Film Noir

          In the documentary Film Noir, many directors and writers were interviewed. Abraham Polonsky, who was both a director and writer, stated that if the actors and film should "reflect [a] general sense of jeopardy in life, which is what exists in all film noir, then it's a correct representation of the anxiety caused by the system." He also said that what makes a film noir a film noir is when "circumstances become more and more unendurable and yet you must endure." These quotes relate to the film Double Indemnity because Fred MacMurray's character, Walter, has to face situations that he must follow through with in order to help the character Phyllis.
          Film Noirs were famously known for the woman's presence as a femme fatale.
In the documentary, a femme fatale was described as a women who gets a man into trouble. Jeney Place explained how a femme fatale was "a smart, powerful, and extremely sexual" female. Phyllis was the perfect example for the typical femme fatale. She used her sexuality and brains to put a spell over Walter and got him to do whatever she wanted. She used him to write the insurance policy, kill the husband, help dispose the body, and take all the blame.
          In Double Indemnity, there were many factors to this film that made it a film noir. The dim lighting and different camera angles and gloomy music gave certain scenes a sense of darkness and danger. When Walter first enters Phyllis' house, he describes how the blinds were closed but there was little light coming through which allowed him to see the dust in the air. This description and visual of the home made it seem suspicious and not at all a warm and cozy home. Another scene that has music that gives a sense of danger and suspense is when Walter is done listening to the radio and makes a phone call. The music that is played before he reaches the phone leads up to the actual phone call and made the scene seem dark and mysterious.
          Neo-noir films are filmed using color, but this doesn't mean that they cannot have that film noir feel. Even though color is shown, in neo-noir films the colors can be dark and cold which gives the film a sense of mystery and danger and darkness that originates in film noir. In the film Memento, there were actual scenes where when Leonard flashed back, the scene was in black and white. Another dark place was his room. There wasn't much light and bright colors, which gave the feeling of coldness and a sense of uneasiness. Even in modern films today, you can find elements of film noir.

 

         
         

Best Film Goes To...

          In order for a film to be deserving of an award in my eyes, it needs to have all of these four things: music that stirs emotion and completes the film, interesting point of views of narration, a type of love story, and lastly acting that makes the movie that much more believable.  The music of a film is that extra boost that can make it much more of an attention grabber. In the case of Disney movies, the music is really its selling point. The movie Cars had the song "Sh-Boom Sh-Boom" play while Lightning McQueen was strolling down along route 66. By adding this song, it allowed the audience to step into that time era and experience how it was back in the day. I like when a film incorporates a different use of narration. First and third person narration and direct-address narration are types of story telling that I find very amusing to watch. A cute and cheesy love story, done the right way, always puts a movie on the top of my "must watch" list. But in order to have a believable love story, the acting needs to be spot on and realistic. Those are the factors that I believe make an award winning film.
          In both silent films, Le Voyage Dans La Lune and The Great Train Robbery, some of the criteria for an award winning movie were met and some were not. Because both were silent films, the music criteria does not apply for these films. In Le Voyage Dans La Lune, the narration was done through the acting of the characters. So the acting was the focal point for the story telling. When the Aliens were introduced, it took a good actor to make oneself seem to be from another world. In The Great Train Robbery, the narration was also done through the acting. The men shooting at each other in the scene made it a very exciting action movie. Silent films have more obstacles to get passed in order to appeal to an audience. These two movies had good acting and narration but lacked a good love story!
          If I had to award two movies for meeting my criteria, I would give the award to Flipped and Funny Face. In Flipped, the first thing that stood out to me was the first person narration not only from the point of view of the little girl but also from the little boy's point of view. This gave the film a way of looking at the events through both of their shoes. The music in Flipped also creates happiness and warmth when the story needs it. In Funny Face, Audrey Hepburn does an amazing job of dancing, acting, and signing which gave the film a believable character. The choice of songs that were performed fit each scene like a puzzle piece. The one thing that both of these movies have, but both of the silent films missed, is a love story! The girl in Flipped falls in love with her childhood crush and Audrey Hepburn's character falls in love with the handsome photographer. These two movies win my award of best films.