Sunday, January 25, 2015
Freebie
Although I watched a TED talk and I will likely regret this, I am taking my freebie! I got a new puppy and he's more fun to play with than writing.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
More Noir
Film noir literally means "black film." As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depressing. Thinking about the characters, the setting, and the storyline.
As you may know, IB Film 2 has previously studied Double Indemnity and analyzed it for its film noir characteristics, so if you consider this post anything other than perfect you're wrong. I'm kind of an expert in this subject.
So film noir is a basically a style of black and white film that includes characteristics like low-key lighting, a crime, and ultimately a main character that has a downfall. It was heavily influenced by a filmic genre from the 20s called German expressionism.
One dark/depressing element of the film was the use of lighting to create shadows. Throughout the entire movie there were shadows displayed from characters which gave me sort of an eerie feeling. A specific shadow that was used in this movie and was commonly used in film noir is venetian blinds. Light from outside would protrude through the window and the blinds, which in turn left a creepy shadow in the room. This was often displayed on the faces of the characters. Lighting in this movie was also used to send messages and communicate. An example of this is when Phyllis flashed the lights on her car to let Walter know where she was.
Another dark/depressing element of this film is the fact that a large amount of the events take place at night. First off, Walter Neff is telling the whole story at night which makes the whole story seem dark. Also, a lot of sneaking around is done at night, plus the actually murder takes place at night. The use of the night time makes the movie seem dark because you can't necessarily see everything in the camera's frame.
The storyline in this movie is quite depressing, but the fact of the matter is that all film noir movies are like this. This movie fits the film noir genre quite well in terms of plot because a seductive woman convinces a man to commit a crime, a crime that is violent. The ending enforces the film noir genre because the man is ultimately betrayed by the woman that promised him so many things. This depressing yet thrilling storyline was quite popular during the 40s around the time of film noir because it was new and never done before.
Overall this movie is very dark and depressing because of the adultery and corruption in the plot which is expressed through the main characters. Film noir was popular because of it contained elements like the ones in Double Indemnity and it grasped the viewer with a suspenseful thriller that was new to the film world.
As you may know, IB Film 2 has previously studied Double Indemnity and analyzed it for its film noir characteristics, so if you consider this post anything other than perfect you're wrong. I'm kind of an expert in this subject.
So film noir is a basically a style of black and white film that includes characteristics like low-key lighting, a crime, and ultimately a main character that has a downfall. It was heavily influenced by a filmic genre from the 20s called German expressionism.
One dark/depressing element of the film was the use of lighting to create shadows. Throughout the entire movie there were shadows displayed from characters which gave me sort of an eerie feeling. A specific shadow that was used in this movie and was commonly used in film noir is venetian blinds. Light from outside would protrude through the window and the blinds, which in turn left a creepy shadow in the room. This was often displayed on the faces of the characters. Lighting in this movie was also used to send messages and communicate. An example of this is when Phyllis flashed the lights on her car to let Walter know where she was.
Another dark/depressing element of this film is the fact that a large amount of the events take place at night. First off, Walter Neff is telling the whole story at night which makes the whole story seem dark. Also, a lot of sneaking around is done at night, plus the actually murder takes place at night. The use of the night time makes the movie seem dark because you can't necessarily see everything in the camera's frame.
The storyline in this movie is quite depressing, but the fact of the matter is that all film noir movies are like this. This movie fits the film noir genre quite well in terms of plot because a seductive woman convinces a man to commit a crime, a crime that is violent. The ending enforces the film noir genre because the man is ultimately betrayed by the woman that promised him so many things. This depressing yet thrilling storyline was quite popular during the 40s around the time of film noir because it was new and never done before.
Overall this movie is very dark and depressing because of the adultery and corruption in the plot which is expressed through the main characters. Film noir was popular because of it contained elements like the ones in Double Indemnity and it grasped the viewer with a suspenseful thriller that was new to the film world.
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