Film Noir, derived from the French term meaning ‘black film,’ is a style and approach to the production of many classic black and white Hollywood crime movies. While opinions differ on its definition, there are a foundation of elements that are common to film noir.
Hollywood movies of the film noir genre are typically dark, suspense-filled, thrilling mystery films. Here are some additional elements that help identify true film noir.
One of the most popular types of film with movie-going audiences is, and has always been, the mystery suspense thriller. This enjoyable combination of plot elements has its roots as far back as the early silent films. The characters and plots used in these mysterious and suspenseful movies released between the 1920s and 1950s are still remembered today, and have been replicated countless times throughout motion picture history.
These plot components have proven to be so flexible that they can successfully crossover into many movie genres such as; horror, crime, westerns, science fiction, and even comedy. Take a good thriller that builds some nail-biting suspense while adding a little bit of mystery for the audience and there is a good chance the movie will be a winner.
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