Keeping on the other media (other than books )I want to talk about music ore well two musicians nick cave and tom waits they are awesome check them out now but I would like to point out that there writhing lyrically can be considered noir influence especially tom waits his old songs always had a sad jazzy sound with an even sadder story for example Burma shave still to this day I can’t listen to that song without wanting to curl up In a ball and cry like a baby his songs always have a tragic protagonist may it be about a prostitute talking about her life ore a man trying to reconnect with the one that got away stories that feel like they belong in a movie but they still carry that impact of emotions life you feel the dirty undertone of the world that he wants to talk about and it feel like it belongs in a noir universe

Burma shave

nick cave and I will be honest this man is sick and I love him for it his story for me fallow a noir feel not all of them but a lot of them telling stories murder and there is never a good adult in his story un like tom waits everyone is a dirt bag from men killing women Sodomises a guy after ore a women more or less doing the same thing to a guy ore same guy his music is not like tom but they still carry feeling in his case is more loud and bombastic and I would not want to see them in film myself but he has his noir feel as well how he develops the characters and the temptations of the characters and evil things they do and say check him out if you are brave enough to do so

Where the Wild Roses Grow

I have been waiting to do this for some time don’t ask me why it took me so long and I don’t know if anyone is going to even read this but if you do I am soooo sorry for my spelling and grammar and thank you

I want to talk about two things and I know it’s the end of the semester but I have wanted to talk about noir in other media other than books and do androids dream of electric sheep

It’s been hard for me to read Philip K. Dick writing I can see the man has so much to say but my god man it was easier for me to get in to hp lovecraft writing and that guys make up words ore places words that don’t belong in the sentence (I know pot call the kettle black) but still Philip K. his ideas where good an I mean really good but it’s really been a pain to get in to the book without some general help from the internet and I can see why the film is loosely based on the book I think a literal adaptation of this book will hurt everyone involved.

On the topic of other media and noir so I was playing a game called mass affect 2 electric boogaloo there was something I was seeing when I up the contras in the game making look darker and I saw that in the cinematography of this game its very much done like a noir film with using a lot of shadows on characters and with your character you can see glowing light of his/her scars in the skin and that emphasize how evil your character is in game the dialogs is nothing like a noir film in fact it’s very much an epic speculative fiction story but if you ever take the time and play the first game and the second right after there a big contras emotion the first one left you with hope the second one dredging what was to come I love the game and if you like speculative fiction and  RPGs I would say check it out.

Links to images of male Shepard and female Shepard

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/127/8/9/renegade_male_shepard_by_copper_ghost-d4ysyu1.jpg

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3664/stella8.png

I love blade runner a smart movie that was way before its time I love this film so much. You can look up blade runner in Google and you will get an overload of information the book and what it’s about to art from the film fan art and fan recreations did I say how much I live this film I want to talk about the ending of the film when Roy starts hunting Deckard like an animal starts going at him you can see the idea that he has nothing else to live fore he has been strip of whatever he had left of his humanity and when he has Deckard hanging that yeah he can let him go but why not show him mercy you can see that he was not to but that moment of clarity is shown that he can be better than humans that humanity has lost his way and empathy can still exist even when it’s not programed in to it.

On a side note Deckard is so a replicate hell you can see it in his boss the guy feels uncomfortable being around him like he has dealt with many different versions of him and that could be it if the Deckard we see in the movie is not the first one could that be part of why he hates his job and hates his life and doesn’t what to do it a part of him if he did do the voight-kampff knows that he has done this before and the word voight-kampff very German in a way but that just something else did I say how much I love this film.

