Hello! I'm Amy and here's my AS Media blog

I was required to produce a film on the coursework topic, film noir.

But first I had to do a preliminary exercise within a group. It was the first time we could get used to the cameras and microphones as well as getting to use the editing software on the Apple Macs. As a class our pieces of film were assessed
in order to point out where we could improve. It was a very helpful learning experience. We then had to, again in groups; film an opening sequence of an exchange between two people in the style of a film noir. We had to use a close up of the exchange of an item between the two. Again we had to present our film to the class which enabled us to find out what we could improve on. Then I went away and evaluated the sequence for myself using the helpful criticism from the class.

When we finally were able to film our film noir opening sequence, I was prepared fully prepared due to the previous tasks. On this blog you will see the journey of learning I have been on…

Note. Everything on this blog is written by me, Amy Meitiner, unless otherwise stated at the bottom of the entry.

Key for navigating my blog:

September 2009 = All film noir research
October 2009 = All neo noir research
November 2009 = Priliminary Exercise (first use of the cameras)
January 2010 = The Exchange Exercise
February 2010 = Film Noir Opening Sequence and paperwork
April 2010 = Film Noir Final Edit Video and Evaluation

History of Film Noir

The term Film Noir was first introduced by Nino Frank a French critic for magazine L’Ecrain Francais, in France 1946, to describe the influx of American films with dark and downbeat themes that had been filmed during The Second World War - Film noir is not technically a genre, but rather the style and tone of film.
No one in America had previously given these types of films a name as no one had really noticed the distinct look and feel that they all had in common as it was only being under German occupation and not be able to see these films until after the war, all in one go, that it was noticed by critics in France.
Even though the term Film Noir wasn’t coined until after the war, the films in fact began at the start and in some cases even as a result of the war. The origins of film noir can be found in German Expressionism of the 1920s and 1930s, which was brought over to America from European émigré film-makers, a lot of them fleeing the Nazi invasion. Such films include; Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released in the U.S in 1921, Fritz Lang's Fury 1936, and You Only Live Once 1937. These three films all revolve around crime and or murder – two major noir plot themes. Robert Wiene not only contributed noir-style plots, but also along with fellow German directors F. W. Murnau and G. W. Pabst, the trademark cinematography that epitomises later noir; chiaroscuro lighting and shadowy, high-contrast images, and stark camera angles and movements. The war also caused Noirs to start out low budget – it was usually the B movie shown in theatres. It thrived in 1941 as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbour – electricity was rationed forcing darkness upon Hollywood – ideal for creating the noir look. The war can even be said to have helped to create the femme fatal – while the men were out fighting, the women stepped in to their jobs making them realise that if they could do a supposedly man’s job, they could do anything. A new breed of women emerged in that era, coaxed on by images like Rosie the Riveter, they were as capable as men and they were angry about it – thus the birth of the femme fatal.
Aspects of film noir also derive from best selling detective novels and their writers such as Dashiell Hammett, 1929-1934 – his character Sam Spade was played by Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon in 1941, and the femme fatal novels of James Cain, 1934-1942 – Phyllis Dietrichson played by Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity in 1944.
However it is hard to determine the first ever Film Noir; many believe Boris Ingster's Stranger on the Third Floor, 1940, as it is expressionist and is centered around a murder trial. Other claim Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane in 1941, whichever it is, Film Noir continued to gain popularity throughout the Second World War and continued up until the sixties with the so-called last ever Film Noir, Touch of Evil. Film Noir’s distinct characteristics include a cynical male protagonist, an amoral female, and plot themes such as mistrust, bleakness, loss of innocence and despair.
Some modern noir films have emerged since the so-called last one of the classic era in 1958. They include, Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner in 1982, and most recently Sin City in 2005. Classic noir characters have said to have been found in Fatal Attraction in 1987 – Adrian Lyne is a jealous and vengeful femme fatal and L.A Confidential in 1997 – the typical ‘hardbolied’ and cynical cops.

Characteristics of Film Noir

Characters and Narrative

As its origins are found in the early 1920 detective novels, often film noir’s characters are police or investigators. Such as Sam Spade played by Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon in 1941 and Philip Marlowe played again by Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep in 1946. Both these men are typical of noir protagonists – amoral rogues who play by their own rules, pessimistic, ‘hardboiled’ and troubled, who seem to be very attractive to the opposite sex. He is always on a quest and gets tested, interrogated, attacked and persecuted along the way. Sometimes a voice-over is used like a confessional narration who is telling the story out of a need to confess his conscience. The narration makes it much more personal for the audience. The women that are often so attracted to these protagonists aren’t typically any more moral, if anything rather being amoral they are immoral, which is exactly why they are referred to as femme fatales. Frequently playing the antagonist, these dangerous temptresses use their feminine wiles to seduce the main character which often leads to his demise. The femme fatale helps to add to the visuals of the film noir; she is always glamorous with long flowing hair and red lips and nails. Archetypal femme fatales include Phyllis Dietrichson, played by Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, 1944, and Adrian Lyne played by Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, 1987. The only other type of woman to appear in film noir is the opposite of the femme fatale, the domestic woman, a wife or girlfriend associated with home, nurturing, rehabilitation and servitude. This highlights the ideology of film noir.


