Neo-noir

Neo-noir (a portmanteau of the Greek "neo", new; and the French "noir", black) is a type of motion picture that prominently utilizes elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style or visual elements that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and '50s.

History

Main article: film noir

The term Film Noir (French for "black film") was coined by critic Nino Frank in 1946, but was little used by film makers, critics or fans until several decades later. The classic era of film noir is usually dated to the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Typically American crime dramas or psychological thrillers, films noir had a number of common themes and plot devices, and many distinctive visual elements. Characters were often conflicted antiheros, trapped in a difficult situation and making choices out of desperation or nihilistic moral systems. Visual elements included low-key lighting, striking use of light and shadow, and unusual camera placement.

Although there have been few new major films in the classic film noir genre since the early 1960s, it has nonetheless had significant impact on other genres. These films usually incorporate both thematic and visual elements reminiscent of films noir As many classic films noir were independent features (given the lack of attention that major Hollywood studios paid to many noir projects) it is fitting that many neo-noir films are also independent.

By the 1970s, newer motion pictures were sometimes earning comparisons to earlier films noir. Unlike classic noirs, neo-noir films are aware of modern circumstances and technology -- details that were typically absent or unimportant to the plot of classic film noir. Modern themes employed in these films include identity crises, memory issues and subjectivity, and technological problems and their social ramifications. Similarly, the term can be applied to other works of fiction that incorporate these elements.

Examples

Works that can be described as neo-noir include dystopian science fiction films such as Soylent Green and Blade Runner.

Some other examples from this genre include Sin City, The Black Dahlia, Brick, 8mm, Payback, Angel Heart, Fargo, Se7en, The Grifters, L.A. Confidential, Pulp Fiction, Streets of Fire, The Usual Suspects, Taxi Driver, True Confessions, Red Rock West, Blue Velvet, Final Analysis, China Moon, The Big Easy, Shattered, The Believers, The Ninth Gate, Heaven's Prisoners, Blink, Dead Again, Out of the Dark, Wild Things, One Night at McCool's, U Turn, Blood Simple, The Curve, One False Move, Memento, Miller's Crossing, Reservoir Dogs, The Man Who Wasn't There, Fight Club, The Thirteenth Floor, Dark City, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, After Dark, My Sweet, Disturbing Behavior, Mulholland Drive, The Last Seduction and Goodbye Lover.

The trend has surfaced in television series like Miami Vice, Batman: The Animated Series, and Veronica Mars, and in video games like Grim Fandango, Max Payne and Fahrenheit (a.k.a. Indigo Prophecy) .

See also

• List of film noir

References

• Conrad, Mark T. The Philosophy of Neo Noir. University Press of Kentucky, 2006. (ISBN 0-81-312422-0)