First Impressions Of Film Noir.I didn't know very much about film noir, all I knew was that it was set in the olden days and that it was all black and white. So when I saw the posters at the back of the room, my first impressions of film noir was that it is all something to do with heroes and villains, the characters were always smoking and drinking. It was not a comedy what so ever and all the facial expressions were serious. In 3 of the pictures/poster there was a gun, so this told me that Film Noir is all about crime/murder/death. All of the posters are also quite shadowy, and are dark so this tells me that they are horror films. Also no-one is smiling in the film posters, so this tells me the characters are mysterious. Also the ladies look in charge, they have all the power, and are fake/play with men as if they are toys. Also all the people in the posters had an evil look in their eyes, like a suspicious look.
The Portrayal of Women In Film Noir.The women in film noir act as innocent and sweet as possible when really they are the biggest villains. They are more crooked than any of the characters in the films. They play with men, almost as if they are their toys. Leading them on, when in reality they are pure evil, but in most cases the men know this and but they go long with it and still get played. The women in film noir are known as 'Femme Fatale' meaning women may be desirable but they are also very dangerous! In film noir, 9/10 cases the women are the people that are in control, they are the ones with the real power, stringing people along. The ladies in film noir, even if they first act as a heroine, sooner or later their true colour will be revealed...normally resulting in death. The pictures above and the one that is below show exactly how the women act, they look sweet and innocent but in reality they are just pure evil.
The Storylines' Of Film Noir.The basic storyline of film noir murder. Either someone got murdered and someone is trying to find out who it is. Or someone is going to get murdered because they murdered someone. There is always murder and death in a film noir film. Jealously is usually the reason why someone got/is going to get murdered. And their is always a good looking but very dangerous and evil women involved. You could say that jealously is the provocation of murder. The protagonist are usually involved for someone getting double crossed. Film noir films almost always have a twist in them, if it is the wrong person that dies or the murderer is someone you didn't expect at all! The story lines will also have someone the smokes a lot, or has a lot of money, has a gun, and drinks a lot. They are also all cheaters in some way or the other, who do something to get back at someone, like blackmail. In film noir there is no such thing as a happy ending, for example, 'Out Of The Past' at the end of it, the two main characters die in a crash, as the driver was shot.
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The Rules Of Film Noir.The rules of film noir are what is expected from a a film noir film. They include, a dark setting, and dark/mysterious people and death. These are the main three 'rules' of film noir. Film noir needs these to make up the film as it what is expected from a film noir film, all film noir films are like this because they were mostly made during the war, so there wasn't much money for making films as most money was spent on ammunition. That is why the characters were dark and mysterious as people could relate to the characters. That's also why the films have death as it was what people could relate to as it was going on in everyday life. Also film noir films need to have some crooked characters, in most film noir films, most of the characters are crooked, especially police officers, lawyers and obviously the villains!
The Portrayal of Men In Film Noir.The men in film noir as mostly portrayed as alcoholics. They drink too much, smoke too much and earn too little. They are also portrayed as womanizers even though they are the ones that are usually getting played. Just like the women are called 'Femme Fatale', the men in film noir films are called Doomed Heroes. This means that the men are trapped, normally in the hands of an evil woman. It also means they have no future. To put it in a simple way, they spend way too much of their time, either committing crime or trying to solve crime. But whichever they are doing in mostly ends in death or murder.
The Language Used In Film Noir.The language used in film noir is common American slang. The men also speak sarcastically and ironically. But in the film 'Sunset Boulevard' the voice over for the film is quite posh and sounds quite wealthy. This goes back to my point of the story lines being about money. The language can sometimes be quite harsh and intimidating. In the film 'The Killers' the two main characters were very intimidating, and when they said something, they wanted it to be done, there and then. This gave them a powerful impression.
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