French for "
black cinema,"
film noir is a
film style that sprang up in the
United States after
World War II. It emphasizes a
fatalistic,
despairing world where no one can
escape from
loneliness,
isolation,
death, and the
horrors of
urban society.
Stylistically,
noir utilized
low-key and
high-contrast lighting, lots of
shadows,
fog, and
rain, and
complex compositions to create an
atmosphere of
dread and
paranoia.
Some of the best-known
examples of
film noir include "
The Maltese Falcon", "
Double Indemnity", "
Sunset Boulevard", and more recently, "
Chinatown", "
Body Heat", "
Blade Runner", and "
Who Framed Roger Rabbit".