I know you've discussed the noir definition extensively on
the list, so I won't get it it again, but--and this is just
my take on it--dark and sinister is way to vague for a
description of noir fiction. In France, I think dark and
sinister works, but outside of France I believe noir has
evolved to become something more specific. And I don't think
it's absurd at all that film noir is different from book
noir. Film noir doesn't just take into account subject
matter; it also refers to mood and look and atmosphere. In
book noir, I think it's all about character. That's why in
(in my opinion) the Maltese Falcon book is not noir, but the
film is. In France, both are noir.
> Noir is just crime fiction that's dark and
sinister.
> That's it. Now, I don't disagree with the
general
> notion that it's applied way too widely nowadays,
but
> that doesn't mean that the "true" definition is
a
> particularly narrow one.
>
> And the idea that noir means something different
in
> film than it does in prose fiction is absurd.
The
> only reason film noir is called film noir is
because
> it's a film that tells the same kind of story as
a
> noir novel or short story.
>
> If "noir" means something different in film than
it
> does in prose fiction, it's the only term in
the
> entire mystery genre that means something
different
> depending on the medium it's applied to. A
police
> procedural novel and a police procedural film
both
> depict the profession of law enforcement
with
> authenticity and accuracy (or at least the
pretense
> and appearance of authenticity and accuracy).
A
> hard-boiled private eye novel and a
hard-boiled
> private eye film both tell stories of
tough,
> colloquial professional detectives who work
for
> private clients. A tradtional "cozy" whodunit
novel
> and an traditional "cozy whodunit movie both
feature
> fairly presented clues, minimal violence,
a
> comofortable, usually upper-class setting, and
a
> villain whose identity is concealed until the
final
> revelation at the end.
>
> But, in the face of all that, we're somehow
supposed
> to conclude that "noir" means something different
in
> prose than it does in film?
>
> THE BIG SLEEP was one of the first entries
in
> Gallimard's Serie Noire line. Serie Noire, as
has
> been pointed out several times before, was where
the
> term "noir," as used to describe a particular type
of
> crime fiction, was coined. "Film noir" was coined
to
> describe a film that told the same kind of story
that
> the novels published under the Serie Noire line
told.
> Indeed, to describe movies that were often
direct
> adaptations of books published under the Serie
Noire
> line. If the film version of THE BIG SLEEP is
noir,
> it's precisely BECAUSE it's a fairly
faithful
> adaptation of a book that's noir.
>
> JIM DOHERTY
>
>
>
>
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