|
|
SCREEN AESTHETHICS CAMERA CLASS LECTURER JOHN WIGGINS FILM NOIR By Les Snell 11/08/03 We have always had the desire to tell a story. Cave paintings depict warriors battling mighty beasts that roamed the Prairies of the America’s, the forests of Europe and the African continent where it is said the first man walked and hence populated and eventually conquered the Neanderthal. Here in Australia, Aboriginal paintings tell the story of a nomadic existence. These ancient works also tell us the ancient struggle between good and evil, gods and monsters. The question is, why do we feel the need to tell a tale? Is it because the desire for something more, other than the banality of the day to day grind of existing, fuels our imagination, not only to be something else, but also the need to pass it on. For a community to exist in harmony, social order has to be established. Yet, why is man fascinated with the darker forces of human consciousness. Is the unknown more seductive? Of course it is ! Hence the reason why no other genre or style has had as much impact in the history of cinema as Film Noir. What is Film Noir? Firstly, the term ‘Noir’ is the French word for Black. Put the two together and you get Black Film. The average video punter is aware of these films conveying something somewhat ominous, foreboding and sinister. Film Noir, though it was coined by French critics, didn’t originate in France. Now, here it can get a bit muddled because although Film Noir is distinctly American as a Big Mac or a Harley Davidson, it owes a lot to the German Expressionists directors such as F.W. Murnau, G.W. Pabst and an Austrian cinematographer called Karl Freund during the 20’s. During the late 30’s German and Austrian stars such as Peter Lorre and Marlene Dietrich migrated to the States and starred in many Film Noir movies. Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, and Fritz Lang all of whom were Austrians influenced the film makers of that era. However, you cannot take anything away from the Yanks, they got through Prohibition, the Depression, they tamed the Wild Frontier and helped the allied forces defeat the Germans in the Second World War. Those troubled times shaped the American psyche. Their society was now taking a deep look into its core and realism became the theme for a new breed of writers (for without a story there is no film). Out of the ashes came the mobster genre, fast cars, willing gals and flying bullets capturing and fascinating the cinema going public. The film makers provided our forefathers a visual journey into the realm of the outsider.
|
