1. The characteristics of film noir The so-called "film noir" mainly refers to two aspects. One is that most of the themes of the film come from the dark side of society; the other is that the overall point of view of the film is relatively more. Dim, the protagonist is pessimistic about life. But the most important thing is the form of the film. The content and form must be combined with each other, and both have the meaning of "black", before it can be classified as a noir film, and it is not purely defined by the theme. The form of film noir is characterized by sharp contrast between photography and lighting. It often uses shadow to cut the picture or part of the face of the actor, and also uses the contrast of light and darkness to distort the visual effect, or use smoke to create special The 氤氲 gloomy. The film contains these characteristics in the form of shooting, coupled with the theme that reflects the dark side of society and morality, the so-called "film noir". In addition, the setting and location of film noir are often indoor and night scenes, which further enhances the dark effect.
French film critics named France during World War II, which caused Hollywood movies to not be shown in France for six or seven years. It was not until 1946 after the war that the French saw Hollywood movies again. At that time, the United States sent four films to the Cannes Film Festival. French film critic Nino Frank published Unnouveau genre "policier" in LEcran francais No. 61 (August 1946): Laventurecrimineller, It is believed that after the Second World War, a new film genre appeared in the American film industry-film noir. This type of film has many scenes of rain, smoke, and shadows, and the lights are dim, so it is called film noir. Refers to its gloomy overall visual effect. Another French film critic, Pierre Chartier, also published Les Américainsausssifontdesfilms "noirs" in Issues 1 to 2 of Revuedu cinéma (November 1946). Appear. These two articles also used the term "film noir", so the common impression of the four films was fixed. The four films are: "The Maltese Falcon" (The Maltese Falcon, 1941), directed by John Huston (John Huston); "Farewell" (My Lovely, 1944), directed by Edward Dimetrec (Edward Dmytryk); "Double Indemnity" (1944), directed by Billy Wilder (Billy W ilder); "The Woman in the Window" (1944), directed by Fritz Long Grid (FritzLang). The above-mentioned four films are all dominated by night scenes and interior scenes. The photography lights are dim. The human nature and social system shown in the films are gloomy and corrupt, and both visual effects and content are gloomy and deep. At that time, the protagonists of Hollywood detective films were roughly divided into three categories: police detectives, private investigators and insurance agents. "The Killer" (The Killers, 1946) and the protagonists of "Double Insurance" are insurance investigators. The term "film noir" first appeared in the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 as the name of a film genre. In fact, these four films were chosen by accident. During the same period, there were a large number of films of this type in the American film industry, and American studios had no intention of it. Create a new movie genre. However, keen French film critics saw the emergence of a new genre and named it after the characteristics of this new genre in their minds. Since then, the term "film noir" has become very popular and has been widely adopted by critics. François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and others of the Paris "Cinema School" in the 1950s all considered film noir to be another artistic peak of American cinema.
Pioneers of Film Noir The pioneers of film noir are gangsters that revolve around American gangs in the early 1930s. The American Puritans enacted a prohibition of alcohol in the early days of the founding of the nation, but people were addicted to alcohol as before, and there was no alcohol in their lives. As a result, illegal businesses such as underground brewing and selling of alcohol came into being, and gangs often planned organized crimes (organizedcrime), such as the trafficking of bootleg alcohol, because of huge profits. There are mainly two masterpieces of gangster films. One is "Public Enemy" (1931), directed by William W ellman (W illiam W ellman), and the other is "Scarface" (1932), written by Director Howard Hawks. "The Enemy of the People" is a classic and prototype of a gangster film. The theme is close to the American naturalist novel. It believes that social conditions and human nature are directly and organically connected. The film directly links the formation of criminals' criminal motives to the social poverty at the time, and indirectly condemns them. The injustice of American society. The theme of "Scarface" is quite special. The protagonist, the gang leader, specializes in bootleg business. The movie combines bootlegging with crime and deliberately puts the background in the United States during the Great Recession of the 1930s, when almost all Americans were struggling with poverty. On the verge of starvation, homeless people and beggars have emerged in large numbers. The film is backed by the real historical era, and then uses exterior scenes or interior scenes similar to documentaries to create a sense of reality. The ending of "Scarface" did not bring the protagonist of the gang leader to justice, so it failed to pass the film censorship at first and could not be