-----Original Message-----
>From: William Ahearn <
williamahearn@yahoo.com>
>Sent: Oct 4, 2007 7:52 PM
>To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: The Conversation
>
>
>Here's my dilemma. When Nino Frank and the
other
>French critic mentioned "noir" in their 1946
articles,
>they were making an off-hand reference -- a gesture
--
>to a film form already in existence in France
and
>other countries. It is that definition that I
think
>defines noir. Yes, it is extremely narrow but so
are
>many definitions, especially in film
(Italian
>Neo-Realism comes to mind).
>
But since they were specifically talking about films, should
the same list of standards apply to literature? (Not being
argumentative, just asking.)
>Many of the people who wrote about noir later
just
>seemed to lump every black and white US crime
film
>into the mix. That's why some people roll "The
Asphalt
>Jungle," "The Blue Dahlia" and "A Lonely Place"
as
>film noir but I, for the life of me, can't see
the
>commonality. So -- if you're concerned
with
>consistency -- please tell me where the consistency
is
>in including these three films as noir.
>
Right after I posted my off-the-cuff list of films and books
in my last post I thought about IN A LONELY PLACE. What a
movie! I just watched it again last week and it stunned me
just like it did the first time I saw it. Truly a unique
viewing experience. A movie that could just as easily have
been from the 70s, when moral quagmire was the IN thing, as
the 50s when the world at least APPEARED to be far simpler in
the movies. It is adult in every way possible. I can
certainly see why many would label it noir. It is a story
that truly goes into a "heart of darkness." But if others
want to argue it is not noir, I've got no complaint with that
either. To paraphrase your statement about THE CONVERSATION,
I'm not sure where to categorize IN A LONELY PLACE, but it's
one hell of a movie. Anyone on this list who hasn't seen it
should get to their nearest rental store asap and pick it up.
Or better yet, just buy the thing. You'll want to watch it
more than once.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 04 Oct 2007 EDT