Film noir research



What is Film Noir?
Film noir is a term used to describe Hollywood crime dramas. Hollywood's classical film noir period is generally regarded as early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style. The literal meaning of 'Film Noir' is 'Black Film' which means that the movies were primarily black and white where lighting was to create effects and meaning for the audience.

How can Film noir be identified in films?
Throughout films that have aspects of film noir, low-key lighting is used for majority of the cuts, creating shadows and distinct lighting.


Film Noir Characteristics

  • Urban environment
  • Rain-soaked streets
  • Seedy taverns, diners, and run-down buildings
  • Claustrophobic interiors
  • Flickering street lamps
  • Neon signs
  • Scenes appear dark, as if lit for night, with many dark shadows
  • Oblique and vertical lines, especially in regards to lighting
  • Shadows
  • Films done in black and white
  • Narration, especially flash-back narration
  • Criminal underworld
  • Hopelessness
  • Corruption
  • The "heroes" tend to be morally ambiguous, alienated from society, and
  • have a fatalistic outlook.
  • Characters torn by psychological conflict
  • The femme fatale
Human Desires (1954)





How does this clip fit the genre of 'film noir'?
This clip from the film fits into the category of film noir because majority of the clip uses low-key lighting where filler lights are used to put the protagonists and certain scenes under the spotlight. Considering the whole movie is in black and white, the varied use of lighting is effective because it makes the audience focus on certain aspects of the scene. Another characteristic of film noir is shadows; during the whole of the clip, lighting is used to create soft shadows in the background so that all the shadows aren’t as prominent, leaving the characters in the main spotlight. 

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