released. After two years of trouble, the film company revised the ending of the film, hanged the gang leader, and added content condemning crime at the beginning and end of the film before it was approved for release. The current revamped version is restored to its original appearance, and the original intention of the director can be clearly seen. Film critic Manny Faber as early as the 30s of the 20th century The time has noticed this movie, but only the revised version can be seen at that time, which is not the same as the current restored version. From this example, we can see that the original intention of the director is very important. The original intent has a very close relationship with the movie text (text) and the text entity (arte-fact). In the past Hollywood studios, the director did not have the final cut right (finalcut), and sometimes the final appearance of the film may be far from the director's artistic intention. This situation is not uncommon, because movies are not only art, but also industrial and commercial products. They must take into account the audience and the screening situation, so there are inevitably situations that require multiple compromises. The themes of "National Enemy" and "Scarfaced Man" both reflect the dark side of society and can be regarded as the pioneers of film noir. Noir films deal with crime in ways that are different from gangster films. The criminals in gangster films appear to be "stronger than people." The gangsters are not only organized and large-scale, but also large-scale criminal activities. Crimes in film noir are only small-scale, mostly small-scale cases investigated by detectives. The film will touch on crime and the depravity of human nature in the process of investigation. Although both gangster films and film noirs are based on crime, there are differences in handling methods and attitudes. This makes film noir stories often break through the taboos of the film censorship office and the expectations of the general audience.
The influence of German Expressionism German Expressionism, as a sharp genre of modernism, has unique expressions in poetry, novels, fine arts, movies, dramas, etc. Its influence on film noir mainly lies in the form. German expressionism has four characteristics in film. First, emphasize the sharp light and shadow contrast. Second, make extensive use of shadows and smoke to set off the atmosphere and highlight the shape of the characters. The above two characteristics can be clearly seen in "The Killer". The shooting angle of "The Killer" is very special. Each clip starts with an overhead shot or an overhead shot. It has a sharp contrast design. The establishing shot of the scene uses a deep focus lens, and the front and back scenes are very clear. You can even see the shadow of the roof, creating a strong sense of visual oppression. In addition, "The Killer" also makes good use of shadows, smoke, and even railings to create a strong contrast between light and dark. The third characteristic of German Expressionism in film is that the film set is more unique, and when combined with lighting and photography, it can echo the subjective mentality of the characters and reflect both inside and outside. American film noir emphasizes realism. There are not too many peculiar and distorted or unrealistic settings, so it may not have the obvious characteristics of German expressionism. In contrast, the most common use of mirror refraction in film noir. At the beginning, part of the scene in the fast food restaurant of "The Murderer" had a mirror, which used the mirror to reflect the characters entering the arena; afterwards, mirrors or glass were constantly used to make the audience's vision slightly distorted or partially fragmented. In addition, all the scenes of the last draw of the gun scene of "The Lady from Shanghai" (The Lady from Shanghai, 1948) directed by Orson Welles are mirrors, using mirror refraction to create special effects. In addition, there is a singing of "Blood Splatter Palace" and the mirror is used as the setting. As for "The Lady in the Lake" (The Lady in the Lake) directed by Robert Montgomery (Robert Montgomery) Lake, 1946) tried to make a single point of view narrative from a subjective perspective. The film also used mirrors or reflective objects to show the protagonist. It can be seen from the above examples that American noir films often use mirrors to create distorted images, which are somewhat influenced by German expressionism. The fourth characteristic of German expressionism is that the performance of actors tends to be more exaggerated and emotional performance is more agitated. Film noir here has something in common with it. The actors are often emotional and explosive in their performance. The difference from German expressionism is that film noir is not only intense in love, but also in general emotional expression and performance. The four characteristics of German expressionism discussed above are inherited by film noir, but they are less experimental than German expressionism. In fact, German expressionist films were not released in the United States. The impact on Hollywood in the United States stems from the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s, and a large number of German film workers moved to the United States for development, such as the director of "Double Insurance" Billy Wyl Germany is from Germany; Robert Siodmak, the director of "The Murderer", is from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He