Roger Ebert’s 10 bullet points of Film Noir from 1995 is still an excellent primer on the style/genre. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a rticle?AID=/19950130/COMMENTARY/11010 314/1023     “Noir” is now part of the Classical Hollywood style of filmmaking. Experimental filmmaking at the time– focus on the style. Hollywood 1940s, 1950s These films had a certain view of life and look. French filmmakers named it: “film noir” translated, “black film”   America at end of WWII, loss of traditional values, killing, war, great evil of concentrations camps, nuclear bomb Vets felt out of place, women pushed out of workforce into the home, men saw them more threatening to their job, disorienting relationships The Femme Fatale Dangerous women of noir all reflected in film noir mood.   Male protagonist = us, the audience Victim of duplicitous, and dangerous Femme Fatale     1950s – realignment of dominant values European Existentialism - life has no meaning, consequences Fatalism - one can almost assume that there will be bad consequences Lawless, sordid, obsessive life. Can’t trust human relationships.  These dark themes and attributed reflected in visual style  Hardboiled Detective Fiction:   sense of amorality, cynicism, living by one’s own code Hollywood Hays Morality code rules—    Changed in the novel because the more graphic stuff in the novels could not be in the films. Tendency for innuendo then, rather than showing Homosexuality couldn’t be included – films left it out of the narrative      Bleak cultural climate after WWI – Europe After WWII in U.S. Common World View and Style = dark, pessimistic, alienated Explore this German Expressionism collection at Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/ge /index  Filmmaking gave the hard boiled fiction a visual tradition.   It was easy to visually adapt the shadowy, unpleasant world of the hard boiled novel easily Some noir films were not all mysteries, but had the look and attitude of a mystery  Novelists were also screenwriters –  Double Indemnity  Novel = James M. Cain  Screenplay = Raymond Chandler  The Big Sleep  Novel = Raymond Chandler  Screenplay = William Faulkner  The Big Sleep not as bleak or dark in its look as some later noirs.  Here is a nice compilation of scenes from classic Noirs from the 40s through 2000s. “The Elements of Film Noir”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAZB2_yfHAs &feature=related    Adaptation of the hard boiled detective novel by journalist turned novelist, James M. Cain. Double Indemnity - clips  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnRWYZYbsY    Can be “anyplace,” usually urban Sense of darkness can come into any world and reshape it to match the noir sensibility A sordid, back alley way of life  Touch of Evil – set in border town – American/Mexican border   Emergence of Film Noir in 1940s not coincidental Many Factors contributed: Technological advances from WWII  Economic factors – Low budgets, played into the style.  Artistic Influences – German Expressionism   Technology – After the War  Lenses were better  wide angle lens, deep focus = more things in the frame  Film stock faster  grainy look - fast film = ability to shoot in dark,  variety of filmstock  Mobile cameras and cranes (advanced during war)  fewer setups,  Low Budgets – Sets are spare, little furniture, plain,  Filmmaking on the streets of L.A.  Lighting and shadows made up for low budget!  Artistic choices but also econ and factors   Artistic Influences  German Expressionism  “The Style” is part of ”The Meaning“; it should express how characters feel, symbolic ideas  Reversed the idea of the invisible style of classical Hollywood  Very exaggerated sets, distortion, bizarre camera angles to exaggerate emotional states.  Shadows  Artistic Influences  German Expressionism  Many directors and cinematographers immigrated to the U.S. from Europe because of WWII, anti-semitism.  Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger  Karl Freund – The Last Laugh, Metropolis, Dracula, Key Largo  The image reflected character psychology  Mise en scene   The total of what is filmed – production design = simple, stark Use of lighting that create arrangements more common  Mise en scene   Compositions – off center, asymmetrical diagonal patterns – objects, lines Creates unbalanced and off center unstable world—about to topple.  