Film noir can easily be summarised as sinister, grim and dismal but the codes and conventions are extremely important factors that build up the reasons for these labels.
The most important and definitely distinctive would be the lack of light that I believe reflects the temperament of the films. The sets for these films would generally be low-budget and anything the the filmmaker could get their hands on; dimly-lit streets, apartments etc. The use of angular, obscure shadows and reflections definitely captured the tone of the movies - they were dark, mysterious and suspicious. Bars, police stations, apartments, streets and diners were all common locations in the genre and definitely helped to elaborate on the characters emotion and status as well as the level and obscurity of lighting.
The story-lines in the genre were never hugely varied and all seemed to revolve around detectives, crime and murder and the narrative was usually quite predictive.
A short list of common codes and conventions:
- Rain
- Cigarettes
- Flawless women
- Mendacious men in suits
- Smoke, fog and mist
- Detectives and police
- Guns
- Abstract lighting
No comments:
Post a Comment