Chinatown is a full one destruction of the detective and the American values the film represents the time not of the 1940s but the 70s and how the ideals of the past have fallen apart we don’t see the world as we were sold back in the day family is not like it was and Americais not the happiest place on earth I think if you like at J.J as America he can be a reflection of the world today  how America is used as a tool by corporate America to get what they want J,J was used to fallow Hollis I. Mulwray to discredit him and make him look like bad man ever do he was for cheating on his wife but she was no better cheating one her husband the fill is a true classic the ending is shocking and sad it makes you think about the world we live

Brazil is a very light take on 1984 making feel like a fantasy  dystopian future more than a heavy dark one you can see how the director was heavily inspired by films like black and white noir of the time even calling back to some films that Humphrey Bogart but I think the film has this quirky view of that world how the some of the people of the top don’t really know what they are doing they are just doing the work because they have to  and that’s really all they know with funny moments you used to show how sad the world is and how dark it can really be I can see the noir elements in the film but I can’t considerate  one but in the end its is still classic of our time and need to be studied more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZshIb5IJQU

A privet detective running from his past hoping it will stay buried it’s funny how a movie full us of the noir fundamentals as in character, cinematography and story you captivated by how simple the story starts but you see how much such simplicity caries so much weight as you see Jeff happiness turn to a bitter sorrow as he haves no idea how to get out without making the ultimate sacrifice.

It works as a noir with a simple but powerful cinematography that can carry much emotion with light and shadow playing a character its self giving an immersible ambiance to the scene that give you an extra kick of emotion it’s a movie that hits every point when it comes to noir story telling with a surprising ending that you do see coming with good acting flawed character relatable character I would say Out of the Past is one of the best noir films out there a classic in its own right

Asphalt Jungle is a film about a crew of robbers robing a jewelry store that was going to land in the green but bad luck is always around and betrayal is always around the corner. We can see the compere and contras who are the low criminals and who are the high and movers and shakers show how no matter where you are from a criminal is a criminal a hard movie to watch heavy on the atmosphere. The main characters are gritty dirty people but still have a sense of humanity something I saw in the film was the sound how the use of the sirens    was a call of the dead that fallow them all over the movie no escaping what was going to come they were going down and there was nothing you could do about it.

The Set up was a simple movie with some many layers of losing love of old age and the evolution of a man seeing himself as what he could be what he was and what he is. Being about a boxer wishing he could go back to his glory days. Something you can take away from the film is that it’s a look at how boxing was at the time there were no rules and people got hurt badly and it humanize the boxers in a way so when we see them crowd of people yelling for blood you feel bad for the boxers for you know  their plight  . The films climactic scene was a brutal one with in the ring and out you can see stoker not backing down wanting this one and when he knows his manager and trainer set him up for a fall you see more of that resilience.

The noir elements are seen in the end to showing a sense of fear and tension that’s for stoker as he is running from the mobster and you can see and odd little scene at the end where you can compare a tragic moment with a happy moment of stoker got beaten up by the mob on the same scene a happy drunk couple enjoying themselves give that scene a juxtaposition and making it feel more tragic and heavy. I would say this film is not a full noir movie but with beautifully tragic scenes and a protagonist you feel fore I would say this movie is worth having in your collection.

Double Indemnity is a hard movie to watch. It was the first time I have seen it, but I have seen the same setup before in another film called Fatal Instinct; a parody of noire films and erotic thrillers. The film Double Indemnity is about a seemingly normal (but not nice) guy, and a homicidal woman setting up a murder plot where the women’s husband is the latest victim. Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) a door-to-door insurance salesman meets the very attractive Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), and falls madly in lust with her. She suggests buying a life insurance policy on her husband (Tom Powers) without his knowledge.  Neff knows what she is planning; and not only helps but plans the murder himself.

