Film Noir

→ in
Tools    
Page 2 of 4
123Last »




neiba's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
10-09-15
Sin City can be called as a neo-noir. But there are a lot of people who disagree on what's a noir or not, like CR said.

As for me, my absolute favourite one is Sunset Bldv, one of my Top 20 movies of all time.



neiba's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
10-09-15
Godard, as well as Truffaut and a lot of directors from the Nouvelle Vague, were inspired by film-noir to create their films! They have elements of noir all over it, though I wouldn't consider them so! But as I said, there's not a clear rule!



Citizen Rules's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Noir Time
10-09-15
Gee I really don't know? Maybe somebody else can answer that. It would depend on the movie title.

I wrote this for the Film Noir Hof
This might sound like I copied and pasted it but I wrote this myself...

Film Noir came out of the WWII conflict. After the aftermath of WWII, a more pensive, fatalistic mood arose in America. Before WWII light heartened films, screwball comedies and escapist movies were popular. After the war a darker vision of movies became prevalent. At the time they were referred to as melodramas. It was someone in France who noticed that the mood of American films had become very black or Noir.

In a Noir the protagonist is usually not the hero, but was usually someone who through an event or outside influences was doomed, often by their own behavior. That was coupled with a style of cinematography that came out of the German expressions movement of the early 1930s, which was characterized by asymmetrical composition and low key lighting making use of dark space and shadows.

Not all Noirs are filmed in a Noir style but do have a Noir style story.
Film Noir HoF...Hall of Fame

If you look at the first page you will see the Film Noirs that were nominated.



Captain Steel's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
"Lois, I never lie."
10-10-15
So, would Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid be the only Noir comedy?

I really liked that movie when I was young (haven't seen it in a while). I thought it was clever. I don't think there were any other movies made up till that point that had what we might today call "mash ups" as it's major device throughout an entire film.



Beatle's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
BANNED
10-10-15
Originally Posted by neiba
Sin City can be called as a neo-noir. But there are a lot of people who disagree on what's a noir or not, like CR said.

As for me, my absolute favourite one is Sunset Bldv, one of my Top 20 movies of all time.
I heard of Sunset Boulevard. It's on my watch list. It's about the dark side of Hollywood, right? Anyway, thanks, Neiba!

Originally Posted by neiba
Godard, as well as Truffaut and a lot of directors from the Nouvelle Vague, were inspired by film-noir to create their films! They have elements of noir all over it, though I wouldn't consider them so! But as I said, there's not a clear rule!
Course I heard of The Third Man and saw the famous scene when Orson finally appears. And I love the theme, in fact can't resist:



I saw Au Bout de Souffle and Pierrot le Fou, where Belmondo enters the underworld, which ultimately results in self-destruction. Literally. As I recall, he wanted to blow himself up, changed his mind in the last second, but it was already too late. So, it fits what CR said.

Thanks CR and Neiba!



Rhett Butler's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Cinéaste
10-10-15
Personally, I only consider the Film Noir of the forties to be "authentic," if you will. Everything that came after in that vein, including certain films by Alfred Hitchcock, had a "pattern" to follow - a recognized style and format. But the concerns of the fifties were very different from those prior. Fear of communism at that time was so great that the government was even threatening and blacklisting entertainers. What's more, there was a generational thing starting to happen, where perceptions were changing of what an anti-hero really meant, or was. From then on, the elements that made Film Noir of the forties so identifiable, after the fact, were cherry-picked by future films, without any regard for any aesthetic beyond the personal tastes of the film maker. If there's a lot of dark shadows and misty, cobblestone streets in a world where people are barely getting by then it's instantly labeled as Film Noir. Maybe they're not wrong about that? I don't know.

