Film studiesLesson 2 of 3 in the course Genre and history of film

Film Noir: Origins, Conventions, and Later Transformations

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Film noir is a distinctive tradition of crime filmmaking associated with cynical outlooks, morally complicated characters, and stories of danger and misfortune. This lesson introduces the term, its debated definition, and its roots in American crime fiction.

Film noir is French for “black film,” or, more loosely, “dark film.” French critic Nino Frank applied the term to Hollywood movies in 1946. He may have drawn inspiration from Série noire, a French publishing imprint founded in 1945 that introduced readers to hardboiled American crime writing. Most American film-industry professionals did not use the term at the time. Cinema historians and critics applied it retrospectively, and many classic noirs had originally been described simply as melodramas. The label became widely adopted in the 1970s.

All flashcards

What is film noir?
A flexible tradition of crime-centered films associated with cynical attitudes, morally complicated motivations, and often dark or tragic stories.
What does film noir literally mean?
French for “black film”; “dark film” conveys the phrase’s broader sense.
Who introduced the term to Hollywood cinema criticism?
French critic Nino Frank, who applied it to Hollywood films in 1946.
What is hardboiled crime fiction?
A tough, often cynical tradition of American crime writing that emerged around the Great Depression and supplied many plots, characters, and attitudes for noir.
Why is noir’s classification disputed?
Noir includes a wide variety of genres, settings, character types, and visual styles, so scholars differ over whether it is a genre, style, cycle, mood, or other category.

Quiz questions

  1. How did German Expressionism influence classic film noir?Answer: It contributed dramatic shadows, unusual compositions, and psychologically expressive mise-en-scène.
  2. Which decades are generally considered the classic period of American film noir?Answer: The 1940s and 1950s.
  3. What can flashbacks and voice-over narration do in a noir story?Answer: Withhold information or reveal it gradually through a disrupted narrative.
  4. How did the Production Code generally affect classic noir endings?Answer: Films generally had to punish crime or show virtue rewarded.
  5. What does the term neo-noir describe?Answer: Later films that revisit, adapt, or consciously refer to classic noir.

Based on the Wikipedia article Film noir, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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