The movie is heavily noire influenced; as seen in the introduction. The main character tells the story of what has happened to his coworker and friend Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). Neff has a gunshot wound in his arm; setting up to introduce the story. You learn that Neff is a normal guy but you see where he went wrong in his choices. However, there is a moment in the film when Neff comes to terms with what he’s done; and the viewer can see a sliver of hope for Neff. It’s a dark movie that holds no punches in showing how evil people are and how manipulative people can be. Phyllis Dietrichson may appear a meek, bored housewife, but she is a cold blooded killer. Playing with the stereotypes of the time, a woman could be a murderer but would still show her softness to lure the viewer’s sympathy; but not Phyllis Dietrichson. She was cold, methodical, and knew what strings to pull to get what she wanted. She played the role of a woman in need of a big “manly-man” to help her; and Neff was the one. Too smart for his own good and the libido to match his ego; He sees Dietrichson’s agenda and calls her out on it. Sadly he cannot resist her beauty and lust trumps everything.  Taking the life of her husband is almost justified because he was verbally abusive and controlling. Divorce was not as common as it is today and the courts would not have given her what was hers; she would be out on the street. So murder for her is the only way she can get what she is owed.

I find many similarities in the film Detour which came out one year after Double Indemnity. The one difference that stands out to me is that the main character is a true good guy; hitch-hiking from New York to Los Angeles and to be with the one he loves.  Like Neff he made a bad choice that got him in to more trouble; and it is told through narration of the main character.  Being a broken shell of what he ones was, after making a bad choice. The choice Al made was one of desperation that got worse and worse over time; in contrast Neff did it out of selfishness and greed. The lighting effects and camera angles show how dark the world can really be and the touch of the narrator telling the audience how he felt at the time really helps sell this dark thriller.

Being a big fan of detective stories, I really enjoyed The Maltese falcon. No film is made in a vacuum, in other words, everything comes from something. To say that no film has taken ideas from Maltese Falcon is a lie; that’s not saying that this film is the original being base on the novel by Dashiell Hammetts, but it is a film that utilizes the ideas to make something wonderful and entertaining.  Sam Spade (played by Humphrey Bogart) is a fast talking detective that gets in over his head when a women named Brigid O’Shaughnessy (played by Mary Astor) comes to him with a simple tailing job that turns in to murder with his partner being the stiff and all eyes on him being the suspect.

Sam is an archetype that is recognizable in many films:  fast talking, quick witted, daring and a keen eye and mind for detective work. However behind all of that is a man who is greedy, misogynistic, ambiguous, scared and a bastard.  Bogart’s character is the antihero, someone that has done bad things but still tries to do the right thing. Many characters from this film fall in the cliché category as well with O’Shaughnessy being a femme fatale playing the victim; being as dirty and dangerous has her male counterparts. Cairo (played by Peter Lorre) is slimy, dimwitted, and a liar; but smart enough to trick Sam one time. Wilmer Cook (played by Elisha Cook Jr.) a scary intense character is a walking time bomb and that’s something Sam sees and uses to his advantage. The ringleader Kasper Gutman (played by Sydney Greenstreet) is a pompous fat man with a smile to match is obsessed with finding the falcon. He will stop at nothing to get it, even if he has to cross his partners in crime.

These characters are considered more cliché in today’s films because when everyone is a suspect, the leading man keeps everyone on their toes long enough so he can solve the case and deliver it to the authorities in a nice bow. This theme worked then and nearly 75 years later, it still works. You can take a basic archetype like Sam and Kasper and redeliver their essence in another genre of film such as in 1977’s Star Wars: Han Solo being the antihero and Jabba the Hut being the villain.

Having a good story and fun characters is not enough; you also need the visual to represent the world you are trying to create. The noir cinematography is a character in its self by paring a mysterious story with a mysterious city like San Francisco as its back drop for this film. Black and white contrasts and high angles make everything look intimidating and making the audience wonder what is in the shadows looking back at you. The cinematography is in full effect with dim lighting presenting a smoky night and the moon giving you enough light to reflect the heroes; and the “not so good guys” barely showing in the light.

The noir architecture has inspired countless works including the 1945 film Detour in addition to recent video games like Bioshock and L.A Noir. Bruce Timm’s animated Batman series stylizes is presented in noir style with the animation not too “cartoony”.  Movies like the Maltese Falcon, done with noir aesthetics set the standard of how to show a good dark detective drama.  Without Sam we would not have Colombo and without O’Shaughnessy we would not have Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct). This film is “the stuff dreams are made of”- cue the music.