History of Film Noir

The Film Noir era originated in the 1940’s and spanned through to the late 1950’s. “Film Noir” isn’t a genre of film but more of a style. They where Hollywood crime drama’s shot in low-key black and white which was inspired by the art movement of German expressionism from the 1910’s to 1920’s. German expressionism had a strong focus on symbolism and mise-en-scene to create the mood of the film as they where unable to compete with the extravagant productions of Hollywood. At first the films used non-realistic set designs giving the film a surreal feeling. This only lasted a few years before the style progressed and the budgets where less restricted. This allowed the films to develope and reach a wider audience. The Noir style was most commonly used in "hardboiled" American crime films.