Film Noir

Low-key noir style light is definitely something I notice in older films but did not necessarily know what it was. The dark shadows on a characters face convey mystery and that something unexpected will occur in the following scenes. The second to last scene of “North by Northwest” on Mount Rushmore exploited this form of lighting. The camera would pan to the men chasing Thornhill and Eve, have of their faces covered by shadows. While shadows logically made sense since they were hiding among statues, it also purposely created a suspenseful mood. Another aspect of nior directorial style is claustrophobic framing, and almost immediately “The Royal Tenenbaums” comes to mind. In many scenes during the film, the director utilizes doors, window, bed frames, and stairways to create an unstable world. The examples at the end of the passage really emphasized the effects of noir lighting. While I previously believed that an actor could solely convey a certain mood, in contrast the mood heavily relies on the lighting. In the screenshot from In a Lonely Place when one looks at the actor’ s eyes, they are covered by a shadow and thus cannot even convey a look of mystery; it is the shadow itself that dictates the mood.

Schrader's "Notes on Film Noir" and Place & Peterson's "Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir"

Schrader's piece was simple and straightforward, and helped elucidate for me what exactly film noir is. I've always had this conception of it as more of an aesthetic than anything else, and I'm really interested to learn that it's actually just as much a social commentary. Schrader did a really clear job of walking me through the history of film noir and explaining the three phases it went through. It's also really nice to have a distinct list of stylistic elements to look for as I watch films within the genre. Place and Peterson, on the other hand, emphasize the stylistic elements much more than they do the societal implications as characteristic of noir. Lighting, depth of field, composition, and framing all work together to form "a mise-en-scène designed to unsettle, jar, and disorient the viewer in correlation with the disorientation felt by the noir heroes" (68.) This is really what stuck out to me about this article, the specific application of mise-en-scène techniques to create a particular effect, and the way the authors walked through it felt very useful to me as a burgeoning film student. Overall, both of these readings really helped in building a solid foundational understanding of what film noir is, of taking it from an abstract concept to a clearly identifiable and concrete style.

Film Noir

I enjoyed reading through this concise outline of film noir, an often misunderstood and woefully underappreciated film style. Now I know that noir is not a genre. The author recalls dozens of film noir movies, a majority of which I had never heard of. He mentions Double Indemnity once, and it’s a huge benefit to be able to easily remember film and connect it to the points the author is making. Some elements are instantly recognizable as film noir, even to someone like me who doesn’t know a whole lot about the topic. The author also mentions these elements, all of which are featured in Double Indemnity: the affinity for nighttime scenes, the importance of lighting and especially shadows, scenes with rain, and romantic intrigue. I also found it interesting that film noir draws influence from many different sources including German Expressionism and post-war disillusionment. The author also explains the origins of the “hardboiled” character, an idea that has now become an expected trope or cliché of the style. Film noir’s obsession with vice, crime, corruption, and other unsavory acts traces its roots back to the pessimistic and dismal analysis of 1940s America and the characters inhabiting it.

Film Noir

Film Noir was not a concept I was completely familiar with before reading Paul Schrader’s notes on the subject. While I have heard the word thrown around many times, I could not define it or come up with a list of movies that exemplify Film Noir characteristics. I Found Schrader’s commentary on the origins of Film Noir to be particularly interesting, especially relating to war and post war disillusionment. It is fascinating to think about how the whole movie industry completely shifted during periods such as the Great Depression or wars. During the Great Depression, filmmakers had to focus on upbeat movies to take viewers to away from their troubles and into a new world. And, during the war, the industry focused on creating allied propaganda. It only makes sense that once there was finally a period of calmness, all the pent up frustration and artistic juices would come flowing out. It seems natural that the films would focus on realism after the war. Everyone was affected by the horrors of the war and the public wanted to see films that portrayed the honest truth and the bleakness of the world post war. Schrader says that people neglected Film Noir because its dark plots were considered an “aberration of the American character” (62).  It is interesting that Film Noir was born out of the public’s desire for truthfulness, yet for so long Film Noir remained underappreciated and understudied for this very reason.

I found Paul Schrader’s article on Film Noir to be extremely interesting, as I was familiar with the term Film Noir, but didn’t know what it meant really. Originally, I thought Film Noir just meant an old style of black and white, but after our readings I have learned that it is much more. The most notable aspects to me was the style’s focus on lighting and angles and the fact that Film Noir is extremely time related to and influenced by World War II. However, because Film Noir is not categorized as a genre and is instead a style it has become a timeless contribution to film analysis. Moreover, learning about Film Noir helped me understand the importance of lighting in a film and the extent to which the lighting can influence the feelings and themes within the film. 

Film Noir (although I may need a glass of Pinot Noir after this reading...!)

Much to my disbelief, film noir in itself is not classified as a genre; it is a style based primarily in subtle qualities of tone and mood. As Schrader succinctly puts it, "it is a film noir, as opposed to the possible variants of film gray or film off-white" (53). While I superficially generalized this style as "what my grandma watched on her honeymoon," film noir ultimately marks a time period in itself, albeit one that is dark and filled with crime.

Film noir, as Schrader insisted, is quite difficult to define in all of its 50 shades of black, but it sought to embody post-war realism and the societal mood of the time. After the war, movies could not be limited to the same studios they had been using in the past; film noir called for a darker, more corrupt sense of setting and plot. Many viewers struggled to identify with the characters-as the narratives were typically centered around despair- and neglected the category and deemed it "un-American."

Noir lighting is intentially designed to be "low-key,"which creates drak and dramatic shadows. Claustrophobic framing and off-angle compositions contributed to the themes, too.

