Spend A Night In The Shadows With Film Noir
Misogynistic, visually dark, cynical, moral, amoral, bleak. These words help describe, but cannot completely define, the visual style and underlying tone of the cinematic genre known as film noir. A fellow librarian and I have a real appreciation for this genre and enjoy swapping recommendations as we come across new library s of films from the 1930s, 1940s, or later that are noir classics. A noir film is one I never have to be in the right mood for; once I start to watch one, it wraps me in a smoky cloud in which the plot twists along a winding path, scenes are made using strangely distorted shadows and camera angles, and the outcome is nearly always completely unpredictable. A visual and emotional feast. Yum.
The term film noir was originated by French film critics in 1946, but the style really came out of the artistic movement known as German Expressionism. This style developed in the Germany of the 1910s and 1920s. It was an artistic reflection of and response to the extreme conditions in Germany after World War I. As Germany gradually fell under Nazi power, many film artists involved in the Expressionist movement found escape and opportunity in Hollywood.
One of my favorite noir films is the 1931 classic starring Jimmy Cagney, Public Enemy. What an ending! Besides the incredible collection of noir films, the library has some great books on this movie style. So, if you've got a spare afternoon, especially a rainy, gloomy one, check out a noir book and a couple of noir films. Search in our catalog under Subject Alphabetical and film noir to find a good list. Watching them just might make you feel lucky to be alive.
- Film Noir Classics I (DVD)
- Murder, My Sweet (DVD)
- Out of the Past (DVD)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (DVD)
- Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City (Book)
- Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir (Book)
Sheila D. Says: Murder, My Sweet (DVD)
Amazon Says: Considered by many to be the definitive private eye "film noir," this adaptation of Raymond Chandler's "Farewell, My Lovely" stars Dick Powell as gumshoe Philip Marlowe, whose...
Amazon
Sheila D. Says: Out of the Past (DVD)
A collection of classic film noir. Genre: Feature Film-Drama Rating: NR Release Date: 6-JUL-2004 Media Type: DVDAmazon
Sheila D. Says: The Postman Always Rings Twice (DVD)
Adapted from James M. Cain's story, the film relolves around the destructive relationship of two lovers whose troubles mount after they do away with her husband.Amazon
Sheila D. Says: Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City (Book)
Amazon Says: Acclaimed novelist and poet Nicholas Christopher explores the cultural identity of film noir in a seamless, elegant, and enchanting work of literary prose. Examining virtually...
Amazon
Sheila D. Says: Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir (Book)
Amazon Says: The emerging genre of film noir in the late 1940s was the dark, real-world underside of Hollywood's Golden Age, and it was noir that gave us the femme fatale--the first tough,...
Amazon