FILM NOIR

In the Film Noir genre, women are depicted three ways: nurturing

(dull, featureless and unattainable), “marrying type” (threatens

hero by insisting they marry, and he accept his conventional role in

a family) and femme fatale.

Examples of films in this genre: Touch of Evil, The Lady of

Shanghai, The Maltese Falcon

FEMME FATALE

Femme Fatale relates to the idea of a seductive and mysterious female who enchants

men into dangerous and compromising situations through her attractiveness and sexual

allure.

It is for this reason that Mata Hari is tied to femme fatale because she was an exotic

dancer, accused of being a German spy during WW1 (and executed by firing squad in

France).

They can often come to be seen as antagonists in a film, but may sometimes repent

and become protagonists; a traditional view sees the femme fatale portrayed as a vampire.

During the film-noir era of the 1940s and 1950s, the femme fatale flourished in

American cinema.

CONVENTIONS

Film Noir is said to destroy the characteristics of Hollywood, and alludes to a

darker genre of film, one in which there are no happy endings; it denies the

Hollywood formula by having an unconventional ending, or having a „happy ending‟

but alluding it to be unrealistic due to the context it is in.

It confronts a range of factors deemed as status quo and subverts the generic

conventions of typical American films made around that era. In this genre, the

police are often corrupt, the judicial system is incompetent and the federal

government is threatening and oppressive.

VISUAL EFFECTS USED

Low key lighting-creating dramatic shadws

High angles and low angles-creating a disorientating feel

Disorientation is also created by use of mirrors or distorted shots