In 1946, as France slowly returned to normal after WWII, five American films that shared a dark, hard-edged look, and a strong feeling of alienation, were shown for the first time in Parisian theaters.
Although each film ("The Maltese Falcon", "Laura", "Murder, My Sweet", "Double Indemnity", and "The Woman in the Window") had a number of traits in common (style, atmosphere, and general subject matter), they didn't seem to fit into any specific film genre. Along with other American films that quickly followed, they seemed to be part of a unique new series marked by cynicism, violence, crime and/or death, unclear motives, and morally ambivalent characters. The French critics began categorizing these haunting new American films as Film Noir (literally, "Black Film" or "Dark Film").
While it is generally agreed that the "classic period" of Film Noir began with "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941, and ended with Orson Welles' film "Touch of Evil" in 1958, there is little agreement on anything else to do with this series-movement-genre. Most films classified as Film Noir share a vis
ual motif that uses strong directional lighting and deep shadows (derived from the German expressionist films, although "Citizen Kane" is often cited as the prototype), but there are notable exceptions such as Billy Wilder's "Ace in the Hole" (1951). While black and white film, contemporary urban se
ttings, night scenes, water (rain and/or wet streets), romantic narration, and stories developed in a complex chronological order are commonly used in Films Noir, once again there are notable exceptions. For instance, although the science fiction movie "Blade Runner" (1982) was set in the future and
filmed in color, it encompassed all of the classic elements of Film Noir in both plot and visual style. (The director, Ridley Scott, felt that the style of "Citizen Kane" most closely approached the look he wanted.) Nevertheless, the key elements that link all Films Noir together seem to be the mor
al ambiguity of the plot and the characters, and an underlying sense of pessimism, fatality and alienation... The "classic period" of Film Noir was an extremely important one in American film history, and these popular films continue to be shown regularly. (http://www.pictureshowman.com ) Photos: h
ttp://www.moderntimes.com Music: Dance Me to the End of Love(Leonard Cohen)- Madeleine Peyroux http://www.amazon.com/Dance-End-Love-Madeleine-Peyroux/dp/B000BT7I7I http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Me_to_the_End_of_Love

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