Are these films dark? Absolutley. Are they dated? Probably. Do we enjoy them? Not always. But film noir is a monumental device in cinematic history that is just about impossible to ignore.

Place and Peterson- Film Noir

It’s interesting to think of a film style as being primarily defined by lighting, camera angles, and directorial style. This article highlighted (no pun intended) the significance of juxtaposing light and darkness within film noir. The author states, “Small areas of light seem on the verge of being completely overwhelmed by the darkness that now threatens them from all sides.” The noir lighting is extremely effective in terms of giving the audience clues within the film. In my experience re-watching film noirs, I’ve found that lighting is often used to foreshadow future events. For example, shadows may be cast on characters fated to die, or high-key lighting may be used on characters that have secret knowledge, etc. Female characters in noir tend to have more light on their faces to soften their features, while male characters’ lighting accents sharp facial features. The film noir style primarily calls for low-key lighting to create eerie effects. Camera lenses, angles, and uniquely balanced shots are significant in shaping the genre as well. A wide camera lens, for example, can give the impression that the viewer is a member of the picture being created. Bizarre angles and claustrophobic framing create certain moods and suspense. In terms of balancing the shots, directors use certain objects in a frame to create eeriness. These objects become significant because of their prominent display in the frame. A good example used by the author is Edmon O’Brien’s shadow in The Killers. In this photo, the shadow takes up even more of the frame than the actor in order to make a statement relevant to the plot.

Film Noir Styles, Motifs and Themes

The fact that film Noir is not a genre, but a style, is why (I believe) it has been able to have such longevity in the film analysis world. Because it was a style, it was able to last over a decade--screenwriters never ceased to churn out new and interesting story lines, which were augmented by the artistry of the filmmaking itself. Modern film buffs point to film noir as a higher echelon of filmmaking, which is most likely due to the fact that they were made with such care. Not only did the plot matter (and actually in some cases it didn't) but as Schrader notes, "Film Noir seemed to bring out the best in everyone: directors, cameramen, screenwriters, actors." A look at the motifs described in Place and Peterson's article, demonstrates that most important motifs were not in the plot but in the lighting and the camera work which seamlessly expressed underlying themes. For example, Film Noir was one of the only periods in which low-key lighting was favored. This lighting demoted the characters in an almost existential manner, that makes the audience consider that this character, though the main character of the film at hand, is just one person in the vast, dark world. Schrader so effortlessly explains the underlying reason for why this dark, negative period came about in film that it makes me wonder how today's films are going to be interpreted through the lens of our current events.

Film Noir

The first fact in this article to grab my attention is that film noir is not a genre, it’s a style. The style, while having no definitive parameters, does have certain key features. Film noir is primarily distinguishable by its dark tone. Noir films use distinct lighting, vertical lines, and complex chronological orders to represent a sense of lost time. Due to a lack of definitive qualifiers, however, Schraeder notes that almost every critic has their own definition of film noir. In terms of historical significance, the origin of this genre intrigued me. Outside factors such as the war hugely impacted the creation of the noir style. In addition, film noir reflects a distinct German influence and a “hard boiled” style of acting. The most interesting part of this article, in my opinion, involved the production of noir films. Schraeder writes that film noir served as a creative release for script writers, actors, and directors. I found this fascinating because even though the films require a certain number of qualifiers to be considered film noir, there is still room for incredible creativity. I have always been fascinated with film noir because of how engaging the films tend to be. I look forward to employing the knowledge I gained from this article and applying it to my analysis of these films.

Film Noir

When I first heard the term “Film Noir” I had no idea what it was or what it meant. After reading Paul Schrader’s “Notes on film Noir”, I realized that it was all the black and white old school mobster movies that I used to watch on TV Land as a kid. Film Noir came about after World War 2 and dominated the film industry in the 1940s and 1950s. It showed a different type of America, a story that was usually pretty dark and didn’t always have a happy ending. These were the first type of films that were taboo to show to viewers. Most of the films had the commonality of a struggling veteran returning from war to an America that they weren’t use to. They were not content living in a cold, dark world with corrupt politics where gambling, killing, and doing illegal things seemed to be the norm. Another commonality was the use of night scenes, vertical lines as opposed to horizontal, and lighting for the actors to make them look more mysterious and up to mischief. The lighting really was a new thing that “film noir” created, the lighting immediately showed the viewers that the film was going to be dark. Schrader’s points out that “Film Noir” is starting to rise again but in its own unique way. He points out part of its popularity rise is its use of vintage look that appeals to viewers and also points out that it didn’t matter if the movie was good or bad. It was all about the style and the viewer was entertained watching the journey of these characters throughout the movies. It’s interesting to note that Schrader’s piece was written in 1972, and he talked then about the revival of this type of film. I remember watching Taxi Driver, a film made in the 70s, and it had the dark presence and style similar to that of Film Noir. Over the 40 years that Schrader wrote this, it is still relevant. Movies today are seemingly darker and darker. Take the classic Superman film series as an example. Where Superman’s costumes in previous movies were bright blue and red, the new film has Superman in an almost all black outfit with a dark red cape. The same goes for a lot of other superhero movies that have been coming out. I bring up the superhero films because it’s easy to see the changes that filmmakers have been making primarily to please us, the viewers. Today it is commonplace to have dark films with depressing, or conflicting topics, and this has evolved from Film Noir over the years. “Film Noir” was very unique in the 40s and 50s and is still relevant today as its own unique style and as a stimulus for change in film themes and artistry.