Essays on Film Noir

Angel Heart is a psychological thriller and crime mystery that was filmed in 1987, and based on a book titled Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. After first viewing the film Angel Heart, i didn't think it was so interesting at first. I'll admit i was a little confused, the plot of the film was a little puzzling to me, but eventually i caught on to what was really happening in the movie. I thought the movie was actually very cool to watch. The input of the voodoo scenery and all the extra subjugations added a controversial curiosity to the ...

Intensified Research of Ridley Scott

Intensified Research on Ridley Scott There have only been a handful of filmmakers who had been able to stand out from the crowd of great film personalities that ever flourished in Hollywood. These filmmakers may not be the ones who made the most popular film in the world or the ones who made the most critically acclaimed or commercially successful films yet. Instead, these people are the pioneers that proved how significant movies can become for popular culture by influencing almost a couple of decades of filmmaking and/or lifestyle choices. Works of this handful of filmmakers, hailed as classics ...

Part 1

The novel The Postman Always Rings Twice is an influential and notorious publication that revolutionized crime novels. The novel was influential due to the prominence of the themes of sex and violence making it provocative for the audience in the historical context. In order to comprehend the significance of the novel, it is crucial to explore the novel and the interpretations different perspectives.

There are several sources, which have analyzed the aforementioned novels. These sources give an in depth perspective of the work and its relevance to the literary world. These sources include reviews and interpretative pieces of ...

WINTER’S BONE (2010) -REALISM Realism, as we know, is all about being truthful, and a realist will strive to preserve the point that their film is devoid of manipulations, and mirror the actual world. They try to engage amateurs to play the characters, use existing buildings or outdoor locations, and develop a theme based on everyday life. Historical movies are normally shot in black-and-white to elicit authenticity. The snippets of the World Wars, sets an example for these realists to corroborate such techniques into their movies, so that they too, breathe realism. Having said this, it does not surprise ...

Film Noir means black cinema. Films that have a dark, cynical undertone or have a dark visual style are classified as films of the noir genre. The Man Who Wasn't There, a movie made by the Coen Brothers in 2001, and Tay Garnett's 1946 film The Postman Always Rings Twice are considered to be of the noir genre. Within the noir genre, The Postman Always Rings Twice is considered a classic film noir while The Man Who Wasn't There is considered a post-modern neo-noir film. There are similarities and differences in the thematic devices used by the classic noir film The Postman Always ...

Expressionism in Film

Robert Weine’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) encapsulates expressionism in film so much so that expressionist cinema was dubbed as Caligarisme. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ventures into the psyche of Francis, the protagonist. Francis’ flashbacks are featured throughout the film. Nevertheless, the film ends with a twist that reveals Francis’ flashbacks were a product of his imagination. Francis, is in fact, in a mental institution and the characters in his flashbacks were other patients in the asylum including his doctor, Dr. Caligari. Expressionism is prominent in the way that Francis’ flashbacks were featured in the film, which played a role ...

Film Studies

1.Yojimbo (1961) and Jidaigeki (Period Drama) Yojimbo is one of my absolute favorite Kurosawa films; I’m just so impressed by its incredible energy and pep. Toshiro Mifune seems to have a tremendous amount of fun as the ronin who marches into town and quickly ends up solving its problems. He is literally the archetype for Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name, and Yojimbo lends itself well to the Western format. In the space of a few minutes, we are told the stakes of the town, the different factions in it, and Sanjuro chooses to take down both sides ...

Introduction

Film noir is Hollywood crime dramas style of film making as from 1940s to 1950s. These crime dramas were characterized by a chiaroscuro style of low-key black and white (Conard 12). Neo-noir on the other hand is a word used to describe the past 1970 films. These films were reminiscent of the 1940s and 1950s noir films. Unlike the noir films, neo-noir films incorporate up to date themes, visual elements or media, content and style making the neo-noir more updated. The word noir is a French word meaning, “black film” it is documented to have first used by Nino Frank a French ...

