BLOG POST #3 FILM NOIR - THE BLACK FILM

 

     In viewing the documentary on Film Noir  from the Annenberg Media website you can see that the
directors have a great appreciation of this genre of movie.I must agree that it is a very important part of the evolution of movie making.The quote by director Earl Morris is one that stands out for me and perhaps explains my longtime fascination with this genre of movies.Mr.Morris says,"We don't know what's on but we know something bad is going to happen." For me this is what typifies film noir and keeps we watching and engaged.Something bad almost always happens in the end to the characters we are following yet we watch with great anticipation.In Out of the Past the main character played by Robert Mitchum knows that he is being framed and that something bad is likely to happen and continues onward anyway.He even tells his cab driving  friend that he is in the middle of a frame and continues on even though the end result is not going to be good.He says " All I can see is the frame I can't see the picture." This is the allure of the Black Film -Film Noir it seduces us to the dark sides of human emotions and behaviors.To truly understand the art of film or movies and where it is today and how it has developed we must understand the genre of the Black Film known as Film Noir.

Janey Place describes the femme fatale of film noir as a woman who is very strong ,smart, and very selfish.She is out for herself and uses the man as a tool to get what she wants.She is extremely sensual and sexual and uses her sexuality to reach her goals.Kathy Moffitt the femme fatale in Out Of The Past is a good example of this type of female character.Kathy shoots Whit and steals his money and when she is finally tracked down by the protagonist Jeff  she uses her sensuality and sexuality to seduce Jeff.
   I do not see Lynn in L.A. Confidential as the same type of femme fatale as Kathy in Out of the Past or the character played by Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. I  could be wrong but I think that was  what Janey Place had in mind in her definition and description of the femme fatale in Film Noir.That is not to say that some of the elements of the characteristics of the femme fatale are not present in Lynn just not to the extent that typifies the femme fatale of the true film noir.










The movie L.A. Confidential directed by Curtis Hanson is in a way a great tribute to the film noir genre.It is shot in color so the black and white element is not there to tip you off that this is a movie made in the film noir style.However ,the settings and locations of Los Angeles  in the 50's are typical of what we see in traditional fim noir.At the begining of the movie you have voice over narrative by Danny Devito and this is another element that typifies film noir.The flawed characters  are another element i see in this movie that reminds me of film noir.The corrupt police officers in the story line are another element of film noir that i see in this movie.I believe this is an attempt by the director to honor the film noir genre.The color photography masks the elements at first glance but they are there if you look for them.This was an excellent movie.

Blog Post #2 The Narrative

Stories are told to us in movies through the narrative .Basically the telling of the story is a movie's narrative.The entire wold of the story -all the characters ,settings ,sounds,objects ,and events that mesh together and form the story that we are being presented is called the diegesis . All of the singular elements together form the diegetic elements of a movie.On the other side of the coin the elements that come from the outside of the world of the story are nondiegetic elements.Examples of nondiegetic elements are things we see and hear like background music , titles and credits,and voice-over dialogue from a third person narrator or someone who is not a character in the story being told to us.

The opening credits in the movie Out of the Past  where you have music from the score of the movie playing and the text RKO  RADIO PICTURES,INC. presents ROBERT MITCHUM and JANE GREER is one example of nondiegetic elements of a movie.In contrast an example of  a diagetic element might be at the 00:17:10 mark of the film as Robert Mitchum aka Jeff Bailey is headed into the cafe but is speaking to us as a narrator.Because he is a character speaking in the first person and not a third person narrator this is an example of diegetic elements as opposed to nondiegetic.A second example of a nondiegetic moment in the movie would be at the01:25:00 mark of the film wher Jeff and Ann are looking for each other in the woods and the only sound you hear is that of the score and background music.A second example of a diegetic element would be at the 00:16:36 mark of the movie where Jeff having talked to the housekeeper in the bar
realizes you do not get vaccinated for a trip to Florida but you do for Mexico.This is presented to us again in first person narrative voice-over with an aerial view of the town square in Acapulcoand the background music playing.It ties the story together for us and places Jeff in the village where he eventually meets the beautiful Kathy Moffit.

Film theorist Stefan Sharff defines familiar image as an attempt by the director of a movie to stabilize its narrative by repeating a particular image.Sometimes this repetition is done with a slight variation other times it is not.An example of familiar image occurs in Out of the Past at the 00:11:17 mark and 00:33:57 mark .Both these scenes take place in the car on the road to Lake Tahoe and involve Jeff telling Ann about his past and involve Jeff having to deal with his past in order for he and Ann to have a future.I think this is what the director was possibly going for here.

 

The genre of film noir  developed in the early 1940s,many of these movies were low budget and did not feature name actors.I believe the movie Out of the Past shot in 1947 contains many of the characteristics that typify the noir film.The narrative style with the voice- over from the main character is very  typical in this genre and is present in this movie as well. The frequent flashbacks are also another example of the genre of film noir.The dark lighting and photography and somewhat fatalistic viewpoint are also typical in film noir and i see these in the movie as well.The character played by a young Robert Mitchum was a cynical private detective who was the protagonist and sort of an antihero.This type of main character was very common in film noir.

I believe that Out of the Past is a terrific example of the genre of film noir.

Blog

Award Worthiness

    As the calendar turns to February  movie fans find themselves in the middle of awards season.The Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild have recently given out their respective awards for movies from 2010.The Academy Awards are not far off so perhaps it is a good time to ask ourselves what makes a movie worthy of an award? I believe the cohesive and seamless meshing of excellent writing,cinematography,acting ,directing ,and editing are necessary to make a movie worthy of being nominated and subsequently winning an award.Usually one of the above mentioned parts of a movie shine above the others but it is when they blend together perfectly that a movie becomes  really noteworthy and deserving of an award.
  When I view a movie and try to decide if I believe it is noteworthy i ask myself if the characters are believable and can i relate to them .Does the storyline or concept move me or  give reason to pause and really think?.Another thing I look for is entertainment.Was I entertained by the movie?Does the movie cause me to feel something emotionally? When I feel something and can relate to the characters and am forced to think about what i have just seen and have been entertained I have seen a noteworthy movie that i believe is deserving of an award . Two movies that are on my list of favorites that I believe meet my criteria for award worthiness are Casablanca and the Matrix.
  Casablanca was filmed in 1942 in black and white and is a classic that is on the list of many top 100 lists of all time great movies.When lines like "Play it again Sam'' and "Here's looking at you kid " become entrenched in our minds and memories and are referenced  almost seventy years after being made then you know you are talking about one terrific movie.Even movies made in this generation often reference lines or scenes from Casablanca.This classic still holds up well when judged against movies today.This movie really contains all the aspects that I look for in a noteworthy and award winning movie .

  The Matrix makes my top 100 list of best movies even though it may not make a lot other peoples lists.It received awards for editing and sound and was nominated for cinematography.The Matrix may not contain all of the elements that I look for when determining the award worthiness of a movie but it is very special nevertheless because of the special effects and action sequences and because of the implicit meanings that lie beneath the surface of the film.I believe it to be one of the best Science-Fiction movies pf the last 25 or 30 years.The philosophical themes that permeate this movie continue to be written about by philosophy students in their thesis work and professors of philosophy use the Matrix to teach philosophical concepts and in fact entire philosophy courses are centered on the philosophy of the Matrix.A movie that can have that type of effect on society makes my top 100 list even if the writing and acting are not award material.I am glad to find out that the American Film Institute also has The Matrix on its list of top movies so I am not alone in this analysis.