The Growth, Influence And Evolution Of Film Noir
The Growth, Influence and Evolution of Film Noir Film noir, when directly translated, means “black film” or “black cinema”. Often titled as one of the strongest influences of the French new wave movement, noir has been given much more longevity than its predecessors and descendents, still maintaining a strong presence over many films, especially detective stories. Although many refer to it as a genre, it evades that definition; many films follow the noir style and conventions, but they vary widely in context and substance for it to still be considered a genre. Coined by French critics, noir is a tone that has, in a sense, defied the definition of genre, influencing many films, parodies, styles, and even books since the decades after its initial
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Underworld (1927) Dir. Von Sternberg is often credited as the first piece of noir cinema. Groundbreaking for its time, the film, starring Evelyn Brent and George Bancroft, carried a sense of “gloomy romanticism of urban grit” (Diab), which would later be emulated and influence other films of the same time, including The Docks of New York and The Racket, both of which were released in the year following. The 1930s, however, saw the style evolve all the more, but this time with a stronger influence from German expressionism. Made fresh, the expressionism helped noir in cementing a darker, more cynical outlook as one of the most obvious trademarks of it as a style. The classic German film M, released in 1931, was the beginning of that, telling a story revolving around an anti-hero detective figure, telling the story of a criminal underworld and a serial killer in a dirty city. Both shot and directed outside of Berlin, M directly laid down the first laws of noir to show the heirs of the style what it is, and what it was bound to …show more content…
Most notably, the film Citizen Kane (1941), which is considered one of the best films ever produced. From then to the late sixties, with his 1962 film production of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, Welles created noir films located in various places, but all with similar themes, motifs, and stylistic choices. However, the noir cinematographers deserve just as much credit for the development of the style. Hailing from various countries around the globe, cinematographers and editors Russell Metty, John Alton, and Jean-Pierre Melville advanced
Underworld (1927) Dir. Von Sternberg is often credited as the first piece of noir cinema. Groundbreaking for its time, the film, starring Evelyn Brent and George Bancroft, carried a sense of “gloomy romanticism of urban grit” (Diab), which would later be emulated and influence other films of the same time, including The Docks of New York and The Racket, both of which were released in the year following. The 1930s, however, saw the style evolve all the more, but this time with a stronger influence from German expressionism. Made fresh, the expressionism helped noir in cementing a darker, more cynical outlook as one of the most obvious trademarks of it as a style. The classic German film M, released in 1931, was the beginning of that, telling a story revolving around an anti-hero detective figure, telling the story of a criminal underworld and a serial killer in a dirty city. Both shot and directed outside of Berlin, M directly laid down the first laws of noir to show the heirs of the style what it is, and what it was bound to …show more content…
Most notably, the film Citizen Kane (1941), which is considered one of the best films ever produced. From then to the late sixties, with his 1962 film production of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, Welles created noir films located in various places, but all with similar themes, motifs, and stylistic choices. However, the noir cinematographers deserve just as much credit for the development of the style. Hailing from various countries around the globe, cinematographers and editors Russell Metty, John Alton, and Jean-Pierre Melville advanced