Noir

Streetlamps In The Rain

I didn't know I was doing film noir, I thought they were detective stories with low lighting!
- Marie Windsor

The above quote, quaint as it is, is also a very telling remark on the Genre. You may not realize that Film Noir was only defined in retrospect. After the liberation of Nazi-Occupied France, film critic Nino Frank's article about a particular brand of detective dramas made filmmakers realize they had created a new cinematographic storytelling style.

Visually marked by low-key lighting inspired by German Expressionism of the twenties, the Film Noir hard-boiled storytelling style often includes the criminal as protagonist with an exploration of the Anti-Hero's vices, like sex and corruption, and often means a tragic end. Though recognizable in films as early as 1930, the heyday of the Film Noir Era is commonly known to be from the late forties until the fifties, but with so many modern films bringing a revival to the style, there's plenty to go around. Enjoy!

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