Film Noir

Film Noir is a film genre that was extremely common and frequently used in the 1950s, with sub-genres of crime, mystery, drama and often romance.

 Getting the lighting right in Film Noir is crucial because it is usually the lighting that enables audiences to identify a film as being of the Film Noir genre. For example, Film Noir directors usually incorporate the frequent use of extreme contrast between black and white, also known as Chiaroscuro. This creates a strong sense of mystery and tension, themes that often feature in Film Noir. Another vital element of any Film Noir film is the use of shadows to reinforce the mysterious narratives. Shadows can be created by using under-lighting and back lighting, and putting filler lights at different angles can create a variety of shadows. Examples of films that incorporate the Film Noir genre include: The Maltese Falcon, The Blue Dahlia, The Big Sleep and some could argue that there are elements of Film Noir in some Hitchcock films like Psycho, although the overall genre for Psycho isn't Film Noir so wouldn't immediately come under that category.

This is the theatrical trailer for the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon. This trailer tells us that the genre is Film Noir because it hints at all the different sub-genres that are to feature in the film with on-screen text, the most obvious ones being crime and romance, which are both extremely common in Film Noir films. The trailer also includes a brief scene involving shadows which ultimately confirms that this film is of the Film Noir genre, since shadows are an essential feature of the genre, as well as the contrast between black and white.