Found a definition / description on internet (could have written my own, but felt less than confident -- I love it, just cannot describe it).
Literally translated from French, "film noir" means "black film," or "dark film." Dark is more accurate -- and it refers to both themes (dark motives, dark plans, plots, predilections...) and a visual style, with shadows & murky dark places.
professionalized internet Official Explanation of Film Noir:
"genre of film, originally between 1940 and 1960, originating in the United States, employing heavy shadows and patterns of darkness, in which the protagonist dies, meets defeat, or achieves meaningless victory in the end."
[from the web site, "detnovel.com"
by William Marling, Ph.D. Professor of English, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio]
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Thank you, Professor.
"Body Heat"
"Key Largo" (I think, don't know whether experts would agree)
"Strangers On A Train"
"Shadow of a Doubt"
(above both Hitchcock)
"The Maltese Falcon"
"Laura"
"Double Indemnity"
(and many more)
The explanation above has to be flexible. Some noirs have happy endings.
I think An Attitude Of or Events Which Create, or lobby for
Cynicism and pessimism
is maybe the common thread you can find in any Noir.
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And ironically the picture tube in my TV seems to be going out -- yesterday the picture got darker, all around the edges. You can still see action, but not very well.
So now -- on my TV, everything is noir !!!
Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons was noir.
The Academy Awards were noir.
The damn Pizza Hut commercial was noir - !
We now have pessimistic pepperoni and cynical sauce.
Errgh!!
-30-
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