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Film Noir: Difference between revisions
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{{
[[File:Noir 8041.png|frame| [[Private Detective]]? Check. [[Femme Fatale]]? Check. [[Chiaroscuro]] lighting? Check. This is Film Noir.]]
{{quote|''You need [[Cops and Detectives|cops]], venetian blinds, [[Everybody Smokes|lots of smoking]], [[Nice Hat|hats]], sweat, [[Blind Alley|dead-end streets]], guys who know all the angles except for the one that ends up sticking out of their backs. Sirens of the [[Chase Scene|automotive]] and [[Femme Fatale|female]] kind.''
|'''James Lileks''', ''The Bleat'' [http://lileks.com/bleat/?p{{=}}701 "Think You Oughta Drink That"]{{broken link}} }}
Common subjects of noir films include murder investigations, [[The Caper|heists]], [[The Con|con games]], and (mostly) innocent men or women [[Wrongly Accused]] of crime. The [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|double-cross]] and [[Smoking Is Cool|cigarette smoking]] are mandatory. [[Kudzu Plot|Complicated plots]] are further convoluted by [[Flash Back|Flashbacks]] and [[Flash Forward]]s—the [[Narrator|narration]] tying everything together, [[Unreliable Narrator|assuming we can trust him]].
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The [[Anti-Hero]] is the most common protagonist of the Noir—a man alienated from society, suffering an existential crisis. Frequently portrayed as a disillusioned, cynical police officer or [[Private Detective|private-eye]] and played by a fast-talking actor, the [[Anti-Hero]] is no fool and doesn't suffer fools gladly. He faces morally ambiguous decisions and battles with [[Crapsack World|a world that seems like it is out to get him and/or those closest to him.]]
The setting is often [[City Noir|a large, oppressive city (filmed in dark and dusky conditions to create a moody atmosphere)]], with Mexico often playing a big role. Familiar haunts include dimly-lit bars, [[Den of Iniquity|nightclubs filled with questionable clientele]] (including, the [[Gayngster]]) whom the lead may intimidate for information, gambling dens, juke joints and the ubiquitous seedy [[Abandoned Warehouse|waterfront warehouse]]. At night in the big city, you can bet the streets are slick with rain, reflecting streetlights like a Hopper painting. [[Humans Are
The tone and outlook of Film Noir ''must'' be [[Darker and Edgier|bleak]], [[World Half Empty|defeatist]], and [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|pessimistic]]—it always ''suggests'' a sliminess beyond what it can [[Censorship Bureau|show]]. Nobody gets what they want, and [[Laser-Guided Karma|everyone gets what's coming to them]]. Characters are often armed -- [[Revolvers Are Just Better|revolvers]], [[Hand Cannon|Colt 1911s]], and if they need [[More Dakka]], tommy guns. They'll probably wear a [[Nice Hat|Fedora or trilby hat]] with a [[Badass Longcoat|trench coat]]. Frequently the ending will be [[Anticlimax|low-key]] and [[Downer Ending|leave no one character happy or fulfilled]]. Commonly, there is also a great deal of [[Belligerent Sexual Tension|sexual tension]] between the hero and the female lead; Noir stories are quite risqué. The original Film Noir era followed the [[Censorship Bureau|Hays Code]], so the odds of a female lead removing her clothing are minimal. This applies to modern versions; [[Fan Service|gratuitous nudity]] or scenes of excessive violence are [[Gory Discretion Shot|hinted at]] [[Sexy Discretion Shot|rather than portrayed.]] It is often what is ''not'' seen that adds to the mystery and suspense.
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* ''Stranger On The Third Floor'' (1940)
* ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' (1941)
* ''[[
* ''[[Casablanca]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Double Indemnity]]'' (1944)
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* ''[[The Third Man]]'' (1949)
* ''[[White Heat]]'' (1949)
* ''[[
* ''[[In a Lonely Place]]'' (1950)
* ''[[Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950)
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* ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'' contains significant noir elements.
== Fan
* The aptly named ''[[Coruscant Noir]]''.
* ''[[A Dark Knight Over Sin City]]''
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* And [[The Automatic Detective]] is Noir [[X Meets Y|meets]] [[Raygun Gothic]].
* ''[[Felidae]]'' is a Film Noir [[Recycled in Space|WITH CATS]].
== Spoofs and Parodies ==▼
* ''[[Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid]]'' (1982)▼
* ''Play It Again, Sam'' (1972), a [[Woody Allen]] film that matches up Allen's "neurotic Jew" character with [[Humphrey Bogart]]. [[Hilarity Ensues]].▼
* ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'', at least setting-wise, plays with the genre and its tropes in part. The bulk of the work is an incredibly silly take on the [[Eastern RPG]], but it's decidedly within a Film Noir framework. And when it does noir, oh, ''[http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/mspa-office-print.jpg it does noir]''.▼
** In a similar vein, ''[[Homestuck]]'''s Midnight Crew intermission plays with the [[Heroic Sociopath|darker]] end of the genre's spectrum, [[Timey-Wimey Ball|just with extra time travel]].▼
* ''[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]'', an [[Affectionate Parody]] with {{spoiler|a [[Averted Trope|surprisingly happy ending]].}}▼
* The [[Affectionate Parody|Tracer Bullet]] stories in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]''.▼
* ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'', especially with the character Flint Paper.▼
** In ''[[The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police|Sam and Max Freelance Police]] Season 3: Episode 3'', Max gets murdered and Sam has an '[[Heroic BSOD|embarrassing noirish rampage]]' that turns the game into a Film Noir spoof for a while, down to the lighting and the camera angles in the cutscenes. Highlights include Sam demonstrating his edgy true-to-life violence by [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|slapping people in the face mid sentence]] and having a 'Noir' option during conversations which causes him to [[Wangst|give a largely incoherent metaphorical description about how amoral and miserable he is]].▼
* Less spoof than reference, but Tyrell Badd of ''[[Ace Attorney|Ace Attorney Investigations]] is a blatant noir detective down to the stubble, trenchcoat, and tragic past.▼
* ''The Black Bird'' is a film spoof of ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' without much originality.▼
* ''[[Rock Slyde]]'' (2009) is a modern film-noir parody starring [[Patrick Warburton]] as "Rock Slyde", private-eye and former [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|homosexual-pirate musical-pornstar]].▼
* One of the scenarios in the Artificial Reality machine in [[Red Dwarf]] is a film noir setting, complete with monochrome, a [[Femme Fatale]], [[Al Capone]]-style outfits and a car from the 30s.▼
== Live Action TV ==
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* Season 5, episode 10 of ''[[Monk]]'', "Mr. Monk and the Leper," was filmed as a noir, and there are both color and black and white versions, which were shown back-to-back when the episode premiered (the B&W version aired first).