Whether it is a genre, subgenre or visual style, or if they followed German expressionism and French poetic realism, noir films came about as an outcome of circumstances of political relevance (Hayward 129). Under the shadow of the fore coming World War II, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, many European film makers decided to run away from their homelands and reside mainly to Hollywood (Hayward 129). Naturally, noir films created during the 1940s and 1950s expressed the political crisis of the time and dominant societal ideologies, such as the nuclear family that became “an absolute political and cultural ...

Noir Films, Paperbacks and Pop Culture in The U. S. Film noire is a post World War Two cinematic genre known for the stylish cynical characters and an ominous visual style. Developing during the great depression, these films soaked up its pessimistic artistic tendencies and the romance of the unknown. The criticism regarding their characteristics goes far beyond the technical elements or quality of the screenplays, analyzing films from the ideological perspective. They don't tell of contentment, happiness or promise, but they have an unusually convoluted narrational style and a delightful existentialist philosophy that makes them a favorite American classics. ...

According to Dale and Ewing, (1988) the meaning of the movies or cinema are highlighted or determined by the style and content. Film noir clearly defines the major elements that support the argument of style and content of the cinema. The movie meaning lies between the style and the contents of that is played to the audience. The critics of film noir took the initiative of defining the general set up of a movie by identifying the specifics movies that support the argument. The first attempt focused on a preview of the “style-is- content literature” to which the movie has ...

Throughout history there have been many different forms of literature and many different texts that fit within those categories. For example, William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is considered to be very prominent within the play category. Homer's “Iliad” is another example of a prominent story as it is considered one of the greatest poems of all time. Film noir is also a category to describe the production of a movie that has a large following. The Maltese Falcon is a book that has been made into a movie within this style that has grown to have a large fan base among movie goers and readers ...

Introduction

Both the noir film and literature present the audience a scenario of worldview that is bleak pessimistic and doomed about the entire humanity. No person can win without loosing also the heroes are flawed as villains, it an upside down world. Crime offenders go scot-free, villains unpunished, justice denied and unresolved. In the midst of all these failures, the characters find themselves trapped in the same scenario in that they stated from scratch again so that they find the way out. The world offers a chance ton make a hero to protagonists, it offers a soft landing in making you a hero if you ...

The Killers is a classic and cutthroat artistic masterpiece with a tweak turn of events produced and directed in 1946 by Robert Siodmak and Mark Hellinger respectively (The Killers). This 103 minutes American film noir is regarded as one of the most successful motion pictures of all times ,and this is attributed to the preservation of the story behind one of the most organized Hollywood crime dramas empathizing crime scenes and sexual motivations. This Hollywood crime drama is particularly based on a 1927 short story by Ernest Hemingway, and the film plot revolves around William Conrad and Charles McGraw who fights their ...

Since the film industry was established, in the late 1880s, several movie styles have come up. Although each generation has its own distinct movie style, there are some characteristics that are almost universal - especially for successive movie genres. The best example which explains this is Chinatown (by Roman Polanski) and Murder, My Sweet (by Edward Dmytryk). These two films represent different generations, but some similarities are apparent between the films. This could be due to the fact that they represent genres that are not so many years apart. While “Chinatown” represents a type of films known as neo noir, “ ...

Film/novel; Winter's Bone/Winter's Bone Daniel Woodrell/Debra Granik

‘Hope” is the beauty and the very essence of life. A day follows a night, every sunset is followed by sunrise, light at the end of the tunnel – you can ramble on and on so forth. Art in any form, be it a painting, a literary work or a movie is supposed to celebrate the gift of life and most of the time it does. Every fairy tale has a happy ending, a lovely piece of melody fills us with joy of living and a beautiful painting reminds us about the existence of God. But novels and movies cannot always be preaching how good conquers ...

“What happens when wrong feels right and right feels wrong? When situations that appear to be black and white turn out to be gray?” (The Literary Analyst).The bygone philosophy of novelists writing what they desire stands firm. For me, a director holds the same status when it comes to films, in fact all artists irrespective of their desired form of art should have the liberty to think and make people do the same. This perfectly sounds true of Ben Affleck’s triumphant and remarkable debut in Gone Baby Gone (2007), which is an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s heavily ...

