Film Noir as a Distinctively American Cinematic Genre


I have a difficult time stating that Film Noir is distinctively American. I’m not sure that many styles or Genres of film can be considered distinctively or totally from one specific culture because individuals gather and learn new ideas from many different cultures.

However, because of the history of the style of film noir and the time period from which it developed, I can understand how American film critics could consider film noir as a distinctively American cinematic genre or style.

The style of film noir seemed to have come to a peak in the late 40’s, after WWII. Some of the most popular movies in the film noir style came out during that time. Today, movies which are based on the style of film noir seem to capture or take many aspects of the movies from the film noir genre of the 1940’s.

The style of film noir includes many different characteristics. Through the films mentioned before that I have seen, some of those characteristics include, dramatic lighting, a melodramatic feel even if it’s a comedy, mysterious characters, hard boiled protagonist, moral ambiguity, murder, and so on.

Many of these aspects seem to be predominantly included in many American films, almost as if some of the classic characteristics of film noir, such as ‘good guy/bad guy’ are something significant to American films. However, I still cannot say that the style of film noir is strictly American.

Film noir took many of its characteristics from other countries as have many genres of films across the world. Producers of movies use ideas that have been introduced across the world. Therefore, I cannot say that the style of film noir is specifically American because of diverse influences. Perhaps then, the style of film noir really took off and became popular in America. This creation of popularity among American society for the style of film noir is possibly what puts film noir in the category of specifically American film genres. I feel that if a style or genre of film really takes off in a specific place, or becomes popular among a certain society, then they have almost already claimed that style or genre of film as their own. Therefore, if you look at the popularity and amount of production of movies in the film noir genre, then you could possibly come to the conclusion that the style of film noir is distinctively an American style of film.

Mildred Pierce

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After viewing Blade Runner, my hopes for finding a film noir styled movie were a bit low. However, after watching Mildred Pierce, my hopes were brought up once again. I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was a great example of film noir and it really kept my attention.

My favorite part about this film was the suspense and twists. I guess I was really impressed with the “evilness” of the movie. The ‘bad’ guy in the movie wasn’t a guy at all, which also surprised and impressed me. I thought this movie was fairly intense for it’s time as well. The idea of a woman convicted of murder and wrapped up in so much evil even today can sometimes be a little shocking.

In all, this movie really impressed me and I would suggest this movie to anyone interested in film noir. My only disappointment would have to be that there was no use of fog or smoke (other than cigarettes) which I feel are usually typical in movies considered to be film noir. (Obviously I really love the fog-effect)

Blade Runner

I was a little let down after viewing Bladerunner. I suppose that because I heard such great things about the film that my hopes were a bit too high. I’m also not a huge fan of sci-fi films so my opinion of the film could also be a bit biased.

However, as an example of film noir, I thought Bladerunner fit the criteria. The use of a city setting, low, dark lighting and fog are only a few of the characteristics that classify Bladerunner as film noir.

I really enjoyed the use of fog and dark, eerie lighting as well as rain throughout the film. These aspects helped with the suspense and the obscurity of the movie. Additionally these effects helped to convince me that Blade Runner fits into the style of film noir. One particular scene that really sold me on accepting that Blade Runner is indeed film noir was the scene in which Harrison Ford walks into the vacated apartment building. He walks in while fog from the rain surrounds him. He is also pictured wearing a large trench coat. This seems to be one of the typical classic film noir scenes. After viewing this scene of Blade Runner I was convinced that this movie is in indeed film noir. However, other than convincing me of it’s credibility as an example of film noir, I cannot say I enjoyed many other aspects of Blade Runner.

Touch of Evil

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For the most part, I enjoyed the movie, Touch of Evil. Although a bit corny at times, I thought the characters in the story were great and the actual story line was quite interesting. Orson Wells by far played my favorite character in the film. His acting was great, but what was even more convincing was his actual look. He fit his part extremely well and he really, in my opinion, made the film unique.

I usually have a difficult time enjoying black and white films, but I didn’t even notice that this film wasn’t in color. I was extremely surprised during the movie that I wasn’t finding myself becoming bored because of the lack of color. I was enjoying a black and white film. My bias towards black and white movies may now hopefully be diminished.

In all, I definitely felt like this film was a great representation of film noir. It had most, if not all of the characteristics of film noir which helped contribute to its diversity and entertainment.

According to the film, Touch of Evil, there are a few “rules” and “characteristics” that contribute to film noir. These rules and characteristics are ideas I have compiled from my own knowledge of film noir and also from what I’ve noticed through viewing movies that are specifically film noir.

