Four of you produced similar questions about the ending of Body Heat and how it relates to the ending of Double Indemnity. Although the questions are similar, I’ll list them all for you:
Why is the decision made to let the femme fatale live and prosper? Body Heat shares so many similarities with Double [...]
Remember: have a conversation with each other.
In many ways J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) seems to be a parody of classical noir protagonists such as Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart). For example, at the beginning of Chinatown, Gittes makes a comment about his Venetian blinds, and moments later Gittes’s barber tells him he “looks like a [...]
A poem of images and music [...] for those who know their way around Roman Polanski’s Chinatown. by Jim Emerson
Okay, here are two questions from your class on the representation of race in Welles’s Touch of Evil and its potential meanings. One is a bit more specific than the other. Take your pick!
What sort of racial issues are raised in Touch of Evil? Does the distance from the end of WWII signal a [...]
This week’s question is perhaps the broadest we’ve encountered thus far. While you may consider in your response any female characters we’ve discussed, I’d like for you to at least cite one from Mildred Pierce (e.g., Mildred, Veda, Ida). You should, of course, also discuss current onscreen representations of women to support your point(s).
“A [...]
Most of your questions this week consider the characters of Gilda and Johnny. I’ve selected two questions for each character, but please react to only one of them. Before you respond, be sure to let us know which question you’ve chosen:
On Gilda How does Gilda’s musical talent help personify her as possibly the most [...]
Since we spent time after our screening of Laura discussing Richard Dyer’s “Homosexuality and Film Noir,” we’ll forgo questions about Waldo Lydecker’s sexuality and instead consider your questions on the film’s use of mise-en-scene.
React to at least one of questions below and then come up with an additional element of mise-en-scene (aside from the [...]
Most of your questions focus on aging actresses in Hollywood and Norma Desmond as femme fatale. Since we discussed both topics in some detail after our screening, why don’t we consider the men in Sunset Boulevard:
What are your thoughts on Joe Gillis and Max? Is Joe any different from Al Roberts or Walter Neff, [...]
This week, most of you seem to be interested in Ava Gardner’s representation of the femme fatale in The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946). So let’s go with that. Here are some of the questions that surfaced after our screening:
Is Kitty a conventional femme fatale, or is she really innocent as she proclaims at the [...]
As you know, last week’s snow day prevented us from watching Kiss Me Deadly. Bummer. But here’s what we can do, if you’d like:
On March 30, we’re scheduled to watch Welles’s Touch of Evil, the film that (most concur) closes out classical film noir. Since Kiss Me Deadly falls at the end of the [...]
Film Noir on Twitter
- Still want to "talk film" after the semester's over? @KelliMarshall and/or http://www.facebook.com/drkellimarshall. Have a great summer!
- Student paper comparing MILDRED PIERCE & NEW JACK CITY. First time I've seen the names Veda & G-Money in the same sentence!
- Superheroes Suck: http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/05/06/superhero_movies_bankrupt_genre
