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December 2008, Week 1

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From:
"Larsson, Donald F" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 1 Dec 2008 13:35:07 -0600
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Also see the comments  on Alton in James Naremore's More than Night (1998), which examines noir in its political and social, as well as aesthetic, contexts.  He pairs the Alton commentary with a fairly long look at Out of the Past.

There are too many striking uses of noir lighting to list, but a few that come to mind as especially notable include
*       The office scene in MURDER, MY SWEET, where the blinking neon light reveals Moose Malloy reflected in Philip Marlowe's window
*       Burt Lancaster waiting in his room for the hitmen in The Killers
*       The death of Akim Tamiroff in Touch of Evil and the final scene as well
*       The Hall of Mirrors shoot-out at the end of The Lady from Shanghai
*       The flashback of the drunken night in Crossfire
*       Ray Milland hiding from Charles Laughton in The Big Clock
*       The prison scene in Fritz Lang's You Only Live Once and the final scenes in Scarlet Street
*       The opening scenes of Kiss Me Deadly

There are other examples that are not usually thought of as film noir as such but demonstrate or contribute to its influence:
*       The "alternate life" sequence in It's a Wonderful Life
*       Many scenes in Citizen Kane, but notably those in the second half of the film
*       The appearance of Harry Lime in the doorway in The Third Man and the final chase through the sewers
*       The swimming pool sequence and following in the original Cat People

Don Larsson


-----Original Message-----
From: Film and TV Studies Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jonathan Nichols-Pethick
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6:45 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SCREEN-L] Film Noir

Painting With Light by the cinematographer John Alton.  It's more a practical guide written by one of the best in the noir business in the 40s and 50s.  Not a critical/scholarly work, but invaluable, nonetheless.

Jonathan

--------------------------------------------
Jonathan Nichols-Pethick
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Communication and Theatre
Director of Film Studies
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN 46135
(765) 658-5095
--------------------------------
>>> Louis Tartaglia <[log in to unmask]> 11/25/08 7:41 AM >>>
I am a student at the University of Edinburgh working on a project on
film noir lighting. If anyone has any recommendations on books or
specific parts in films I should take a look at it would be greatly
appreciated.

Regards

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