    Read More

  • The Progressive Movement In The Early Twentieth Century

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Progressive Movement, lasting from 1901-1920, was a time of great change in America. Originating as a response to corporate and political corruption at the turn of the century, progressives emphasized improving American society by taming capitalism. However, with this political and economic reform came social injustice. While America made great strides towards new and more efficient business, banking, and politics, the early twentieth century showed conservative approaches to issues like racial, ethnic, and religious equality.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Progressive Era

    1985 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Progressive Era, dated from about 1900 to 1920, is known for the reformers who brought about change at a national level. For the middle class, reformers were extremely efficient and effective in making progress. For other demographics, like women and African Americans, change did not come so easily. Although the Progressive Era was successful in reforming certain parts of the federal government and American society, like big business and workers’ conditions, there was still a lot of progress to be made with women and other minorities by the time the era came to a close. To a lesser extent, the economy was transformed due to an unprecedented amount of government intervention in the proceedings of large corporations. The Progressive Era was

    Read More

  • Slavery In Africa

    1972 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history, Africa has been a vulnerable player in the eyes of the rest of the world. From the slave trade to various civil right injustices that have taken place over in every century, from what we have studied in this class, we have been able to see the lasting impact on the continent as a ramification of certain events occurring. Using various sources from the text, which serve as evidence, and help prove how the western world exercised its power in order to capitalize on the African continent and exploit the African people and land.

    Read More

More about Film Noir's Effect on Modern Cinema

Open Document