paints and is also engaged in drama work. He has high artistic attainments and made experimental films before going to the United States. "From Here to Eternity" director Fred Zinneman (Fred Zinneman) is also from Germany, influenced by German expressionism, and later became a mainstream director in the United States; Edgar Ulmer (Edgar Ulmer) is also A German director who came to the United States after being influenced by German expressionism; Fritz Lange, the director of "Me-tropolis" (1926), is also from Germany, "Me-tropolis" is a silent film, an exaggeration of German expressionism His performance, the contrast between light and dark, the setting is strange, and the angle of the camera is unexpected. His other famous German expressionist film "M" describes the psychopaths and murderers of children in the metropolis, and also describes the criminal activities in the metropolis. It can be regarded as a prelude to film noir, and the image style of his work "Green Window" is more obviously characterized by German expressionism. In addition to the director, there are also many behind-the-scenes lighting, photography, and music staff from Germany, such as Max Steiner, who graduated from the Royal Austrian Conservatory of Music, and later went to Hollywood to score films such as "Casablanca" and "Two Tigers Slaying a Dragon" . This group of filmmakers from Germany brought European filming experience to the United States to make film noir show a special image style. 5. The rise of hard-boiled detective fiction in the United States. The rise of hard-boiled detective fiction in the United States has not only reversed the entire tradition of American detective fiction, but also has a major impact on film noir. In the past, the protagonists of detective novels started from Edgar Allen Poe (Edgar Allen Poe). Many of them had superior backgrounds and were not well-versed in world affairs. The case earns living expenses. Its successors include Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" series. The protagonist Sherlock Holmes was born in the upper class of the British society. The more popular one is Charlie Chan (Charlie Chan, also translated as Chen Chali), who is always well dressed and well-groomed. The detectives written by another writer, Agatha Christie, are also mostly from upper class society. The structure of the novel is similar to a jigsaw puzzle. In the process of tracing, it has been selling points and creating suspense to attract readers until the real murderer is finally discovered. By the late 1920s and early 1930s, the tough guy detective novels had emerged in the United States, completely reversing the tradition of American detective novels. Representative writers are Dashiell Hammet (Dashiell Hammet) and Raymond Chandler (Raymond Chandler). Their novels are mostly set in metropolitan areas, with the theme of crime in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles as the subject, rather than simply tracking down the murderer. Most of the characters in this suspense game belong to the trampled lower class, which is different from the previous American detective novels with the upper-class background. On the surface, most of the protagonists of the tough detective novels are cold-hearted, full of frustration and depression. They keep a separate attitude towards the case, because of the prelude, and the video style of their work "Green Window" is more obviously characterized by German expressionism. In addition to the director, there are also many behind-the-scenes lighting, photography, and music staff from Germany, such as Max Steiner, who graduated from the Royal Austrian Conservatory of Music, and later went to Hollywood to score films such as "Casablanca" and "Two Tigers Slaying a Dragon" . This group of filmmakers from Germany brought European filming experience to the United States to make film noir show a special image style. 5. The rise of hard-boiled detective fiction in the United States. The rise of hard-boiled detective fiction in the United States has not only reversed the entire tradition of American detective fiction, but also has a major impact on film noir. In the past, the protagonists of detective novels started from Edgar Allen Poe (Edgar Allen Poe). Many of them had superior backgrounds and were not well-versed in world affairs. The case earns living expenses. Its successors include Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" series. The protagonist Sherlock Holmes was born in the upper class of the British society. The more popular one is Charlie Chan (Charlie Chan, also translated as Chen Chali), who is always well dressed and well-groomed. The detectives written by another writer, Agatha Christie, are also mostly from upper class society. The structure of the novel is similar to a jigsaw puzzle. In the process of tracing, it has been selling points and creating suspense to attract readers until the real murderer is finally discovered. By the late 1920s and early 1930s, the tough guy detective novels had emerged in the United States, completely reversing the tradition of American detective novels. Representative writers are Dashiell Hammet (Dashiell Hammet) and Raymond Chandler (Raymond Chandler). Their novels are mostly set in metropolitan areas, with the theme of crime in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles as the subject, rather than simply tracking down the murderer. Most of the characters in this suspense game