Rules and Characteristics of Film Noir

Black and white
Smoke – in terms of cigarettes and just smoke that’s intended to create a sense that there is fog or ‘smoke’ in the air
Drastic use of lighting to create moments of intensity or drama
Token female characters – strong but usually the victim
Strong, male – hero (usually in love with the female victim)
Dramatic music during intense moments
Drugs and guns (and explosions)
Betrayal
Money - Fame
Big Cars
Token ‘bad guy’ (or in the case of Touch of Evil, a few ‘bad guys’)

Ran

I’m not quite sure what to think about the movie, Ran. I was excited about the movie at first, however, throughout the rest of the movie, I found myself getting very bored of the film.

The visual aspects of this movie were great. I loved the scenery of the entire film. The first few shots really caught my attention and kept my attention for a majority of the film. The only visual parts of the film that I was not really fond of were the fighting scenes. I thought they were way too long and I felt like I was watching the same scene over and over again. In fact, at one point during one of the fighting scenes, I turned to the person next to me and we agreed that we had seen the same exact shot more than once during one of the major fighting scenes.

The movie became boring to me only because I felt like the situations with the characters were much too drawn out. The movie could have ended much earlier than it actually did. By the end of the film, I was ready to leave and had been ready to leave 45 earlier.

Even so, I admired the costumes and the makeup that was used for the characters. They created some extremely interesting and intense characters that had unique personalities all throughout the movie. There was also some humor in Ran which I admired and found quirky and fun.

I suppose I’m indifferent to this film. I really enjoyed the visuals in terms of the scenery and costumes and makeup. I did not, however, enjoy the length of the film or the major fighting scenes which I found repetitious and a little boring.

Standard of Greatness

I believe that every individual will have different standards of greatness, especially in terms of film. There are so many different types and styles and genres of film in today’s culture that it is difficult to define one specific style of greatness. However, I feel that, even though Daughters of the Dust was at times extremely difficult to watch, it really contains some aspects that I would consider to be characteristics of one of the greatest films.

First of all, it is an all black cast and was made by a black female producer. This in and of itself calls for some recognition because of the statement that both the actors and the producer in this film made by creating a film consisting of all African American actors.

As I mentioned before, this film was a bit difficult to watch because it was extremely slow and at times, the dialogue was difficult to understand. It was not until after I watched some of the ‘director’s cut’ of the dvd did I really begin to understand why this film contains greatness.

This film shocked the viewers when it first came out. Many viewers may have been expecting to see a different type of film, especially because it was an all African American cast. This film not only has an interesting message, one that celebrates the African American female, but it was presented in an extremely creative way.

What really made this film in my definition great was the fact that it sent a distinctly diverse message by containing an all African American cast and by having the lead roles and most influential roles in the film all played by women. Creatively and unusually presented, this film makes the viewer want to go back and watch it again to catch the entire message of the film and to fully recognize how unique, diverse and great this film is.

Daughters of the Dust

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It took me a while to watch this movie. I found it difficult to watch and understand in only one night. I had to watch Daughters of The Dust in pieces throughout a few days. It was also not until I viewed the director’s commentary that I could fully understand the significance of this film and appreciate the director’s intentions for the movie.

I appreciated much about this film. I appreciated the sense of African American womanhood which was translated into family values and also a sense of independence within the characters. I also appreciated the acting from most of the actors in the movie. Although I could not always understand what was being said, I could always feel the emotion or the intensity or frivolity of a particular scene.

Although containing an obscure and often confusing plot line which did not really follow one clear path, I thought that many ideas were clearly expressed through this film. Family values were expressed as well as acceptance of the new, valuing of the old and familiar, a sense of independence, and freedom as a particular race and as an individual being. These ideas and values are really what made this movie interesting to me and I appreciate Daughters of the Dust for clearly and creatively expressing the ideas, emotions and values of African American women at the turn of the 20^th century.

Casablanca

On many movie lists such as “Top 100 All Time Best Movies Ever” I have always noticed that the film Casablanca is always on the lists. Since I had never seen Casablanca before, I really did not understand why it was on the list. However, after viewing Casablanca, I can understand a little more as to why it is regarded as one of the best movies ever made.

For the most part I really enjoyed this movie. However, there were times when I felt a little bored with the film. I mostly enjoyed the plot. I thought it was cleverly twisted and humorous as well. It was definitely a movie to sit down and not think and simply relax to.

However, I felt as if some parts in the film were pretty corny. This could be because of the time during which it was made. For people back in the 1940’s, this movie probably was not as corny or goofy as I felt it was. The murder scenes were ridiculously unrealistic. The famous “Here’s looking at you, Kid” line, I felt, was a little over used and almost used at inappropriate times. I felt like when the line was used, it was in the wrong context or it was just so random. It could have been because throughout the entire movie I was expecting to hear the line and so when I finally did hear it, it just jumped at me and made too much of an impact. Even so, I felt as if that specific line had been a little played up and therefore made it kind of silly when I actually heard the line.

In terms of one of the greatest movies ever made, I feel as if people regard this movie as one of the best because of the plot and some of the ‘twists’. And, because of this movie’s creative plot, I too enjoyed this movie. However, I’m not sure I would regard Casablanca as one of the best movies ever made.