* ''[[Angel]]'' was heavily influenced by Film Noir, mostly up to about half way through the third season, but it retained certain Film Noir traits until the very end, such as the moral abiguity. {{spoiler|The final scene of the show is in the classic Film Noir setting of rainy alleyway}}.
== Music ==
* [[Wall of Voodoo|Stan Ridgway]]'s 1986 single [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arxG4gzJU5k "The Big Heat"], from the album of the same name, is a Film Noir movie compressed into a song {{spoiler|with bonus [[Time Travel]] elements -- or maybe it's [[Days of Future Past]]}}.
== Video Games ==
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* ''[[Heavy Rain]]'' (2010)
* The later ''[[Hitman]]'' games start to veer into this territory by virtue of [[Growing the Beard]] and aiming for a more [[Darker and Edgier]] feel. Several missions in the third and fourth game (''Contracts'' and ''Blood Money'') have a genuinely noir tone.
* ''[[
* [[The Shivah]], by [[Wadjet Eye Games]]
* ''Emerald City Confidential'' is described by the producer as follows: 'Harsh city streets, grey rainy skies, femmes fatales, tough guys, trenchcoats, fedoras and plot twists. It's [[Wizard of Oz|Oz]], seen through the eyes of Raymond Chandler'.
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== Webcomics ==
* ''Automata'', and it's sequel ''Blood and Oil''; two short stories created by the [[Penny Arcade]] duo. [http://penny-arcade.com/archive/results/search&keywords=automata/\]
* A shortlived [https://web.archive.org/web/20090930015043/http://www.studiotriumph.com/talbot/?comic=1 webcomic] placed [[Lawrence Talbot]] into a film noir setting. [[Fridge Brilliance]], as Talbot's whole bag has always been existential angst.
* [[Living with Insanity]] did this in its [https://web.archive.org/web/20100617092545/http://www.livingwithinsanity.com/index/?p=364 most recent arc.]
* [[Two Rooks]] combines crime noir with a dystopian setting.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131005161551/http://www.sintitulocomic.com/2007/06/17/page-01/ Sin Titulo] definitely has noir undertones (and it uses color very sparingly).
== Web Original ==
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== Other ==
* The 2007 Hollywood Portfolio of Vanity Fair magazine set up a faux noir film called [http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/03/filmnoir_portfolio200703#slide=1 "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die"] to accompany the series of photos taken, complete with casting and set descriptions in the captions.
▲== Spoofs and Parodies ==
▲* ''[[Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid]]'' (1982)
▲* ''[[Play It Again, Sam]]'' (1972), a [[Woody Allen]] film that matches up Allen's "neurotic Jew" character with [[Humphrey Bogart]]. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
▲* ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'', at least setting-wise, plays with the genre and its tropes in part. The bulk of the work is an incredibly silly take on the [[Eastern RPG]], but it's decidedly within a Film Noir framework. And when it does noir, oh, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20121011185122/http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/mspa-office-print.jpg it does noir]''.
▲** In a similar vein, ''[[Homestuck]]'''s Midnight Crew intermission plays with the [[Heroic Sociopath|darker]] end of the genre's spectrum, [[Timey-Wimey Ball|just with extra time travel]].
▲* ''[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]'', an [[Affectionate Parody]] with {{spoiler|a [[Averted Trope|surprisingly happy ending]].}}
▲* The [[Affectionate Parody|Tracer Bullet]] stories in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]''.
▲* ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'', especially with the character Flint Paper.
▲** In ''[[The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police|Sam and Max Freelance Police]] Season 3: Episode 3'', Max gets murdered and Sam has an '[[Heroic BSOD|embarrassing noirish rampage]]' that turns the game into a Film Noir spoof for a while, down to the lighting and the camera angles in the cutscenes. Highlights include Sam demonstrating his edgy true-to-life violence by [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|slapping people in the face mid sentence]] and having a 'Noir' option during conversations which causes him to [[Wangst|give a largely incoherent metaphorical description about how amoral and miserable he is]].
▲* Less spoof than reference, but Tyrell Badd of ''[[Ace Attorney|Ace Attorney Investigations]] is a blatant noir detective down to the stubble, trenchcoat, and tragic past.
▲* ''The Black Bird'' is a film spoof of ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' without much originality.
▲* ''[[Rock Slyde]]'' (2009) is a modern film-noir parody starring [[Patrick Warburton]] as "Rock Slyde", private-eye and former [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|homosexual-pirate musical-pornstar]].
▲* One of the scenarios in the Artificial Reality machine in ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' is a film noir setting, complete with monochrome, a [[Femme Fatale]], [[Al Capone]]-style outfits and a car from the 30s.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Urban Fantasy Tropes]]
[[Category:Genres]]
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