Film Noir

As a group we have decided to base our film black and white (film noir).

Film Noir of this era is associated with a low key. Black and white visual style. A cinematic term used to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas.

The 'dark' downbeat and back the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France to theaters following the war.

Examples of Film Noir:

• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• Murder, My Sweet (1944)
• Double Indemnity (1944)

Film Noir s not a genre, but rather a mood, style, point of view or tone of a film. It's helpful to realize that 'Film Noir' usually refers to a distinct historical period of film history. 

Film Noir films (mostly shot in gloom grays, blacks and whites)

Thematically showed the dark and unhuman side of human and nature. It emphasizes the brutal, unhealthy, seamy, shadowy, dark and sadistic sides of the human experience.

Primary characteristics and conventions of film noir:

Classic Film Noir were: Alienation, Disillusionment, Pessimism, ambiguity, evil, desperation and paranoia. Story lines were often elliptical, non-linear and twisting. Narratives were frequently complex, maze-like and convoluted and typically told with foreboding background music and flashbacks.

Females in Film Noir, 2 types:

(1)- Dutiful, reliable, trustworthy and loving women

(2)- (Female Fatales)- Mysterious, Duplicitous, Gorgeous, Unloving, tough-sweet, unreliable and desperate women.

The male protagonists in film noir wished to elude his mysterious past, and had to choose what path to choose and what to take.

The first detective film to us shadowy, nihilistic noir style was The Maltese Falcon. the film used low key lighting and inventive and arresting angles. unusual camera angles- sometimes low to the ground, revealing ceilings of the room- are utilized to emphasize the nature of the characters and their actions.

Thriller research

What is a thriller film?
It is a film that is suspenseful without depending too much action(Action movie) or violence (Horror movie) to perpetrate its suspense. thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's mood, giving them a high level of anticipation, uncertainty,surprise and anxiety. It keeps the audience 'on edge of their seats'as the plot builds towards a climax. Literary devices such as red herring, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively.

Common sub genres are psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, erotic thrillers and mystery thrillers. successful genres of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. One of the films which were popular of his was psycho filmed in 1960.


Thrillers are often hybrids- there a lot of varieties of suspense-thrillers:

• Action or Adventure- thrilers
• sci-fi thrillers (such as Alien (1979)
• crime-caper thrillers (such as The french connection (1971)
• Western- thrillers (such as High Noon (1952)
• film noir thrillers (such as Double indemnity (1944)
• Romantic comedy-thrillers (such as Safety Last (1923)

Characters in thrillers include convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims (often on the run), prison inmates, menaced women, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, fugitives, private eyes, drifters, duplicitious individuals, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes of thrillers frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.


Alfred Hitchcock is considered the acknowledged mater of the thrillers or suspense genre, manipulating his audience's fears and desires, and taking viewers into a state of association with the representation of reality facing the character. Films he has mastered:

• Marnie (1964)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Psycho (1960)

BBFC

The BBFC are abbreviated for the British Board Of Film Classification. It is a non-governmental organisation and is funded by the film industry. The BBFC decide the certificate of age rating a film should attain. This is an extremely important stage and initially enforced due to children of young ages being exposed to inappropriate content and further imitating it.

What is allowed in a 15 rated film?

The specification is divided into sub categories: Sex, Horror, Nudity, Language, Discrimination Imitable Behavior, Drugs and Violence. This does not necessarily mean that in 15 rated films these categories are accepted, there are still restriction to a certain extent. For example, drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. This mean that the use of drugs is allowed to be shown, however the full use of them is not due to it being seen as promoting to audiences. An additional example is the exposure of sexual violence. Detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of it must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification. This means that the topic can be spoken about or referred too in detail however cannot be physically show.

What is allowed in an 18 rated film?

There are no actual limits in an 18 rated film. Almost anything is allowed, just as long as it isn't too disturbing that it could potentially cause the film to be banned. In the past, violence was one the most problematic aspects when passing a film with an 18 certificate, whether it is sexuality or fantasized violence. Horror films were often the culprits for the portraying graphic violence and this often results in a lot of grief to audiences. This means such scenes must be removed before giving it a certificate.

Is there a difference between a 15 and 18?

The answer is yes, depending on what the film contains and presents. Some films may be scraped and argued into a 15 as it all depends on the contents and the effects that may have.