The Growth, Influence And Evolution Of Film Noir

The Growth, Influence and Evolution of Film Noir Film noir, when directly translated, means “black film” or “black cinema”. Often titled as one of the strongest influences of the French new wave movement, noir has been given much more longevity than its predecessors and descendents, still maintaining a strong presence over many films, especially detective stories. Although many refer to it as a genre, it evades that definition; many films follow the noir style and conventions, but they vary widely in context and substance for it to still be considered a genre. Coined by French critics, noir is a tone that has, in a sense, defied the definition of genre, influencing many films, parodies, styles, and even books since the decades after its initial
inception- dating back to the birth of cinema. Although it reached its peak in popularity during and after World War II, the first “trace” of film noir was before the golden age of cinema, in the roaring twenties.
Underworld (1927) Dir. Von Sternberg is often credited as the first piece of noir cinema. Groundbreaking for its time, the film, starring Evelyn Brent and George Bancroft, carried a sense of “gloomy romanticism of urban grit” (Diab), which would later be emulated and influence other films of the same time, including The Docks of New York and The Racket, both of which were released in the year following. The 1930s, however, saw the style evolve all the more, but this time with a stronger influence from German expressionism. Made fresh, the expressionism helped noir in cementing a darker, more cynical outlook as one of the most obvious trademarks of it as a style. The classic German film M, released in 1931, was the beginning of that, telling a story revolving around an anti-hero detective figure, telling the story of a criminal underworld and a serial killer in a dirty city. Both shot and directed outside of Berlin, M directly laid down the first laws of noir to show the heirs of the style what it is, and what it was bound to
become. The 1940s was the peak of film noir's popularity. It was then, in movies such as Double Indemnity (1944) and Dressed to Kill (1941), when the femme fatale became a necessary part of the style. The parodies of the style draw their jokes and influence from noir from this era, and so do the noir-inspired films of today. More often than not, the noir story would revolve around a disillusioned, cynical, heavy drinking male detective, who encounters a strikingly beautiful, yet promiscuous and seductive woman. She often turns out to be incredibly amoral as well, usually double crossing him. Setting him up to become the “fall guy”, she manipulates him into that position using her own looks. Near the end of the film, she, herself was often badly injured or killed, often costing the leading actor his own life, as well. Often filled with themes of alienation and paranoia, classic film noir is not a style that is incredibly easy to consume. Commonly bleak in both script and philosophy, the storylines were almost always non-linear and elliptical, the editing seamlessly maze-like. The dialogue itself is typically acerbic, with confessional-style narrative monologues. Amnesia is a common plot device, and “Everyman” characters witnessing their own downfall are common. Flashbacks or other “revelations” regarding the main hero character would add to this, often also justifying his own macabre outlook. Even the way the film itself is produced and filmed is macabre and cynical. Copied, renovated, and reanimated in movies and books such as Blade Runner, Sin City, and V for Vendetta, all of which have above at least 70% on popular movie reviewing website Rotten Tomatoes, are proof that noir- despite its often strict conventions and plot devices- is a timeless style. Orson Welles, a name still well known in film circles today, was a household name for not only his acting, but his own directing talent in the noir genre.
Most notably, the film Citizen Kane (1941), which is considered one of the best films ever produced. From then to the late sixties, with his 1962 film production of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, Welles created noir films located in various places, but all with similar themes, motifs, and stylistic choices. However, the noir cinematographers deserve just as much credit for the development of the style. Hailing from various countries around the globe, cinematographers and editors Russell Metty, John Alton, and Jean-Pierre Melville advanced
and The Big Combo (1955). Cinematography by John Alton developed their own personal noir styles during their time behind the camera. Unsurprisingly, it all ties back into noir's roots of European, specifically German, expressionism- all three of those cinematographers worked or grew up in Europe- namely, of course, Germany and Hungary. As with the film industry now, if a specific trope, genre, or style gains in popularity in the western world, one will see similar ideas abroad. That is exactly what happened with noir, although it spread definitively faster, gained traction significantly later than, and had a much longer period of enjoyment than what was had in America and the vast majority western world. Japan particularly took to the bleak style, producing a large amount of noir films. Different than America, however, Japan already had it's own style of “expressionism”, aptly named Japanese expressionism. As a result, the taking of American noir, influenced by German expressionism, and then combined with their own Japanese expressionism created its own style. However, the typical conventions of noir still survived the trip around the world, with deep focus (the use of arc lighting and a small camera aperture to create a large range of focus, leaving little on the screen blurry) being very popular among east asian audiences. The Japanese production company Nikkatsu, or にっかつ, Japan's oldest film production company, particularly took to this style, producing and distributing noir films into the sixties. However, the company failed to translate other popular western genres, styles, and innovations in film to a Japanese audience in a post-noir film universe, and declared bankruptcy in 1993. As with all good things, noir's place as the height of cinematic popularity came to an end. Many people became tired of seeing similar tropes, camera work, bleak themes, and a one-dimensional representation of women. In America, as with much of the world, noir lost much of it's traction and popularity in the sixties, coinciding with the spread of television, color cinema, and second wave feminism. However, that does not mean that it became entirely distinct. As previously mentioned, the noir cyberpunk film Blade Runner, based off the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick, is perhaps one of the best known modern day noir films. The David Lynch film Mulholland Drive plays with similar themes of alienation, isolation, and loneliness, edited in a similar dreamy, maze-like way many of the “original” noirs had been. Arguably, almost all of David Lynch's filmography follows many of the devices used by noir, most notable in his ABC television show Twin Peaks, which originally ran from 1990-1991, although it had a one season revival in 2017. Although noir is clearly still being produced, it has become less a “style” or method for creating a film, and more of an inspiration to draw from. Similar to how each new fashion line borrows concepts and ideas from fashion from previous lines and trends, new films will often borrow characters, plot devices, moods, or film techniques from noir. Nonetheless, film noir has left a heavy impact on the production of film as a whole, including its unintentional influence on the now common “detective story”. Once a popular style, and one that is still well recognized around the world, "Film noir has a mood that everyone can feel. It's people in trouble, at night, with a little bit of wind and the right kind of music. It's a beautiful thing” (Lynch).