The Rules Of Film Noir
Is film noir in your head already ? What does the narrator mean by this ?
The thing that the narrator means by this is that film noir has influenced the later films that we currently see and its based on the aspect of real life and that you cant trust no-one in film noir film they influence the current films , this is something that we can relate to in the modern world and todays day and age.
What are the women like in Film Noir ?
The women in film noir are attractive,sexy and manipulative, generally the blonder and more prettier they are on the outside the colder and more sinister they are on the inside.They target the rich men purely because of their wealth and nothing else, they lure them into the traps and worst of all the men know this but they are sidetracked on their beauty they forget to look deeper into there eyes. They use their sexual attractiveness and their cunning personalities to lure men in order for them to gain power and wealth. The way that women are portrayed in 'Double Indemnity' is that the women that the promise of sex,money and love and then to only ultimately betray the hero Barbra Stanwycks portrayal of the Femme fatale is excellent because it executes the best portrayal of the Femme Fatale , because the man says 'I didn't get the money and I didn't get the women' , this gives the best understanding the Femme Fatale and what they are like.
What are the ''heroes''/protagonists like in Film Noir?
The heroes in film noir most of the time share certain personalities and qualities their bad with money , there practically crooked they like smoking drinking and terrible with handling money. They are not ideal men and they don't have many futures also lack a sense of morals and sometimes can't tell the difference between what is right and wrong. These so called 'heroes' also have a very minimalistic emotion toward other except women, we don't often feel emotionally attached towards these characters because of how selfish they are.
What are the endings like in film noir ?
The endings in film noir are very always unhappy full of cynicism and sad the person that you trust the most betrays you right at the end they are also unexpected and shocking. Someone in the end gets shot and dies and its also tragic but this tragicness does not create emotion for anyone. People are in the game for themselves and will do anything to get what they want and in most cases its money this results in betrayal and also people fighting and dying over each other these are the typical film noir convention in film noir.
Why were they popular in the 1940's ?
WW2 was considered the 'classic time' of Film noir this was because because of hitler and the atmosphere that he created of crime. There was still a negative vibe and film noir represented this. They were also very cheap to make because it didn't require any high tech technology. Also money was scarce at this time and many people were in financial crisis with very limited entertainment and film noir wasn't very expensive to go to watch. Film noir took advantage of the war and created the pessimism which was in the war.
'Double Indemnity' Film Noir and Women
1) Phyllis Dietrichson - The Femme Fatale
In the opening scene phyllis dietrichson is illustrated as a femme fatale in may different ways such as when she meets Walter Neff for the first time Walter Neff says 'she's not fully 'covered' which she just laughs it off showing that she doesn't mind being flirted with representing one of the many factors which typical femme fatales have. She was also very wearing minimalistic clothing showing off her figure and body with a towel just around her body showing that shes not embarrassed to expose herself. The camera angle of when Walter and Phyliss first meet from a low angle showing her on a grand staircase looking down at Walter showing that he's inferior to her and also portrays shes more controlling and portrays that she's also manipulating him foreshadowing what is later to come. At the same time when she's slowly walking down the stairs the camera focuses on her ankle, in this scene the camera represents Walter's eyes and what he is focusing on. We can assume from gathering this information that he's more interested in the sexual side of things with her and her body and the insurance is just a sidelin te for him to flirt with her. When Walter is trying to sell her insurance they exchange many flirtatious lines but when Walter pushes it too far she stops, this shows that she has a upper limit and in many ways is seducing and teasing him but we as the audience can see the sexual chemistry between them two. An example of this is when Walter Neff says, 'their all tough at first' and 'was I going over the speed limit' showing the innuendo between them two.
In the scene of murder, Phyllis almost gets pleasure of seeing her husband get killed we can see this because of the close up shot of her face showing her cold hardheartedness and the sly smirk she has on her face. This is a prime example of hoe femme fatales work and shows the betrayal side of them which Phyllis has mastered. As clever as Walter may be he hasn't though of what Phyllis could do to him if she had the pleasure of killing her own husband, this shows that he is clearly vulnerable and also shows that Femme fatale have plans of their own. Also before when they were planning the murder meticulously she made Walter empathize for her by saying things such as 'he used to beat me'. Femme fatales use their innocence and their body to manipulate people to get what they want to get done.
In the scene of murder, Phyllis almost gets pleasure of seeing her husband get killed we can see this because of the close up shot of her face showing her cold hardheartedness and the sly smirk she has on her face. This is a prime example of hoe femme fatales work and shows the betrayal side of them which Phyllis has mastered. As clever as Walter may be he hasn't though of what Phyllis could do to him if she had the pleasure of killing her own husband, this shows that he is clearly vulnerable and also shows that Femme fatale have plans of their own. Also before when they were planning the murder meticulously she made Walter empathize for her by saying things such as 'he used to beat me'. Femme fatales use their innocence and their body to manipulate people to get what they want to get done.
Film Noir Draft Poster
This is my first initial draft of my poster 'the phone call'