Cold Film Noir
From 1947, "Out of the Past" is often cited as the definitive film noir. This post-world-war-two film certainly has all the qualifications for defining the genre, but I wouldnt personally label it the best of its kind. ... This film portrayed Berlin as it was, with shots of the miles of rubble and the hardships of its citizens. For some reason, the more destroyed Germany appeared in a film, the more support it received from Overseas Motion Picture Bureau. Two genres that were especially influenced by Expressionism in Germany and in America, were the horror film and film noir. ... As Ive mentioned before, the term "film noir," or "dark film," was not actually named until the mid forties. According to one of the essays written in the book called Film Noir Reader, “American critic Lloyd Shearer wrote about "dark film" for the "New York Times" in 1945, but French critic Nino Frank is credited with first using the term "film noir" in a 1946 essay, along with fellow critic Jean-Pierre Chartier”( synopsis quoted from http://members. ... com/alainsil/noir/noir2. ... Hollywood noir films like the ones mentioned above from the early-to-mid forties onward reflected a downbeat, post-World War II pessimism and were usually crime, gangster, or detective thrillers set in a milieu of smoke, fog, night, and shadows. ... A very good example of expressionist film in this movie takes place in the scene where Jeff walks into Whit Sterling’s house, the lighting is dark inside it.