Framing characters Put inside object that  frames them--Doorways venetian blinds,  bar like – so they look jailed or entrapped  Framing pattern suggest isolation and enclosure, entrapment   Low key lighting   Shadows – contrast with bright lights No fill or key lights – dark spots Low key lighting Creates a pattern that shadows the characters, evil or endangered look Hidden, apparent, known, unknown,  Low key lighting  City street lights only – light only coming from real places, lamps  Low key lighting   Reflective surfaces – mirrors, windows, wet streets or buildings Character meaning: mirrored (you don’t know who they are…)  Extreme low angle  Extreme high angle   Extreme angles create tension and alienation on part of viewer Subjective characters viewpoints – so we see through chars eyes  Camera movement is minimal, thrifty, uninvolved.     How the narrative is put together….. Noir Narrative line is usually out of order, non–sequential, non-chronological Omissions Flashbacks   starts in present (detective thinks back) series of flashbacks through character’s perspective    Time not even a real factor Even without flashbacks – causes and effects are out of order Characters and viewers seem lost  Realistic Hollywood style ---low key emotional delivery   Speak softly, dangerous, lash out Sudden anger erupts  Typecast actors – aspect of conflict within an inner and outer persona    Humphrey Bogart, Glen Ford Gloria Graham, Barbara Stanywk Killers are smooth and soft spoken  Sidney Greenstreet, Lee Marvin  Actor’s delivery of lines    soft, mumbled elliptical suggests subterfuge Use of voice over narration   the detective speaking, usually voice of present mixed with story of the past  Sound effects   Heightened sounds: gunshot, garbage cans in alley Music   dramatic, jarring, discord, low key, slow – to heighten the visual style Musical theme that accompanies the detective— forward progress. Interest has never waned Festivals in 90s of old films Critically acclaimed noirs each decade since 1940s and 1950s 1960s: – Point Blank (Boorman) - Bonnie and Clyde (Penn) 1970s: - Chinatown (Polanski) - The Conversation (Coppola) - The Long Goodbye (Altman)  1980s: - Body Heat (Kasdan) - Blade Runner (Scott) - Blood Simple (Cohens) 1990s: - Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino) - The Usual Suspects (Singer) - Seven (Fincher) - Basic Instinct (Verhoeven) - The Last Seduction (Dahl) AMONG NUMEROUS OTHERS! 2000s: 2010s: - Memento (Nolan) - Sin City (Rodriguez) - Kill Bill (Tarantino) - Mulholland Drive (Lynch) - The Departed (Scorcese) - The Dark Knight (Nolan) - Winter’s Bone (Granik) - Shutter Island (Scorcese) - The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo (Fincher) AMONG NUMEROUS OTHERS! AMC Filmsite - “Film Noir”  http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html Classic “B Movie” Film Noir: Detour 1945 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHyXWDWLuNo •Standardized filmmaking techniques = “Classical” •Character driven narratives featuring •Conflict •Evolution •Closure “Window” into another World • The style is mostly Invisible • Technical aspects of telling a story – – Framing – Composition – Shots – Lighting – Editing – All dedicated to making technique invisible “Window” into another World • All techniques used to smooth out HOW the story is being told • We the audience are voyeurs to other people’s lives. • The film is constructed so that we identify with the main characters “Window” into another World Read about how this invisibility is achieved by viewing this PowerPoint (within a Powerpoint!) Editing Columbia University https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/editing/ Short HISTORY of Narrative Cinema • FIRST FILMS: – Lumiere Brothers - “Actualities” short little films 1890s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LA6P_ge4Hk – Registering daily life on film – Not narrative story telling yet. • Narrative in film information: – from “Film History and Aesthetics Wiki” https://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610209/Film%2 0Narrative – From “Filmsite,” written and edited by Tom Dirks – http://www.filmsite.org/pre20sintro.html Short HISTORY of Narrative Cinema • Story telling soon began to be the pattern • Georges Méliès certainly utilized narrative for many of his more famous films. H setting actors in very specific settings and leading them through a definite series of cause/effect based events. His 1902 film La Voyage dans la Lune https://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610222/Georges%20M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE Check out “Film History and Aesthetics Wiki” • https://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610209/Film%20Narra tive Short HISTORY of Narrative Cinema • The Public responded to the films that were “stories” the most • In a 15 year span: cinema went from picturing something happen to complex narratives Short HISTORY of Narrative Cinema • Stories won the day: Films with narrative were the most popular with audiences • California prevailed: Longer days and light, good climate for outdoor work Short HISTORY of Narrative Cinema • Where to watch movies?? Nickelodeons! 