Ideology and Themes

Regarding that film noir had its heyday in and around the Second World War and following through to the Cold War.; it helps to understand the ideology of the genre. The themes of many noirs are much like the life for people living during the Second World War; dark, sombre, bleak and depressing. And the characters, a product of their environment, echo real fears and dilemmas of the time; the loss of moral certainty, faith and hope. Post World War Two saw men returning home fragmented and alienated and hardened this too is shown through the genre’s protagonists. During the Cold War era, America suspected many of its Hollywood directors as being communist sympathisers. This has been reflected in many film noirs, as prominent themes include paranoia, distrust and suspicion. The women too show an ideology close to film noir’s heart. In an age where women were finally being liberated, film noir mirrored many feelings on this from the male dominated film industry, that this wasn’t necessarily a good thing hence the outspoken and strong willed women within noir are portrayed as bad, dangerous and branded as femme fatales, contrasted by their wholesome domestic counterparts who were portrayed as good and loyal.


Setting and Iconography

Film noir can be set within either the external or internal world; it doesn’t matter as long as it’s bleak and dark. The external world appears most often in noirs. As film noir got many of its inspiration from detective novels, it is not surprising that many are set in large corrupt cities filled to the brim with villains, utilising its mean rain-drenched backstreets, grimy apartments, casinos and its dark underworld. Favourite settings include nightclubs, basements, backrooms and police stations. As seen in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 neo-noir The Dark Knight. Fairgrounds and carnivals too are synonymous with film noir as in German expressionism it is said to represent madness; therefore these settings can be used in both the external and internal worlds, much like Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released in the U.S in 1921. The internal world is set in the protagonist’s mind either as a nightmare, flashback or imagination. This world is confusing, sinister and can be violent. Along with the settings themselves; flashing neon signs, alcohol, voice recorders, newspapers, phones and phone boxes have all become classic icons of film noir.

Visual Style and Cinematography

The visual style is one of the most striking things about film noir. It is a hard look with stark chiaroscuro lighting and often lots of references to tabloid newspapers. The interiors are claustrophobic and dark, made apparent by the restricted camera frames, many night scenes, deep focus, close up and extreme close up camera shots and low key lighting. Frequently elements are exaggerated and distorted making them appear nightmarish and grotesque, such as faces distorted through objects or shadows, quick jump cuts and most commonly the Dutch Tilt is used to create this effect as it helps to throw the audience off centre.

3 Examples of Classic Film Noir: 1 Double Indemnity

1. Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder released 1944

The protagonist Walter Neff played by Fred MacMurray, is an insurance salesman who meets the wily femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson played by Barbara Stanwyck, during a house call to renew her husband’s car insurance policy. It isn’t long before Walter falls for Phyllis’ dangerous charm. But after hearing her contemplate how she can take out life insurance on her husband Mr Dietrichson played by Tom Powers, without him knowing about it, Walter Neff realises she means murder and doesn’t want anything to do with it. However Phyllis pursues him back to his and persuades him to help her murder her husband for his insurance policy. With his knowledge from working in insurance for so long, Walter comes up with a plan to push the husband off a train making it seem like an accident – this would then entitle Phyllis to "double indemnity" – a clause in the insurance policy to pay the widow twice the amount.

The plot itself is a big characteristic of Film Noir; seduction, betrayal and murder, can all be found in Double Indemnity.

Another major noir trait in this film is Barbara Stanwyck character Phyllis Dietrichson – the classic femme fatal – seducing a man to commit murder for her.

3 Examples of Classic Film Noir: 2 Touch of Evil

2. Touch of Evil released in 1958 by Orson Welles

While on honeymoon with his wife in Mexico a chief narcotics officer, Mike Vargas played by Charlton Heston, witnesses a car bomb go off, killing a man named Rudy Linnekar and his female friend. Horrified he testifies against ‘Uncle’ Joe Grandi played by Akim Tamiroff, a drug lord and his family, thought to be responsible. As a result Grandi and his family start to intimidate not only him but also his wife Susie, played by Janet Leigh. Things start to get even worse for Mike Vargas after he finds out that local cop Hank Quinlan played by Orson Welles, has been planting evidence. Corrupt cop Hank Quinlan and the Grandi family decided to work together to try to ruin Mike Vargas's character, starting with framing Susan Vargas with the car explosion.

Yet again this film embodies the characteristics of classic noir; bleak themes include murder, kidnapping, and police corruption. The other noir female type is that of the domestic woman, a wife or girlfriend completely opposite to the femme fatale, she is domestic and loving, which is exactly the traits Janet Leigh’s character Susie Vargas exhibits.

3 Examples of Classic Film Noir: 3 Notorious

1. Notorious screened in1946 directed by Alfred Hitchcock

After her German father was convicted of crimes against the United States of America then killing himself whilst still in prison, Alicia Huberman played by Ingrid Bergman takes to drink and men, feeling disillusioned and alone. She is then approached by US government agent T.R Devlin played by Cary Grant, he asks her to redeem her treacherous family’s name by spying on her father’s Nazi friends in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. She agrees and a romance begins to emerge between Alicia and the agent Devlin. However when she arrives in Rio De Janeiro she must marry a German scientist Alexander Sebastian played by Claude Rains, in order for the undercover plan to be at its most effective. It isn’t long before Alexander suspects Alicia and tries to dispose of her.

T.R. Devlin is the conventional noir protagonist; confident, certain, and it’s up to him to battle through and restore normality. Much like Alicia is the classic female – amoral, charming and glamorous.