I know that in the forties, there was no real attempt to create a definitive style in this genre, it was simply the reality of film making at the time. Color film was reserved for the U.S. military and was very expensive. Cartoons were the only movies using it, at the time, because it was - relatively - worth it. So Hollywood got really good at shooting in black & white, using light and shadow as characters in and of themselves. The fifties kept making black & white movies, because it was "familiar" to and accepted by audiences. In presenting dark stories about a world where there really are no heroes, naturally, the contrast was fairly stark in hard-boiled pulp fiction thrillers. Sin City picks and chooses from out of that style, just like Blade Runner, Dark City and Tim Burton's Batman did -- in much the same way the Society for Creative Anachronism selectively uses (late) Medieval imagery for the carnival-like atmosphere of its Renaissance Fair.



rambond's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Registered User
10-11-15
Film noir is primarely: the maltese falcon



Rhett Butler's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Cinéaste
10-12-15
The Maltese Falcon lives up to its hype. I've even tried finding a Maltese Falcon replica online and there's one that looks exactly like the bird, except that it's an overpriced, cheap piece of plaster, according to the reviews for it. I should buy it anyway, make a mold of it and recast it in solid resin, perhaps. But the price will have to come down, first. Humphrey Bogart's been in several Film Noir features, though - and all of them are great! He really cared about the job of being an actor and he was well-connected with great movie-making talent like John Huston, for example. They didn't just turn out solid movies, they cared about the product and it shows. I'm a huge fan of Dark Passage, by the way. This might've been one of the first pictures that used plastic surgery as part of the story, I'm not really sure. But it's also a kind of strange part for Bogie, maybe it should've gone to a character actor, but he made it worth watching, all the same.



Beatle's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
BANNED
10-12-15
Originally Posted by Rhett Butler
The Maltese Falcon lives up to its hype. I've even tried finding a Maltese Falcon replica online and there's one that looks exactly like the bird, except that it's an overpriced, cheap piece of plaster, according to the reviews for it. I should buy it anyway, make a mold of it and recast it in solid resin, perhaps. But the price will have to come down, first. Humphrey Bogart's been in several Film Noir features, though - and all of them are great! He really cared about the job of being an actor and he was well-connected with great movie-making talent like John Huston, for example. They didn't just turn out solid movies, they cared about the product and it shows. I'm a huge fan of Dark Passage, by the way. This might've been one of the first pictures that used plastic surgery as part of the story, I'm not really sure. But it's also a kind of strange part for Bogie, maybe it should've gone to a character actor, but he made it worth watching, all the same.
Sorry Rhett, I forgot to welcome you to the forums! Couldn't agree more, Huston-Bogart is possibly the most outstanding collaboration in all of cinema history.



Rhett Butler's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Cinéaste
10-12-15
Thanks for the welcome, Beatle! Glad to meet you, so to speak. As you're no doubt aware, John Lennon's birthday this past weekend inspired Yoko Ono to try for the largest Human Peace Sign in History entry in The World Book of Records, but couldn't quite get the numbers. Still, it's awesome that Lennon's reputation as a promoter of peace is still encouraging people to think about it and maybe take it to heart. One man can make a difference, so goes your proof. And in fiction, onscreen, Humphrey Bogart's later career carried that very theme across, as well. You see it in Rick, from Casablanca, you see it in Key Largo and all down the line, with a few notable exceptions. Like in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. But even then, he had a lot of potential, he just became corrupted and greedy, but it was handled very well under Huston's direction. We kind of feel sorry for Bogie, in the end, really. As you say, a great collaboration!



Citizen Rules's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Noir Time
10-12-15
@ Captain, nope I've never seen Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid...one of these days.

@Rhett, Dark Passage is a fine noir. In a Lonely Place would be my favorite Bogie Noir.



Captain Steel's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
"Lois, I never lie."
10-12-15
Originally Posted by Citizen Rules
@ Captain, nope I've never seen Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid...one of these days.

@Rhett, Dark Passage is a fine noir. In a Lonely Place would be my favorite Bogie Noir.

Well, if you're a Noir fan you must see Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.
It's incredibly funny as Steve Martin has a who's who of straight men (and ladies) to play off of by intercutting clips from many old Noir movies with famous stars to make his own parody of detective fiction.
I believe it may be the only movie of it's kind (other movies may have injected a clip from a film for comedic purposes, but I don't know of any others that built an entire movie, story and plot around that doing that).



