Film Noir (literally 'black film or cinema') reflected the tensions and insecurities of the time period after the war. This was a counter-balance of the optimism of Hollywood's musicals and comedies. Fear, mistrust, bleakness, loss of innocence, despair and paranoia are readily evident in noir, reflecting the 'chilly' Cold War period when the threat of nuclear annihilation was ever-present. The criminal, violent, misogynistic, hard-boiled, or greedy perspectives of anti-heroes in film noir were a metaphoric symptom of society's evils, with a strong undercurrent of moral conflict, purposelessness and sense of injustice. There were rarely happy or optimistic

endings in noirs.

The primary moods of classic film noir were:•Melancholy•Alienation•Bleakness•Disillusionment•Disenchantment•Pessimism•Ambiguity•moral corruption•Evil•Guilt•Desperation•paranoia

Heroes (or anti-heroes) corrupt characters and villains included:•down-and-out•Conflicted, hard-boiled detectives OR•Private eyes•Cops•Gangsters•government agents•a lone wolf•socio-paths OR•Killers•Crooks•war veterans•Politicians•petty criminals•Murderers

These protagonists were often morally-ambiguous low-lifes from the dark and gloomy underworld of violent crime and corruption. Distinctively, they were cynical, tarnished, obsessive (sexual or otherwise), brooding, menacing, sinister, sardonic, disillusioned, frightened and insecure loners (usually men), struggling to survive - and in the end, ultimately losing.

Locations•Dark rooms with light slicing through venetian blinds•alleys cluttered with garbage•abandoned warehouses where dust hangs in the air•rain-slickened streets with water still running in the gutters•dark detective offices overlooking busy streets

Very often, a film noir story was developed around a cynical, hard-hearted, disillusioned male character [e.g., Robert Mitchum, Fred MacMurray, or Humphrey Bogart] who encountered a beautiful but promiscuous, amoral, double-dealing and seductive femme fatale [e.g., Mary Astor, Veronica Lake, Jane Greer, Barbara Stanwyck, or Lana Turner].

Dark and shadowed vs. Light and no shadowsRepresents how film noir represented its male and female leads

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uwR14oG7qA– YouTube example of Chiaroscuro lighting

Definitions:1.The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation.2.The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art.

This technique may also be termed "ambient/natural lighting.”

Marlene Dietrich “-If it wasn't for light and shade would she look as good as she does here? “

The chiaroscuro technique dates back to the time of Renaissance paintings. Also sometimes called Rembrandt lighting, it often pertains to having one solitary light source and depicting stark contrasts between light and shadow. This style of lighting may seem minimalistic, but it yields very dramatic results. The high illumination contrast creates 3D depth on an otherwise 2-dimensional surface. Often this technique is achieved by having one bright, solitary light source - usually daylight. But, in a studio set-up, or with a lighting set-up, chiaroscuro can also be accomplished. Here's how