#NewsBytesExplainer: Exploring Film Noir — Meaning.Evolution; prominent Hollywood, Bollywood examples
January 8, 2023, 7:36 PM
Film noir refers to a type of film, usually drama, suspense or thriller, that explores the moral depravity of its characters and reveals their hidden motives.
There are plots, cynical heroes, multi-layered villains, complex plotlines, overarching existential themes, sometimes larger messages, and rising black-and-white lighting effects to deepen the mystery surrounding the characters.
Let’s dig deeper into this filmmaking style.
A genre that gained popularity after World War II
Film noir means “dark film” in French.
Britannica defines it as a style of filmmaking characterized by elements such as “cynical heroes, harsh lighting effects, frequent use of flashbacks, complex storylines, and an underlying existentialist philosophy.”
The genre is believed to have evolved from post-World War II crime dramas.
The 1940s and 1950s are therefore called the “classic period” of film noir.
Have you seen these old noir movies?
Film noir gradually spread from Hollywood to world cinema, and today almost every industry mass-produces such films.
Some of the earliest known examples are John Huston’s Maltese falcon (1941), Frank Tuttle This Gun for Hire (1942), Otto Preminger roller (1944), and Edward Dmytryk’s Murder, My Sweet (1944).
A private eye and femme fatale are usually requirements of film noir.
These salient features set noir films apart
Noir-style films are characterized by dark, intense lighting that can be used to portray the “madness” or “brooding thoughts” of characters.
street Britannica, “Classic images of noir include streets wet with early morning rain, streetlights with twinkling halos, shady taverns, diner rooms, flashing neon apartment signs, and an endless stream of cigarette smoke drifting in and out of the shadows. It contained the flow.”
‘Drive’, ‘Memento’ and ‘Gone Girl’ are examples of modern Hollywood
Over the years, Hollywood has produced several films that are considered noir films.
Some modern examples are from Nicolas Winding Refn’s driveby Dan Gilroy night crawlerDavid Lynch’s Mulholland DriveFrank Miller and Robert Rodriguez sin cityby Ethan Coen and Joel Coen old people have no countryCurtis Hanson’s LA ConfidentialMichael Mann’s heatChristopher Nolan’s Souvenirand David Fincher’s Seven When Gone Girl.
These are popular Hindi movies in this genre
In India, film noir is probably still in the experimental stage.
However, some well-known examples include Anurag Kashyap’s No SmokingRaj Khosla Wo county?of Sriram Raghavan Badr Paul When Johnny Gudderin Pushkar Gayatri vikram vedasShankar Lamans GurgaonNavdeep Singh Manorama Six Feet UnderRam Gopal Varma’s SatyaAbhishek Chaubey’s Ishkiahand Vasan Bala’s Recent Netflix Releases Monica, oh my darling.