Summary

Double Indemnity is a 1944 film about an insurance salesman who becomes seduced into plotting the death of a client. As Walter Neff, an insurance agent, slips into his office while bleeding from a gunshot wound, he records his murder confession on the Dictaphone whereby he addresses his friend and boss Barton Keyes. The events are a culmination of what has happened since he met Phyllis Dietrichson, his client’s wife. During a follow-up of Mr. Dietrichson’s automobile insurance renewal, Walter instantly gets attracted to his client’s wife Phyllis who first appears only wrapped in a towel. Walter flirts with her and a change ...

The Coen Brothers have, one may say created an absolute masterpiece of a movie, which some may say is an amalgamation of the Wild West movies of old and a horror story. “The wide open plains, cowboys, Texas, guns and horses but has the syntax of a film noir even sometimes a horror movie. There is a murderer, one could even call him an unstoppable force, he kills without mercy and with a semi-novelty killing device. It deals with a man who finds a loot of money and must escape his pursuers who are a bunch of dirty business men, corrupted by greed and the lust for power ...

The genre of film noir is an expansion of the classic Hollywood genre of film known as the crime film. The crime film persists as one of the most popular and enduring of all types of Hollywood films - ever since the sound era, it has remained a particularly potent and popular genre (Leitch 1). As the years have progressed, the noir film has been replaced with the neo-noir - a modern film genre which takes the trappings of noir and places them outside of its typical comfort zone. In the case of 2010's Winter's Bone, the typical film noir detective ...

One look at the teaser poster of Casino Royale (2006) is enough to decipher that the film contains elements of film noir. A cold-eyed James Bond can be seen dressed in a tuxedo, a bowtie loosely draped around his neck, and a gun hanging from his hand with the shadow bathing him almost entirely. In the background, Vesper, Bond’s brunette love interest in the film, can be seen dressed in a black ballgown, just standing there and somberly gazing at Bond. Clearly the film’s poster has the dark and gritty feel of classic film noir. While categorizing film noir has always ...

Introduction

There is an element in film noir, in the way light and shadow is used in such extreme contrast that is almost religious or spiritual or philosophical." What does Bailey mean by this? In my opinion, john bailey statement meant that there is a contrast in the use of light and shadow to bring definite effect. This is the effect that is regarded as religious, spiritual or philosophical. The themes in the film are sad and repelling but despite this, there exist the good elements which are merged in the film to market it as more attractive. (Andrew89) Bailey ...

Cyberpunk combines futuristic ideas about human nature and technology to provide a new perspective on complex subjects ("Cyberpunk Review"). Film is a great avenue for this cyberpunk perspective! With the use of special effects, CGI, animation, and talented actors/directors a futuristic world can come alive to the viewer through cinema. By taking a look at films that fall within the cyberpunk genre, not only are we usually entertained but also intrigued with psychological dilemma. The films “Ghost in the Shell”, “Blade Runner”, and “Metropolis” are all great examples of how issues such as humanity, identity, and technological progression can be conveyed through science ...

In Ridley Scott’s 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner, the detailed world that provides the film with its setting is created and filmed in a unique and interesting way. The setting is Los Angeles in the far-flung future of 2019, where corporations rule the world and synthetic humans called replicants have been outlawed. The film follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he is ordered to hunt down several replicants who have escaped to Earth. The care taken in the creation of the world of Blade Runner, in combination with the abstract, breathtaking story, creates a visual and cultural futurist’ ...

The influence of media on criminals and killers has been oft-publicized; regardless of the positions people take on the extent to which film, television and other mass media influences our collective unconscious, it is clear that certain genres or portrayals of sex and violence in popular culture heavily influence our personalities, attitudes and preferences (Seltzer 2007). To that end, the exploration of these types of media is an essential part of exploring the psychology of the killer, serial or otherwise. For the past century, film has become an important part of our new cultural mythology; movie characters become our ...

