Film noir

Welles in 1947 are both considered a film noir. These films are considered to be a film noir because of its dark and eerie lighting, its use of night club scenes and also the narration voice over that starts in the beginning of the film. From the beginning of the film until the end of the film the main characters, Mildred and Michael are both sent on a series of unfortunate events. From Mildred’s younger daughter death to Michael being framed for a murder. Film noir’s are said to have…

Manipulated By Beauty: Body Heat vs Double Indemnity In the film noir Double Indemnity (1944) and neo-noir Body Heat (1981), two men commit adultery as they are convinced by narcissistic, money hungry, manipulating women who have premeditated the murders of their spouses. Even though both men are in different professions, Walter is an insurance man and Ned is a lawyer, they prove to be valuable assets to the femme fatales of the film’s, Phyllis and Matty. In the same way that Walter risks his…

character in crime fiction in the United States during the mid-twentieth century (Jaber, 1). This character is a woman who is portrayed to be hyper-sexual and is manipulative towards men. The femme fatale appears in hard-boiled crime fiction and film noir. She also was featured on many pulp covers making seductive poses because of the rise of sex in books (Horsley). Throughout the mid-twentieth century, the femme fatale character changed. Throughout this essay, I will discuss what a femme fatale…

The hard-boiled detective, in noir tradition, is typically depicted as a lone wolf figure, one that upholds morality while balancing the corruption inherent in his line of work. He could be defined by his sexual potency, just as much as by his denial of pleasure. Raymond Chandler, in his 1950 essay, The Simple Art of Murder, outlines this archetype, with an authority appropriate to his foundational authorship. Chandler writes, “He talks as the man of his age talks, that is, with rude wit, a…

other films of the time not only because of its particular story and eccentric characters, but also because it aligns in its composition two distinctive types of genre, Science Fiction and Film Noir. After watching the movie and discussing it in class, what caught my attention about the film was the fact that its composition and development merges elements from two different genres without complication. In the movie, Ridley Scott introduced visual elements that not only complied with the film…

Telephone Throughout the film The Spiral Staircase, the object of the telephone is frequently featured in a number of scenes as part of the mise en scène, seemingly as a passive choice for the sake of filling the scene with objects found in the average household, yet more actively used as a deliberate choice to represent an idea of imperfection, and the fear of normal everyday activities. It is only when we dig deeper that we find this fear further highlights the idea of Helen’s imperfection, in…

At least it is until it has context and meaning thrust upon it. Film noir is a name given to a series of films which originated in the United States around the 1940s. These films often followed a formula involving darkness, mysterious and troubled characters, nihilistic undertones, and a confound unfolding of the passage of time. Breathless, directed by Jean Luc Godard, was somewhat of a French-made parody of these American films, for instance, the main character, Michel, attempting to molding…

of neo-noir that is very self-aware of its classic noir film roots and uses its protagonists paranoia, and constantly crumbling sense of self to reflect a breakdown in confidence of a post-Watergate America. In a general sense Night Moves, almost blatantly at times, declares itself a neo noir…

introduction to the owner’s beautiful wife, named Cora Smith, is a fateful one as attested to by Frank’s voice-over narration of the story in which he later states, “I wish I had never met her.” Cora is a femme fatale, who leads to Frank’s destruction. The film language suggests—by the use of light and shadow—that she has power over him. Once Frank is inside, Cora’s husband seats him at the restaurant counter, where he is neatly framed by the criss-crossed grid of shadows cast onto the wall…

In 2000, Christopher Nolan released his widely acclaimed neo noir Memento. The film stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a former insurance investigator suffering from severe anterograde memory dysfunction. His condition is a result of experiencing head trauma after witnessing his wife’s murder, and consequently, he is unable to remember anything for more than fifteen minutes. The film focuses on his pursuit of his wife’s killer, which is complicated by his paranoia and confusion. Nolan…