Film noir

Film noir (meaning 'black film') is a distinct branch of the crime/gangster sagas from the 1930s. Strictly speaking, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style or tone of various American films that evolved in the 1940s, and lasted in a classic period until about 1960. However, film noir has not been exclusively confined to this era, and has re-occurred in cyclical form in other years in various neo-noirs. Noirs are usually black and white films with primary moods of melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt and paranoia. And they often feature a cynical, loner hero (anti-hero) and femme fatale, in a seedy big city.

During the evenings of the past two weeks or so, I made myself comfortable in front of the television after supper, and slipped in a dvd or two to watch until the late hours.

My choice of movie was pre-determined, and featured the Film noir classics of the 40's and 50's. I was mostly dissapointed, partly because I viewed the films from a modern perspective, which was the wrong thing to do. I was overly critical, as many of the scenes seemed unrealistic and amateurish in the context of modern film-making.

So I changed my attitude and rather tried to watch the movies for their enjoyment and entertainment value. I was more impressed the second time around. What the critics of the time viewed as dark and risque came to the fore if one understood the moral thinking of the time.


After watching Sunset Boulevard again, I moved on to The Killers, and enjoyed it immensely. Then came Out of the Past, with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, with it's twists and turns and my first view of a very young Kirk Douglas(father of Michael Douglas). The plot twisted and turned with every loop of film, and although the ending was a tad predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed it.


Tonight I move to the darker - The Night of the Hunter - , again with Robert Mitchum, but this time as the darker figure of a preacher(self-proclaimed) who searches for the hidden loot of a cell-mate waiting for the gallows.


'Lord, you sure knowed what You was doin' when You put me in this very cell at this very time. A man with $10,000 hid somewhere and a widow in the makin'.

And what would Film noir be without the Hitchcock classics; Vertigo, Psycho and Shadow of a doubt.

Once the classic roots have been planted, I may find myself critical of modern film-making, who knows. I do know I'm itching to start the modern era with a bit of the Coen brothers.

Cheers!