IF you are a movie fan you most likely heard the term ''FILM NOIR" before. It was of course, a term coined by the french film critics (Nino Frank) to describe the movies being made immediately following World War 2. They noticed how ''Dark'' and downbeat these films were, hence the term which literally means ''Black Film'' or Dark Film, which is used to describe both the look and subject matter of these movies. With it's snappy dialogue, weird camera angles, and bleak look these films reflect the post war insecurities of american culture, the fear, paranoia, mistrust and loss of ''innocence'' ( was America ever TRULY Innocent? Was ANY great culture? Humm....another post ) all of this was a by product of the COLD WAR period. These stories rarely end happily.
Below From TIM DIRKS and Filmsite.org:
*Important Note: Strictly speaking, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style, point-of-view, or tone of a film. It is also helpful to realize that 'film noir' usually refers to a distinct historical period of film history - the decade of film-making after World War II, similar to the German Expressionism or the French New Wave periods. However, it was labeled as such only after the classic period - early noir film-makers didn't even use the film designation (as they would the labels "western" or "musical"), and were not conscious that their films would be labeled noirs.
Very often, a film noir story was developed around a cynical, hard-hearted, disillusioned male character [e.g., Robert Mitchum, Fred MacMurray, or Humphrey Bogart] who encountered a beautiful but promiscuous, amoral, double-dealing and seductive femme fatale [e.g., Mary Astor, Veronica Lake, Jane Greer, Barbara Stanwyck, or Lana Turner]. She would use her feminine wiles and come-hither sexuality to manipulate him into becoming the fall guy - often following a murder. After a betrayal or double-cross, she was frequently destroyed as well, often at the cost of the hero's life. As women during the war period were given new-found independence and better job-earning power in the homeland during the war, they would suffer -- on the screen -- in these films of the 40s.*
The DEFINITIVE movie in this style for me is ''Out of the Past'' with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. This is a truly GREAT film and if you have not seen it you are missing something special. Look for it on Turner Classic Movies, or better yet BUY it on Amazon, or Ebay for a song. Google the term ''Film Noir'' for many other great films in this style. Ya'll be glad ya DID pal, Now scram, before I takes ya for a ride! ( that's noir talk.)
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