Film noir

Film noir is a film style and mood primarily associated with crime films, that portrays its principal characters in a nihilistic and existential world. Film noir is primarily derived from the hard-boiled style of crime fiction of the Depression era, (many films noir were adaptations of such novels), and may first be clearly seen in films released in the early 1940s. 'Noirs' were historically made in black and white, and had a dark, high-contrast style with roots in German Expressionist cinematography.

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The term film noir was unknown to the filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic film noirs. Film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of the creators of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film.

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Film: :This article is about motion pictures. For other uses of "film", see photographic film or film (disambiguation)...

Crime film: The beginning of the 20th century saw the arrival of film as a new medium. By and large, what people wanted to watch on the screen did not differ from what they expected to see on the stage or read in short stories and novels: the good and the bad things in life (clearly separated from each other); ...

Nihilistic: Nihilistic may refer to:...

Film noir related Images and Photos (experimental)

Film Noir Classics Collection, The: Volume 4 (DVD)	Film Noir Classics Collection, The: Volume 1 (DVD) (5-Pack)	Film Noir Classics Collection, The: Volume 2 (DVD) (5-Pack)	Film Noir Classics Collection, The: Volume 3 (DVD) (6-Pack)
Film Noir Classics Collection, The: Volume 5 (8-Pack) (DVD)	Film Noir 7000 Clams Colt	Film	Film Fun
Noir Baroque	Noir et Blanc	Noir et Blanc	Film Cans Set, Gold