FILM NOIR AND NEO NOIR Prof Myrna Monllor

FILM NOIR AND NEO NOIR Prof. Myrna Monllor Jiménez Copyright © 2016 All images taken from Google strictly for educational purposes Page 1

“Happiness is fleeting in noir films; worse yet, it is a cruel illusion, a twist of fate which promises power, sex, and money but Which delivers suffering” D’Alessandro, Kathryn. “An Overview of Film Noir”. Retrieved March 7, 2005 <http: //www. audiencemag. com/Articles/Noir/Film. Noir. html> Page 2

DEFINITIONS Film Noir is a term coined by French critics to categorize American film from the 1940’s to the 1960’s which presented a gloomy, pessimistic world view Neo Noir refers to films from the 1970’s to the present which renew the film Page 3

Film Noir • was influenced by German expressionism and by documentary realism • in many films noirs "the city" has become a character Page 4

Noir is more than a genre or a style What makes a film "noir" is its subject matter — the dark side of human relationships, the decadence and corruption permeating the world the characters inhabit — and the attitude of its director. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 b. Nf. Stz. YCi 0 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=XAwc. Mh. S 4 o. VM&feature=related Page 5

What is Film Noir? Page 6

Not all film noirs are crime/detective films. Page 7

Noir • primarily psychological • favors atmosphere over action • concerned with what makes human beings act the way they do Page 8

Common plot devices • • murder investigations heists con games wrongly accused men or women • double-crossing • flashbacks/ flashforwards Page 9

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Plot Devices • • First person narrator/s Voice-overs Confessional narration Visual Motifs: – Rain soaked streets – Harsh neon lights – Seedy streets – Retro look Page 11

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=a. AZB 2_yf. HAs&feature=related World War II caused great change in American society Though victorious, American soldiers returned to an aftermath of social frustration caused by • • • The atrocities of war Industrial disputes Race riots Fear of the Atomic bomb Changing gender roles Page 12

The Elements of Film Noir Page 13

VISUAL STYLE • Shadows • Cluttered, claustrophobic, dark interiors • Restricted camera frames • Many night scenes https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=jy. EV 0 OHlga. E&feature=related Page 14

The Beginnings The Maltese Falcon 1941 Double Indemnity 1944 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=7 Xuw-XKP 1 s. I http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Gz-5 w. Kegy. Ow Page 15

Hitchcock and Film Noir • Visual Storyteller • Let the audience see things the characters could not • The serial killer • Soundtrack to build suspense • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Xs 111 u. H 9 ss Page 16

Hitchcock and Film Noir Page 17

Hitchcock’s Macguffin • An object that drives the plot of a story • It can be ambiguous, undefined, or left open to interpretation From, Kiss Me Deadly, 1958 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Iksupw. Uvhq 4&feature=related Page 18

CHARACTERISTICS • Fatalistic http: //www. youtube. com/watch v=Hdu. XGYkoc_w&feature=related Page 19

Opening Scene Page 20

The stories confront the traditional values of the establishment 2002 Page 21

• Dark plotlines/ Screen Violence 2012 Page 22

• Set in a corrupted contemporary world which has lost its sense of morality • Usually set in the city at night or in the most dangerous parts of the cities Drive 2011 Page 23

• The protagonist is usually male, a loner disenchanted with the world, troubled, cynical and pessimistic • Many characters are anti-heroes, deceptive, amoral and weak 2008 Page 24

The protagonists of the stories may be • cool private eyes • newspaper reporters • victims of deception • good men/women gone wrong • hard-core criminals • psychologically affected 2014 Page 25

• Male protagonists are frequently obsessed by their desire for a woman Body Heat 1981 Page 26

Gilda 1946 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=4 r. Wp. ND 28 Jos Page 27

American Beauty 1999 Wild Things 1998 Cool World 1992 Page 28

• Frequent images of older men connected to the “femme fatale” Page 29

Feminist Criticism • Females are often portrayed as predatory, sexual, amoral, and dangerous to men 1992 • Good women are usually unattainable Page 30

FILM NOIR’S REVIVAL: NEO NOIR 1970’S time of social unease • • Changed social roles Assassination of JFK, R Kennedy, MLK Questionable government morality Drug culture Generation gap Spirit of protest Culture of consumption Moral disorder Page 31

Martin Scorcese and Film Noir • Topics of guilt and redemption • Loners struggling with inner demons • “Machismo” and violence • Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, Mean Streets, The Departed, Shutter Island Page 32

• The stories confront the traditional values of the establishment 1976 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=SKk. Mkodo 4 MI&feature=related Page 33

American Psycho 2000 http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=cu. Tmy. IOQIhw Page 34

Neo Noir Themes • identity crisis • memory issues and subjectivity • technological problems and their social ramifications 2004 Page 35

More examples Page 36

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The Graphic Novel and Film Noir Page 38

The Graphic Novel and Film Noir • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=EM 29 S h. N 8 M 7 E&feature=related Page 39

Quentin Tarantino and Film Noir • Clever and funny dialogue • Violence as a means of telling a story • Music as mood setting • Non-linear plot lines Page 40

IMAGES IN NOIR • window shades or other objects cutting through the image of the character Page 41

frames within frames as signs of enclosure and imprisonment Page 42

Night and the city Page 43

Stairs as signals of catastrophe/death Page 44

Mirrors symbolizing a character’s duality Page 45

The Elements of Noir • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=a. AZ B 2_yf. HAs&feature=related • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Rnt. Pkkfo. Oc • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=EH Gla_N 7 LDE Page 46

BIBLIOGRAPHY • “An Introduction to Neo-Noir: Coining a Term”. Retrieved March 7, 2005. http: //www. crimeculture. com/Contents/Neo. Noir. html • Blaser, John. “No Place for a Woman: The Family in Film Noir” Retrieved March 7, 2005. http: //www. lib. berkeley. edu/MRC/noir/ • D’Alessandro, Kathryn. “An Overview of Film Noir”. Retrieved March 7, 2005 http: //www. audiencemag. com/Articles/Noir/Film. Noir. html • Hirsch, Foster. Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen. New York: Da Capo Press, 1981. Page 47