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Film Noir
Location/setting, costumes, props and
timeline.
Faith Brimmell
Locations and Settings
•
Film noir films were marked through the lighting,
the cameras depth of field, visual schemes,
ominous shadows, vertical and diagonal instead of
horizontal camera angles, circling cigarette smoke,
and unbalanced or moody compositions. Settings
were often interiors with low-key lighting, blinded
windows and rooms with dark claustrophobic
appearances. Exteriors are often urban night
scenes with deep shadows, dark alleyways, rainslicked streets and flashing neon lights. Story
locations were often in murky and dark streets,
dimly-lit and low-rent apartments and hotel rooms
of big cities, as well as abandoned warehouses.
Locations and Settings
• Noir scenes are made from interesting camera
angles and with dramatic close-ups and
shadowed lighting. The stories tend to use
smoke-filled rooms, views of light filtered
through Venetian blinds, downtown areas with
neon lights, dark wet streets to heighten the
noir effect. Brightly-lit scenes are not used in
noir films since the desired effect is that of
dreary hopelessness.
Men’s Costumes
• The men’s costume within film
noir films would be a basic suit,
Fedora hats, long coat and
finished off with a cigar or
cigarette. The type of suit they
wore would compliment their
status background. A business
styled suit would connote their
wealth, compared to the grimy
styled suits which would connote
a lower status.
Women's Costumes
• The vision of the idealised innocent girl who wears
the stereotypical household aprons, pony tails and
bakes cookies for their cherubic little girl.
However, there is also the opposite vision of film
noir women, represented through wearing satin
cocktail frocks and long shirt dresses. Also, in the
film ‘The Big Sleep’ (1946) directed by Howard
Hawks, the first scene showed the woman wearing
a short skirt and top.
• The status of the women are symbolised by the
fur coat they wear, a long with the use of jewellery
and accessories.
Props
• An iconic prop within film noir, revolves around both
genders. The cigar for the men and the cigarette for the
women, unless they are made out to be the ‘innocent
girl’ within the plot. This could signify wealth of the
character.
• As most film noir films are crime based, the characters
use a gun as a prop.
• A simple, ordinary car, which didn’t have special gadgets,
such as fire from the exhaust, as these were introduced
more in the 1990’s / 2000’s in the big blockbuster films.
Timeline of Film Noir
• 1940’s / 1950’s – film noir was regarded as the
‘classic period’ of American film noir. The first
film noir film to be made was ‘Stranger on the
Third Floor’ in 1940, which was directed by
Boris Ingster. Other films created during the
1940’s / 1950’s included: ‘You Only Live Once’
and ‘Kiss Me Deadly’
Timeline of Film Noir
• 1960’s / 1970’s – New trends
emerged and brought classic noir
themes and mood to television.
Film noir films from this era
included: ‘Point Blank’, ‘Hickey
and Boggs’, ‘Farewell, My Lovely’
and ‘Thieves Like Us’.
Timeline of Film Noir
• 1980’s / 1990’s – during this time,
more colour films were emerging,
along with more ambience noir
dramas. These included films such as
‘Miami Vice’, ‘Fight Club’, ‘Pulp Fiction’
and ‘Reservoir Dogs’
Timeline of Film Noir
• 2000’s – this era was
when more ultra-violent
films were being
introduced into the genre
of film noir. These type of
films included:
‘Memento’, ‘Insomnia’,
‘Batman Begins’ and
‘Collateral’.