26 million Americans went to these every week: 1905--1910 http://www.filmsite.org/pre20sintro2.html Short HISTORY of Narrative Cinema • Static Camera first – movies were like filmed stage plays – the “proscenium arch” • Camera movement experimentation– follow action and characters – opened up the look of a film • Editing small fragments of film to construct connections – pieced together in coherent story Cross cutting pattern Editing - Crosscutting • D.W. Griffith – first “auteur” • Changing camera position– camera angle • Close ups to show emotion or object for special info • D.W. Griffith pioneered the structure and form http://www.filmsite.org/pre20sintro3.html “The Lonedale Operator” (1911) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Yv_q5OL9M • Crosscutting creates suspense. The Auteur • The Director with a Vision, Style, Signature • Literally the French word for "author"; in film criticism, used in the terms auteurism or auteur theory, denoting a critical theory (originally known as la politique des auteurs or "the policy of authors") popular in France in the late 1940s and early 1950s that was introduced by Francois Truffaut and the editors (including legendary film critic and theorist Andre Bazin) of the celebrated French film journal Cahiers du Cinéma (literally 'cinema notebooks'), arguably the most influential film magazine in film history; their ideas were subsequently enlarged upon in the 1960s by American critic Andrew Sarris, among others; the theory ascribed overall responsibility for the creation of a film and its personal vision, identifiable style, thematic aspects and techniques to its film-maker or director, rather than to the collaborative efforts of all involved (actors, producer, production designer, special effects supervisor, etc); the theory posited that directors should be considered the 'true' authors of film (rather than the screenwriters) because they exercise a great deal of control over all facets of film making and impart a distinctive, personal style to their films; simply stated, an auteur can refer to a director with a recognizable or signature style. Auteurs in our Mystery Class Robert Altman, director of The Long Goodbye Alfred Hitchcock, director of Strangers on a Train Enter SOUND and GOLDEN AGE of Cinema: 1930s 1929 – SOUND technology inaugurated – visualtechniques were set Read about the 1930s: http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro.html STUDIO SYSTEM – Dominated 1930-1960s Economically, Artistically, Technically, Stars, Writers, etc. http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro2.html Contemporary Cinema • Today – films look different from 30s 40s 50s with special effects, digitalization, CGI, etc, BUT • The CLASSICAL ELEMENTS are still dominant today: – Character driven narrative – Invisible editing, continuity – Crosscutting – Key lighting – Etc. GENRES • One of the Most Popular Has Been Mystery Genre • Sherlock Holmes – one of first sound films – • Hitchcock’s Blackmail and The Lodger are silents in the mystery genre • Charlie Chan – serialized detective stories(1920s – 1940) • Hard boiled detective fiction---merged to create film noir The Big Sleep HOLLYWOOD STYLE • • • • • Narrative and character driven Story is driven by what the characters seek, a goal The impediments to character’s goal is the drama Whether or not the Goal is met forms the Plot Usually Romance is prominent in Plot or Subplot STARS STARS • Public star persona and character they have played intermingle to form the Star Identity • Certain stars associated with certain stories – John Wayne is always in a Western MISE-EN-SCENE • Scholarly term, not filmmaking term – Literally: “to put into the frame” • mise-en-scene: placement of characters, props and scenery within a frame, creating the visual weight and movement. Columbia University: • https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/mise-enscene/ CAMERA WORK • CAMERA SHOTS - establishing shot, medium shot, moving in, close ups • CAMERA ANGLES - low, high, straight on Columbia University • https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/cameraangle/ https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/cameramovement/ LIGHTING • High key light – bright, shadows removed (low key is opposite – shadows and contrast) • Three point lighting ----char. Lit with 3 kinds of light ---back, fill, key light Columbia University https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/lighting/ SOUND • • • • • • • Augments what’s going on in the image Interprets what’s going on for the audience Tells audience how to feel Music Dialogue Sound effects Ambient sound Sound – History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hOhJxfKW64
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