belong to the trampled lower class, which is different from the previous American detective novels with the upper-class background. On the surface, most of the protagonists of the tough detective novels are cold-hearted, full of frustration and depression. They maintain a withdrawal attitude towards the case. They appear cynic, sophisticated, and helpless because they see through the world. They always smoke excessively, their clothes are never bright, and the office is a mess. These detectives are similar to existential heroes to a certain extent. They understand the evils in society and know that their personal abilities are limited and cannot change or overthrow the entire social system. The protagonist's outlook on life is quite pessimistic and negative, but his conscience is still undiminished. However, this kind of passive detective who still has a conscience will always find the dark side of human nature again in the end, making him even more shocked, but in order to live, he has to continue his detective career. The works of Hamilton and Chandler transform the past American jigsaw puzzle-style detective novels into shady novels depicting the dark side of the city. 20th century 30 In the era, the western literary circles praised the internalized writing of modernism, and gradually eliminated the attention to the external reality. Dassil Hammet wrote "The Maltese Falcon" (The Maltese Falcon, 1930) and Raymond Chandler wrote "The Big Sleep" (1939), but he inherited the tradition of realism in the 19th century. As the background, it touches on social issues. Dassil Hammet has always adhered to the left-wing liberal stance and criticized the American capitalist system. Therefore, he was criticized by the extreme right in the early 1950s, and he was even unable to work. Although his novels do not have a strong left-wing color, most of the materials are drawn from the dark side of society. The protagonists are mostly cynical but powerless. In fact, they reflect the author's personal position. Almost all of the works of Darcy Hammit and Raymond Chandler in the 1930s were made into movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Such as Darcy Hammit's "The Glass Key" (The GlassKey, 1931), "Thin Man" (1932), Raymond Chandler's "Goodbye My Love" (1940), "The Girl in the Lake" (1943), "Farewell Looks" (also translated "The Long Goodbye", The Long Goodbye, 1953) and so on. Of the four American films mentioned at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 at the beginning of the article, three were adapted from the Tough Guy detective novels. In "Goodbye My Love", Raymond Chandler portrayed the image of Philip Marlowe, a famous American private detective in the 20th century. In "The Maltese Eagle", Dassil Hammet portrayed the private detective Sam Spade (Sam Spade); "Spade" means "shovel", which means that private investigators want to "shovel" (dig) secrets . The original author of "Double Insurance" James Cain (James M. Cain) is also a tough guy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related. Cain is also a tough-boy detective novelist, and the screenwriter is Raymond Chandler. James Kane’s most famous work is "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946), which has been adapted into a movie three times. It can be seen that there were many noir films adapted from detective novels of the tough guy school at that time, and the two were closely related.
There are several reasons for the emergence of film noir in the unexpected film genre in the 1940s. First, the cultural-material base of studio system (cultural-materialbase of studio system). At that time, major studios used assembly-line production methods to shoot noir films. Studios must continue to produce films to maintain their operations. Sometimes they needed to produce smaller and shorter second-line films (second features) to fill the gaps in the production line. At that time, Hollywood was monopolized by eight major studios, and all film workers had to sign contracts with the studios, and the studios could exchange actors or production staff with each other. In addition to monopolizing film production, the studio also monopolized the distribution of films in the United States, and also operated movie theaters to show films produced by themselves. It was not until the United States Federal Government required Hollywood to decouple production and distribution with the "Anti-Monopoly Law" that the monopoly of large studios was broken, and the old Hollywood studios were eventually released in the 1970s. At the beginning of the decade, it fell completely. Before the studio system has fallen, no one can break away from the "world net" of the studio system. It is difficult for movie theaters to only play movies produced by their own studios, and it does not seem to be enough for a movie theater to play only one movie, so a shorter feature film was shown at the time, which was called "two shows in one night" or " Two movies in one night", one of them is a second-line movie. Studio owners, supervisors, producers, and even audiences will focus on the "features", so that the directors or screenwriters of second-line movies can enjoy more space. Due to less intervention, sometimes second-line movies can better express the director's personal style, the screenwriter's personal views and even the peculiar photographic art. Most of them are low-cost, dominated by interior scenes, and have few actors. The second-line detective reasoning