Issue 147

The Knowledge

23rd October 2006

If you're thinking black and white, smoke-filled screen, private eyes with nothing to lose you're close but no cigar. The bare roots of film noir incorporate crime, shifty characters, harsh realism and frenetic dialogue packed with enough punch to lift you out of your shoes. Ranging from its early forms, in 1920s German Cinema, like the hauntingly creepy The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to new modern classics like The Usual Suspects and Sin City; all come packed with a big pinch of pessimism and remain faithful to the form set in its hey-day of the late 1940s and 50s with obvious modern takes being developed.

'Film noir' literally means 'black film'; two points for knowing French; and was a term made by Nino Frank to really dig beneath the surface of the popular tales of guys, broads and bad guys. It's dirty, it's gritty and it's much more than blaspheming with a gun in your hand.

Waterfront Online