The influence of media on criminals and killers has been oft-publicized; regardless of the positions people take on the extent to which film, television and other mass media influences our collective unconscious, it is clear that certain genres or portrayals of sex and violence in popular culture heavily influence our personalities, attitudes and preferences (Seltzer 2007). To that end, the exploration of these types of media is an essential part of exploring the psychology of the killer, serial or otherwise. For the past century, film has become an important part of our new cultural mythology; movie characters become our ...

The influence of media on criminals and killers has been oft-publicized; regardless of the positions people take on the extent to which film, television and other mass media influences our collective unconscious, it is clear that certain genres or portrayals of sex and violence in popular culture heavily influence our personalities, attitudes and preferences (Seltzer 2007). To that end, the exploration of these types of media is an essential part of exploring the psychology of the killer, serial or otherwise. For the past century, film has become an important part of our new cultural mythology; movie characters become our ...

The influence of media on criminals and killers has been oft-publicized; regardless of the positions people take on the extent to which film, television and other mass media influences our collective unconscious, it is clear that certain genres or portrayals of sex and violence in popular culture heavily influence our personalities, attitudes and preferences (Seltzer, 2007). To that end, the exploration of these types of media is an essential part of exploring the psychology of the killer, serial or otherwise. For the past century, film has become an important part of our new cultural mythology; movie characters become our ...

The neo-noir genre consists primarily of films produced and set in the modern day which still follow the basic narrative and/or cinematic conventions of 1940s and 1950s film noir (Naremore 298). These types of films also follow detective-like characters investigating crimes and infiltrating the seedy underbelly of various criminal underworlds, but they also carry an undercurrent of modern cultural attitudes and perspectives. In the case of 2005's noir comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the characters fit into fairly standard noir archetypes, while bringing a postmodern malaise and self-aware knowledge of noir tropes to the proceedings. This results in a terrifically funny ...

Literature Review

Part 1

In the film, the replicant models are only given four-year life spans because they are genetically engineered to be better than humans - stronger, more efficient, better reaction times. By the time they reach four years old, though, they have begun developing their own memories and emotional reactions. Because they are already adult sized and supposedly better than humans in important ways, there is a fear that the emotional immaturity they express may cause greater harm or that they will come to replace humans. This can be seen by comparing the two-year-old model Leon with the four-year-old model ...

Analysis: “Out of the Past”

Out of the Past is one of the classics of the American film noir genre, staring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas in one of the classic twisted plots that is a hallmark of this milieu. Joe Stephanos is searching for Jeff Bailey, who has enamored local girl Ann Miller, but who has also attracted the suspicions of the law – and of Ann’s father. Stephanos finds Bailey and takes him to see Whit Sterling, who has been hunting for him, over a matter of $40,000. Bailey and one of his former loves had swindled Sterling out of the ...

The 1942 film Casablanca is a tremendous tour-de-force of cinematic greatness; considered to be one of the finest films ever made, it endured a troubling production and a lack of enthusiasm from the studio at the time to create a masterpiece of film. Winning the Best Picture Oscar among many other accolades, its quality still holds up today as a fantastic example of film. In addition to its quality and enduring appeal, it carries a certain historical significance that provides it as an indicator for the political and cinematic attitudes of the time. Casablanca uses innovative cinematography, stellar acting, and brilliant mise-en-scene to showcase a very ...

I. Introduction

The noir tradition in film and literature offers a singular perspective on the power struggle between men and women in a patriarchal society. The femme fatale, an icon of the genre, is often an ambiguous figure, seeking control over hard-bitten male authority figures who often have little more to recommend them than their masculinity. Being male, they hold the upper hand by default but circumstances render them vulnerable, eroding the de facto power they hold as men and giving their female counterpart an opening. The femme fatale uses that vulnerability to gain leverage and play the angles. But being female, she ...

INTRODUCTION

In the 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott takes great care to fashion a detailed, unique dystopian world for the characters to inhabit. The setting is Los Angeles in the (at the time of production) dystopian future of 2019, where corporations rule the world and synthetic humans called replicants have been outlawed. The film follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he is tasked to hunt down several replicants who have escaped to Earth. The care taken in the creation of the world of Blade Runner, in combination with the dreamlike, meandering story, creates a visual and cultural ...