films were all completed in the studio. The director of "The Murderer", Robert Theotmac, has directed a large number of second-tier films, but this does not mean that all noir films are second-tier films, and some are also the focus of the studio's production. Take detective novels as an example. Although it has always been regarded as popular and popular works, it is difficult to be elegant, but studios also bought the copyright of some detective novels and adapted them into movies, because filmmakers believed that popular works could attract audiences, such as those popular in the United States at the time. A novel by Darcy Hammet and Raymond Chandler. If these detective novels fall into the hands of excellent directors, they can often produce the characteristics of film noir, even infiltrating personal opinions and vision. An example of this is "The Night Is Long and Dreamy" directed by Howard Hawks. This film is adapted from the original work by Raymond Chandler and written by William Faulkner. Humphrey Bogart plays the private detective Marlowe, who once played Sam Spade, the protagonist in The Eagle of Malta, is also a private investigator. Later, people often confuse the private detective image in the novels of Darcy Hammit and Raymond Chandler with Humphrey Bogart. His performance and style have almost become the basic paradigm of detectives in film noir. . By the 1950s, television was on the rise. Watching TV is a free entertainment item, and the film industry is therefore facing a major threat. Movies are no longer the only choice for viewers. In the 1950s, TV was unable to show movies, but was able to broadcast live dramas or variety shows, so the audience was willing to stay at home to watch TV, which caused the loss of movie audiences. Those who still enter the market only spend time watching "features" instead of second-line movies. With the changes in the above-mentioned historical environment, film operators no longer broadcast second-tier movies, and second-tier movies have declined accordingly. After the rise of television, the film industry used the "big screen" to turn the tide. In the 1950s, a "new art complex" curved wide screen with a rather strange composition appeared. In addition, he called on the spectacle, 20 Twentieth Cen-tury Fox even went bankrupt because of its huge investment in filming "Cleopatra". The big screen and big scenes can only have a temporary effect, and it is difficult for the studio to constantly attract audiences with this. The noir movie night scene has many interior scenes and few characters. It is mainly for investigation. The screen can display very limited. In addition, it is shot in black and white, which is not attractive in color and is not suitable for the color "big screen" trend. Film noir could not cater to the cultural consumption pattern of the time. It declined in the late 1950s, and finally marked the end of a film genre with "Touch of Evil" (1958) directed by Orson Welles. The rise of film noir was related to the studio system in the 1930s and 1940s, and its decline was related to the gradual transformation of historical culture and general material production basis in the 1950s.
7. Film Noir and Urban Crimes The early implementation of the "jungle capitalist system" in the United States, under the economic model of the weak and the strong, the labor force was extremely exploited, and there was no social welfare at all. Under a completely laissez-faire capitalist system, the Great Economic Recession in the 1930s, refugees emerged in large numbers in cities, and the unemployed population soared, reaching almost half of the total population of society. At that time, the overall social structure was almost collapsed. It seemed that everyone was involved in corruption and bribery. The city was filled with turbulence and anxiety. After President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office, he implemented the New Deal and used government intervention to save the capitalist crisis. In addition to creating job opportunities, the new government abolished the prohibition on alcohol. On the one hand, it cracked down on criminal activities of smuggling alcohol, and on the other hand, it also allowed the government to collect a tax on liquor sales. Although the crime rate of gangs selling bootleg alcohol has decreased as a result, criminal organizations have infiltrated other areas, and the crime rate in the metropolis is still high, becoming a source of crime. The metropolis has a concentrated population and is a settlement of different ethnic groups. There are immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Eastern Europe, Germany, Northern Europe and other places. Take "The Killer" as an example. The protagonist in the play is from Northern Europe, and the police are Italians, heirs to the heritage. It is European immigrants. It can be seen that cities are mixed settlements of different ethnic groups, classes, and religious beliefs. The city is not only a concentration point of evil, but also shows the characteristics of the American melting pot. Cities are concentrated areas of a large number of important production activities; many unemployed people flood into cities; the government also regards metropolises as the core of power. Therefore, the city is most suitable as the background of detective novels to explore the collusion between government and business, social corruption, the exchange of interests, and the complexity of different classes.
