Film noir:
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In order to create suspense in his films, alfred hitchcock would
alternate between different shots to extend cinematic time (e.g., the climax of
Saboteur (1942), the crop-duster sequence in _North By Northwest (1959)_, the
shower scene in Psycho (1960), etc.) His driving sequences were also shot in
this particular way. They would typically alternate between the character's
point of view while driving and a close-up shot of those inside car from
opposite direction. This technique kept the viewer 'inside' the car and made
any danger encountered more richly felt.
In a lot of his films (more noticeably in the early black
and white American films), he used to create more shadows on the walls to
create suspense and tension (e.g., the "Glowing Milk" scene in
Suspicion (1941) or the ominous shadow during the opening credits of Saboteur
(1942)).
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Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe
stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical
attitudes and sexual motivations.
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Film noir's aesthetics are
deeply influenced by German Expressionism, an artistic movement of
the 1910s and 1920s that involved theater, photography, painting, sculpture,
and architecture, as well as cinema.
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Directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, and Michael
Curtiz brought a dramatically shadowed lighting style and a psychologically
expressive approach to visual composition, or mise-en-scène, with them to
Hollywood, where they would make some of the most famous of classic noirs.
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Normally involve
femme fatale. A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms
ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into
compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations The phrase is French for
"deadly woman". A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by
using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. She may also be
(or imply that she is) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot
escape.
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Often associated with jazz music.
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The main moods of classic film noir were melancholy,
alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity,
moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia.
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Film noir is not a genre but a mood. Important Note:
Strictly speaking, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style,
point-of-view, or tone of a film.
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The primary
moods of classic film noir were melancholy, alienation, bleakness,
disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil,
guilt, desperation and paranoia.
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