Film Noir

"For me the great noir films are films about fall guys a person who find themselves caught in a net. The more he struggles the deeper and deeper he becomes entwined in nightmare." - Errol Morris

This quote perfectly applies to Double Idemnity because of how Walter Neff who becomes consumed by the idea of running away with Mr. Dietrichson's wife Phyllis. Through double idemnity, if Mr. Dietrichson were to die from an unlikely accident, double idemnity clause in the policy would come into affect and Phyllis Dietrichson would receive twice the amount from Pacific All Risk. Walter meticulously hatches a plan to have Mr. Dietrichson killed in a freak accident and all is well until questions are asked and an investigation is under way. Walter continues to dig himself into a deeper hole and finds out Phyllis has been seeing another man behind his back, Lola's(Mr. Dietrichson's daughter) boyfriend Nero.

I can agree that Phyllis Dietrichson falls under the category as a femme fatale. The way she presents herself, how she speaks to Walter Neff, maybe even the smell of her perfume was too intoxicating. She has that irresistible desire and she used that to her advantage, convincing Walter Neff to meticulously plan the death of Mr. Dietrichson.

"She uses her sexuality to get what she's after, and what she's after isn't the man in the picture, he's another tool. What she's after is something for herself." (Filmmaker not listed? Although this quote does ring true)





What film noir does is adds significant drama to what is already a dim setting. With the dark setting and dim lighting, it sets the tone for the film making it that much more dramatic. Pictured in this film still is a woman looking out through her window blinds, and on the opposite side of the window blinds is an unidentified man wearing a hat. The darkness of the setting makes the scene that much more serious, as if the lady looking through the blinds is in a dire strait.

I grew up watching movies in color, so when I go back and look at black & white films, it doesn't hold my attention compared to a movie that has color. Color not only provides eye-candy, but can change the expression of the film. If you compare the 2 pictures above, one is a typical black-white film while the other is neo-noir. Although the black-white picture sends a chill down my spine, the picture below that expresses itself better. The grittiness of the picture can be felt, that red light far away reminds me of emergency lights. The rain adds a melancholy tone, while the graffiti on the walls add to the effect that this might not be a safe area.

Movies that grab your attention

What makes a movie become an award-winning movie requires a lot of attention to detail. How your characters are dressed, the script-writing, the tone in the voices of your actors, to the environment they are filmed in. Every piece of the movie-making process is integral to having a high quality movie. The film needs to grab my attention, and hold onto it for the duration of the movie. Being immersed in another world separate of your own for the next 1-2 hours, and keeping the audience within the director's grasp, is like an MC at a hip hop concert controlling the crowd with their music.

The two silent films being viewed "A Trip to the Moon" and "The Great Train Robbery" had different sets built in order to further immerse the audience. Watching The Great Train Robbery, during the shooting sequence, you can see puffs of smoke coming from the pistol. For example, if at that instance the weapon being used were brightly colored, and did not use puffs of smoke coming from the gun, would that not break the immersion? Both films had different sets, and sometimes costumes when the scene changed because the director is trying to tell his version of the story to the audience.

The two films I have selected that further proves my point are "The Dark Knight" and "The Shawshank Redemption." Like I said earlier, the movies need to get the audience immersed, and for the duration of the movie, that audience member needs to be taken to another world separate of their own. The Shawshank Redemption was released in 1994, and was based in the year 1947. Do you think the movie can still win as many awards as it did, if they didn't wear the prisoners uniform from 1947? What if Tim Robbins (Andy Dufresne) and Morgan Freeman (Red) wore tie-dyes? The setting and theme of the movie wouldn't be the same.



















The images of two different Jokers show two completely different acting styles to the character. Although I never did read any comic books growing up, but watching the 1989 Batman film, Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker was a bit more comedic than Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger painted the Joker in a more sadistic tone, with raggedy clothes and a rushed-makeup, it job adds to his character, making the Joker seem more believable of his intent on burning the world, than caring about the way he dresses.