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film noir |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
film noir(French; “dark film”) Film genre that offers dark or fatalistic interpretations of reality. The term is applied to U.S. films of the late 1940s and early '50s that often portrayed a seamy or criminal underworld and cynical characters. The films were noted for their use of stark, expressionistic lighting and stylized camera work, often employed in urban settings. The genre includes films such as John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941), Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past (1947), Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), and Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) and Sunset Boulevard (1950). The trend was on the wane by the mid-1950s, but the influence of these films is evident in many subsequent ones, including classics such as Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982). More recent examples include L.A. Confidential (1997) and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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There is commentary by a film historian for each of the films, and a sixth disc has documentary material, including interviews with two directors -- Christopher Nolan (``Memento'') and Frank Miller (``Sin City'') -- who have made modern noir films, as well as five noir shorts from the '40s. But make no mistake--Sande Zeig's noir-tinged feature debut, The Girl, doesn't resemble an HBO series any more than it does a plot-twisted, traditional noir film like The Maltese Falcon. Westlake and directed by Steven Schachter, Macy and Schachter penned the screenplay which uses film noir clips, frequent quotes and references to the 30s and 40s making "A Slight Case of Murder" a comedic murder mystery offering a send-up to classic film noir films. |
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