Unit Overview
Film Noir
Film Noir
Objective:
This unit is designed to help the film student begin working with film terms in order to define a genre.
Films:
- The Big Sleep (1946) dir. Howard Hawks
- Charade (1963) dir. Stanley Donen
- Chinatown (1974) dir. Roman Polanski
- Memento (2000) dir. Christopher Nolan
Activities:
- Record film terminology for mise en scene, camera movement and lighting
- Observe and record examples of film noir style in The Big Sleep and Chinatown
- Develop a definition for the traits that define film noir
- Watch a film outside of class widely considered to be film noir
- A large selection of free classic film noir can be found HERE
- Write a paper and apply the extended definition to the film watched outside of class
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated based on the ability to develop and apply a definition of film noir to a film the student watches outside of class. Students should employ film terminology where appropriate in this definition.