8. The relationship between film noir and western films The western pioneers opened up new horizons and new frontiers. After the development, the city has become another new frontier (urban landscape as the new frontier). Private detectives bring the law to these "new frontiers", just like the confrontation between whites and natives in Western films, which is regarded as the dual opposition of civilization and barbarism. Private detectives seem to represent the civilized side and become an intermediary between civilization and barbarism. In the "barbaric" of the city, confront the "barbaric" criminals. Personal heroes appear in both film noirs and westerns. In the western movie "Wild Wild", the protagonist Alan Ladd (Alan Ladd) plays a single-handed hero, and John • in "Two Tigers Slaying the Dragon" and "The Searcher" Wayne also plays lonely heroes, and these heroes are ultimately rejected by the family and the community. The detective image in the film noir is also similar to the individual hero in the western film and can be regarded as a new variation inherited from the western film. The city is a civilized place. After a long period of urbanization, the detectives in film noir no longer have to fight for "opening up the wilds". Most of them only fight against evil for their personal lives; they know that they cannot turn the tide, but they still strive to maintain their own survival and maintenance. Personal honor, with a strong sense of frustration and depression. These detectives often show sophistication and negativity, full of pessimism, not without a sense of loneliness alone.
9. Reproduction of "Integrity" Artistic Style "Totality" refers to the fact that the text reflects the spirit of the times, social dynamics and overall historical trends through the interaction of characters and the arrangement of plots. Such works must be realism rather than modernism. After advocating modernism in the 20th century, the "integrity" of the works gradually lost, but in the tough detective novels and film noirs, the "integrity" artistic style was preserved and carried forward. The characters in this type of movie come from the upper, middle, and lower social classes, and the protagonist will meet all kinds of people. Participate in high society parties and meet high-ranking officials. The vast majority of noir films involve social issues such as collusion between officials and businessmen in upper-class society, from which may give a glimpse into the complex social reality of the time - representatives of different levels and even different ethnic groups in the United States. In "The Murders", blacks, Irish, Italians, gangs, prisoners, and other small people struggling to survive on the margins of society; business tycoons with complex identities appear, in fact, they are criminals, using legitimate occupations such as construction Shang Lai concealed his illegal identity. Film noir's overall view of society is worthy of further exploration, and it can be used with other film noirs for more in-depth analysis.
10. Film noir and feminism Western feminists have always been committed to criticizing the oppression of women by male power under patriarchy. In Western films, women represent the domestic virtues and traditional values (traditional values) of the family, and are weaker sexes. In the process of the founding of the United States, the distinction between men and women has become a class in the social system. Respectively (established hie-rarchy). Early feminists were dissatisfied with the way film noir handled female characters because they were always portrayed as femme fatale (femme fatale), such as Ava Gardner (Ava Gardner) in "The Killer". He wore a black evening gown when he appeared, which was very provocative. Later, she not only betrayed the boxer, but also hoped that her lover would exonerate her before he died. "Malta Eagle", "Goodbye My Love", and "Green Window" all have "disaster" female characters. The heroine in "Double Insurance" even hooks up with an insurance broker to murder her husband. The female actors in the four American films that participated in the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 are all black spider-shaped images of red face and evil water. In the 1940s, the female characters in noir films were mostly black widow-like images of disaster. Such women have independent and tough personalities. In the patriarchal society, they use their knowledge and body as weapons to fight against the oppression of the patriarchal society under the social system at that time. Although they sometimes take measures that are not compatible with traditional moral values, they are actually subverting traditional values and female images at the same time. The performance of these female images was extraordinary in the historical time and space at the time, showing the independent and unique personality of women, and even manipulating everything behind the men. Both the black spider-shaped image of evil and the subversion of traditional values can be said to be a combination of contradiction and paradox (paradoxi-calmixture). It is not appropriate to simply criticize this type of female image.