Beatle's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
BANNED
10-12-15
Originally Posted by Rhett Butler
Thanks for the welcome, Beatle! Glad to meet you, so to speak. As you're no doubt aware, John Lennon's birthday this past weekend inspired Yoko Ono to try for the largest Human Peace Sign in History entry in The World Book of Records, but couldn't quite get the numbers. Still, it's awesome that Lennon's reputation as a promoter of peace is still encouraging people to think about it and maybe take it to heart. One man can make a difference, so goes your proof. And in fiction, onscreen, Humphrey Bogart's later career carried that very theme across, as well. You see it in Rick, from Casablanca, you see it in Key Largo and all down the line, with a few notable exceptions. Like in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. But even then, he had a lot of potential, he just became corrupted and greedy, but it was handled very well under Huston's direction. We kind of feel sorry for Bogie, in the end, really. As you say, a great collaboration!
Welcome, Rhett! (I mean as in welcoming you on thanking me). Glad to virtually meet you to. I guess you should doubt more, because I wasn't aware of it, so thanks on the info. (Of course I knew it's his birthday, even if I forget everything else, I'll still know that). I couldn't agree more. He had, imho, the greatest impact on the world in the 20th century, at least in the positive sense. Sorry to hear that about Bogie, I didn't know that. Do you mean only on screen or in real life as well? That corrupted and greedy? I think they were great friends in real life too.



Rhett Butler's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Msg
Cinéaste
10-12-15
Yes, I apologize, I meant Humphrey Bogart's character in The Treasure of ... ended up becoming corrupt & greedy. In Life, Bogart was a Liberal with a capital "L" and so was his wife Lauren (Betty) Bacall. Together, with other celebs, they fought against The House Un-American Committee, which was harassing Hollywood for being influenced by Communism. I believe Bogie's personal involvement began when he was harassed about his making a contribution to striking longshoremen, as stupid as that sounds. The papers were giving him a hard time and he finally wrote an article himself on how he and Betty were "Not Commies." He also had been in the Navy and served proudly.

My thanks to The Duchess, by the way, for mentioning Laura, which I wasn't aware of. I'm very fond of Gene Tierney, so it will not be a displeasing chore finding and viewing this gem!

I just (re)watched The Stranger and despite Orson Welles having a Kelsey Grammer quality about him, which I quite enjoy, he was pretty much the best thing about this feature. Loretta Young's doing everything asked of her as an actress, but she's got no chemistry with Orson, to speak of and it hurts the picture. Edward G. Robinson had great range as an actor, but the character he's playing is just not all that interesting or likeable. But the cinematography in The Stranger gets an "A" for effort from me. For some odd reason, interior shots are kind of almost hazy, I guess you'd call it, to give Loretta a soft glow to her beauty, if you like. It's got to go, though - it's unnecessary. There are too many long takes, which are there just to be there. No Rhyme or Reason to it, and for its short running time, this movie can seem much longer, as a result. But the way the town, itself is shot, outdoors ... it's surprisingly crisp and the grey tones are true. The clouds, even, have nice detail to them, which isn't very usual in these movies. And there's a great attempt at depth-perception, when the camera's shooting out a window towards the church, a hundred yards away, and we see a couple people go in. It doesn't quite succeed, it still seems kind of flat, but it's an interesting shot for that and other reasons. All in all, I'm glad I saw it, again, but it's not as good as I remembered it.



Citizen Rules's Avatar
Profile
Posts
Message
Noir Time
10-12-15
If you like Gene Tierney and Film Noir, give Leave Her to Heaven (1945) a look. I think this is her best role and she's looking fine in glorious 3 strip technicolor.

Loretta Young, is a beauty no doubt about that but few would have her at tops of a greatest actress list. Her best role is in The Bishop's Wife (1947).

Page 2 of 4
123Last »