Film Noir [Research]

The phrase 'Film Noir' is defined as a style of cinematographic film that encapsulates a mood of pessimism, fatalism and menace. Film noir usually relates to old thrillers or detective films and utilise theatric lighting techniques in order to construct an enigmatic atmosphere. It has a low key black and white visual

History of Film Noir

Noir films circulated throughout America during the second world war and the 50s, heavily inspired by literature and added a realism to the detective genre. It had more grit as well as the role of the hero being far more anti-hero than they were in preceding movies, this encapsulated the more violent and cynical atmospheres of post war America. These movies incorporated dramatic low key lighting and fatalistic theatrics to portray a dark and enigmatic perspective on the world. Some key elements of film noir are the obvious black and white undertones, the use of smoking/smoke as a motif and urban settings which amplifies the grit and dark atmospheres the directors wanted from the amplification of shadows. The lighting implies that there's more to uncover within a film noir which again supports the mysterious and enigmatic feel to the movies that was desired in post ww2 America.

Film Noir in modern times; Neo Noir

Neo noir is a contemporary and modern take on the film noir genre of crime movies. The name translates to 'new film noir'.  It usually has the same sinister and cynical perspectives and also has a heavy reliance on shadow or theatrical low lit cinematography. The focus is on a modernised take of the nihilistic attributes to the protagonists and their moral decisions bleeding out of the lines of good/bad. Some believe the ambiguity and break of film noir into mainstream movies and television has lead to many crime films being categorised under this title despite the rather niche cinematography style most prevalent in cult classics such as Bonnie and Clyde or newer films such as Drive or Inception.  It uses the same shadowed lighting concepts and cinematographic style but in a more contemporary context as seen above. 

Example of the noir genre

This clip below is from 'Brick' [2006]  Dir. Rian Johnson.

This clip fits the noir genre - specifically neo noir sue to the high tension yet enigmatic circumstance of the chase scene. It begins with an emergence of an explicit antagonist from the shadows, an obvious allude to the classic noir concepts as well as the cinematography having a focus on the mystery and dark tones of the film - it begins with violence and ends in a fatality which isn't uncommon of the noir genre. The reason it is much more neo-noir is because of the unconventional settings and diversity of lighting techniques, despite lowkey lighting, shadows and emphasis on specific aspects of mise-en-scene the majority of this clip is in 'natural' lighting or high key lighting, which many don't associate with classic noir aspects.