The decline of film noir and the emergence of new film noir As the historical and cultural environment changed, film noir finally came to an end in 1958. In the 1960s, the Western student movement, national movement, anti-Vietnam war, and hippie movement were surging, which had a great impact on American society. In the early 1970s, the "Watergate" case broke out. Sense, leading to the revival of film noir. Film noir has a strong spirit of skepticism. The protagonist and detective often have a sophisticated insight into the world, so some directors want to shoot film noir in color. This kind of film can be called "neo-noir". It uses color to shoot, but does not seek to be bright. The picture is dimly lit and mainly interior and night scenes. The directors are mostly foreigners, such as the Polish director Roman Polans. Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" (1974) succeeded in reviving film noir. This film rearranged the elements of previous noir films and played quite successfully. As a personal hero, the detective protagonist of a film noir often has to face a vague moral world, while the personal heroes of traditional Western films face a world with clear black and white and a clear moral value judgment. Their personal judgments are reflected in the film noir. Is completely different. With a noir film set in a modern crime city, the protagonist's personal ethical choices not only appear ambiguous and ambiguous, but in the end it fails to really solve the problem. In the 1980s, the masterpiece of the new film noir was German film director Wim Wenders' "Detective Fiction" (also translated "Hammett", Hammett, 1982), a story written by a tough guy detective How fiction writer Darcy Hammit was involved in the world of his own creation is a unique work in the "new film noir". It takes the important original writers of film noir in the 1940s as the protagonist of the film and combines the fiction writer’s Explore the world of times and film noir. "Detective Fiction" has attracted much attention in Europe, reflecting the importance that French and German film critics and academic circles have placed on American film noir from the 1940s to the 1960s. After the French film critics discovered film noir, they were highly praised by the "Cinema Manual" in the 1950s, and then they were introduced to Germany. As the backbone of the new wave of German film, Wim Wenders directed the film " "Detective Fiction" is very representative. The American director Curtis Hansen in the 1990s Hanson) finally produced "LA Confidential" (LA Confidential, 1997) which is comparable to the classic noir films of the year. This film is interspersed with some film fragments adapted from Darcy Hammit's novels, and those old film fragments feature Veronica Lake (Veronica Lake) as the heroine. Veronica Lake is prominent in those movies and has almost become an icon in American movies. "L.A. Confidential" deliberately arranged for Kim Basinger (Kim Basinger) to play a role similar to Veronica Lake. In the film, she even played a movie clip played by Veronica Lake in her boudoir. This text The situation of intertextrality is very interesting, and the roles of the two also echo. Kim Basinger’s character is so sophisticated, and she went to Hollywood to find her dream but ended up as a senior call girl. When she is not a movie star like Veronica Lake, others regard her as Veronica Lake. "L.A. Confidential" can be regarded as a masterpiece of the "new film noir" in the 1990s.
12. "The Killer": The novel and movie "The Killer" is adapted from Hemingway's famous short story of the same name. The original book adopts a single point of view in the third person. In the story, the protagonist sees that the killer is going to chase the boxer who is no longer popular, so the young man asks the boxer to run away, but the boxer does not escape, but waits for the killer to end his life. The story has two important enlightenments for the protagonist. The first is that they don't understand why some people want to kill people in cold blood without reason, and the second is that some people even give up their lives completely. In the early years, some people regarded "The Murderer" as an existentialist novel, because Hemingway had a strong nihilistic tendency toward life. The original book is short and ends when the boxer is killed. It is not easy to adapt it into a movie of more than an hour. Hollywood studios bought the copyright of the novel and adapted it into a movie. As a result, only the first ten minutes came from the original work, and the 80 minutes after the murder had nothing to do with the original work. It was entirely the director's creation. The movie adapts the novel into an adult story, full of crimes, decadence, corruption, wickedness, betrayal, and other behaviors. Even the gangs do not speak the underworld and faith, and the moral values are vague. It is not as simple as the original enlightenment story. By the 1950s, "The Killer" was again adapted into a movie, starring Lee Marvin. This time the adaptation was unrecognizable and turned into a bloody vendetta from the underworld, Ronald Reagan (Ronald Reagan) Also participated in this film performance. Although this film was shot in color, the level is extremely poor. Later, the copyright of the novel was transferred to MGM Films, and it was made into a movie again. But the filming goes, only Robert Theodoremaker's "The Killer" is the real noir film.
