----- Original Message ----- From: "JIM DOHERTY" <
jimdohertyjr@yahoo.com> To: <
rara-avis@icomm.ca> Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003
2:50 PM Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: RARA-AVIS Digest V5 #33 -
Noir
> Rene,
>
> Re your response to Miker's comments
below:
>
> > > I think that you have pointed out a
difference
> > between film
> > > and fiction noir. Film noir is heavily
into
> > style. Turn on
> > > the smoke machines and turn off the lights
that
> > don't cast
> > > dramatic shadow and, like you said, you
don't even
> > need
> > > characters or a plot. But noir fiction
is
> > different. It's
> > > all about atmosphere, and this atmosphere
is very
> > dependent
> > > upon the characters. There's gotta be that
heady
> > blend of
> > > sweat, fear, and desperation.
> > >
> > > Take Williams's DEAD CALM. I don't think
that
> > anybody would
> > > argue that the book is juicy noir. But
what about
> > the movie?
> > > The movie content is dark and wicked, and
I would
> > personally
> > > call it noir because of this. But I think
that a
> > lot of
> > > people would hesitate to call the movie
noir
> > simply because
> > > it's missing a lot of the classic noir
props. It
> > would get
> > > the "thriller" tag instead.
> > >
> > > Thanks to everyone who posted.
> > >
> > > miker
> >
> > miker, I think you're labouring under a
(very
> > popular) misconception re:
> > film noir - i.e. that film noir is defined by
visual
> > stylistics.
>
> If Miker's laboring under this misconception it may
be
> because of the fact that it's not a misconception
at
> all. Film noir IS defined by visual stylistics.
And
> that's pretty much ALL it's defined by. It's
a
> contemporary crime film marked by partiuclar
visual
> stylistics. Period. Those visual flourishes are
what
> give film noir a . . . wait for it . . . "dark
and
> sinister atmosphere."
>
> Criminy, Rene, film is a VISUAL medium! What
else
> WOULD film noir be defined by BUT its
visual
> sytlistics?
Jim, Yes, of course film is a visual medium - you don't need
a Jesuit education to know that. However, it is not
exclusively a visual medium. Why do you feel that script,
acting, etc has nothing to do with film? Film noir is not
exclusively defined by visual stylistics - how could it be
when there is no one look common to ALL films noirs. I
presume (going from the one example given) that you are
referring to things such as chiascuro lighting, odd angles,
certain recurring images such as venetian blinds, wet
streets, urban landscapes, etc. However, these stylistic
flourishes are not universal. The term "film noir" was coined
in 1946 (not 1960) by French critic Nino Frank after seeing 6
recent Hollywood melodramas in one week: The Maltese Falcon,
Laura, Double Indemnity, Murder My Sweet & The Woman in
the Window. By your definition, the first two films aren't
noir. Other "Non-noirs" would include The Killing, The
Asphalt Jungle, High Sierra in black & white and colour
films such as I Died a Thousand Times, Desert Fury, Leave Her
to Heaven, Slightly Scarlet & A Kiss Before Dying. All
these films are listed in both Film Noir: An Encyclopedic
Reference to the American Style ed. Silver & Ward and
Paul Duncan's The Pocket Essentials Film Noir. On the other
hand, your definition, based solely on visual style would
include Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the Universal
horror movies of the 1930's and Citizen Kane. In short, noir
is a mood, not a colour (or absence of it). Mood can be
achieved with visual effects but it's not the only way. I
have read pretty widely in the critical literature regarding
film noir and although no two critics agree on exactly which
films make up the noir canon none have defined noir in purely
visual terms. I'm also aware of many "crime films" which have
a noir look but are labelled as
"gangster" films by critics because they are not thematically
noir, e.g.Dillinger, The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond -
although being about gangsters does not mean it can't be a
noir (White Heat, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, High Sierra). I
haven't even touched on the films that have been labelled
neo-noir which are almost exclusively in colour. How could
you possibly come up with a definition of neo-noir that is
exclusively based on visual stylistics?
Rene
.
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