My first example of a classic Film Noir is ‘Double Indemnity’ from 1944, directed by Billie Wilder. This is a great example for a classic film noir because it has typical Noir characters, for example it features a ‘femme fatale’, who gets power through her beauty and seduction. Another character is the sales man, who puts everything on the line to get what he wants and to get the girl. The film starts with the ending of the story line; the sales man giving a confession to what he has done, this gives the film a typically non linear storyline. The film is about a plan to kill Phyllis Dietrichson’s husband, most of the film is about the collapse of the plan and Phyllis’ betrayal.
My other example of a classic Film Noir is ‘Maltese Falcon’ from 1941, directed by John Huston. This is about a private investigator Sam Spade, his assistant Archer and the ‘femme fatale’ client ‘Miss Ruth Wonderly’. Wonderly hires him to help find her missing sister. After being hired Spades assistant Archer is killed and the film is about Spade trying to find out why Archer is killed. This is a great classic film noir because it uses a lot of the main conventions of film noir. Also during the opening titles you see only the face with a complete black background. The way the words are spoken makes you feel uncomfortable because they are spoken in a dramatic way. As the film goes on the music gets more dramatic and threatening.
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