13. "The Killer": Multiple Single Point of View Narrative Robert Theodore Make's "The Killer" is very distinctive in the narrative. At the beginning, the murder was described in the third person, followed by Edmond O'Brien (Edmond O'Brien). The insurance investigator played by'Brien) began investigating the murder, interrogating different characters, and then entered the first-person narrative of different characters. Only a few places were third-person omniscient viewpoints. Everyone narrated what he knew about the boxer Swader. (Swede, Burt Lancaster [Burt Lancaster]) a fragment of life. The first character is an eyewitness Adams; the second is a cleaning lady who inherits the estate; the third is a retired police detective, who describes how Swade’s boxer career ended; the fourth is the detective’s wife, Narrate the emotional experience with the boxer; the fifth is a police detective, narrating how he was arrested, and how he committed the crime for Eva Gardner; the sixth is a habitual bandit, and he narrates the boxer’s experience in prison; the seventh One is also a habitual bandit, and he describes how to introduce him to the new theft group; the eighth narrative voice is newspaper news, and people in the office read the newspaper like a voice-over, which is the perspective of the writer of the newspaper report; the ninth is lying in the hospital The dying robber, he retelled two memories. Later, the investigator went to the scene of the crime to find evidence, and the film replied to the third-person omniscience viewpoint. Later, the whereabouts of the heroine Kitty was discovered. It was Katie's lover who narrated the situation when she was dying. "The Killer" is composed of up to eleven single point of view fragments in narrative. "Rashomon" (1950), which was released later than "The Killer", attracted the attention of the Western film industry because of the use of multiple single viewpoints. It even became the first Asian film to win the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. "Rashomon", apart from its excellent photography technique and scene scheduling, the most important achievement in art is the use of multiple paragraphs and a single point of view to tell the same story. Although not all characters in "The Murderer" tell the same story, the narrative form of "The Murderer" is similar to that of Rashomon. "The Killer" continuously revises the image of the boxer through multiple paragraphs or multiple single-point narratives. This is also very important in the history of film. "The Murderer" was made four years earlier than "Rashomon", but it was neglected back then. Looking back from the historical perspective, the narrative style of the film can be said to be its most important artistic achievement.
14. "The Killer": Semantic montage Semantic montage is a unique tradition of Chinese movies, that is, in the same shot, the use of calligraphy, painting, couplets, and the words on the swaying spring (some auspicious words and phrases posted during the Spring Festival) create a semantic montage effect. It is rare in Western movies, and it is rare in the West to use text decoration as a movie background. "Casablanca" is an exception. At the beginning, there is a large portrait of General Petain on the wall, and the police station has the slogan of "Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity" of the French Revolution, which satirizes the regime at that time; at the end, it abandons the Vichy Mineral Springs. Shui Lai indicated that he had abandoned the Vichy puppet regime in France. However, semantic montages similar to "Casablanca" are rarely seen in other Western movies, and there are not many materials available in the West. Semantic montages have appeared in Chinese movies since the 1930s; several famous films written by Zhang Ailing in the 1930s, such as "Indefinite Love" and "Long Live Wife", etc.; and "Lin's Shop" and "Blessings" in the 1950s. And later "Yellow Earth", both deliberately create semantic montage. In "Yellow Land", the Huaichun posted by the farmers at the door has only a circle and no text, indicating that the farmers are illiterate and illiterate. Another example is "The King of the Kids" directed by Chen Kaige. The teacher writes on the blackboard and contrasts the background text and image in the same mirror position. This is a special feature of Chinese culture, which is different from the Western view that montage needs to edit several different shots to refer to and complement each other. In the West, editing before and after montage is regarded as the creation of meaning, and the several shots in it should be connected or contrasted with each other. However, in the Chinese cultural environment, the use of background text in the same lens position of Chinese directors can create a coherent or contrasting effect of the montage. . "The Killer" actually has a few examples of semantic montage. Among them, there are texts in the background of a gas station. The name of the gas station is "Tristate Station". The characters are used to cover part of the text, so that people only see "Stati", which means that the life of the character has reached a static state. In addition, gas stations sell tires, which may represent tiredness and express tiredness of life, but this example is not obvious, so the analysis may be over-interpretation, and it is not a bad idea to talk about it for reference. .
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