This course is an in-depth examination of the period in Hollywood's history in which the American commercial film presented a world where "the streets were dark with something more than night." The course will study predominant noir themes and visual patterns, as well as the visual style of individual directors such as Fuller, Ray, Mann, Lang, Ulmer, DeToth, Aldrich, Welles, Tourneur, Preminger, and Lewis, using their work to address how films make meaning through the manipulation of cinematic form and narrative structure. In the latter portion of the course, we will also look at noir's influence on modern cinema and the rise of "neo noir." |