A Dark Haze Covers the Stage

        The Film Noir genre is an dark and mysterious product of the American film industry that is comprised of several ideas and themes. It put the dark nature of the human heart and the concept of fate that is twisted in a way that does not bode well for the characters of a film on display for a wide audience to see back in the 30's and 40's. The director Errol Morris summarized one of these main ideas, "For me the great Noir films are films about fall guys, a person who finds himself caught in a net. The more he struggles, the deeper and deeper he becomes entwined in nightmare." In the Noir film "The Postman Always Rings Twice" this theme is evident as the tale of a man named Frank Chambers begins when he becomes involved with a married woman named Cora Smith. Their harmless flirtation quickly escalates into burning desire and the two begin down a path of Cora's ambitions with Frank ultimately facing the consequences for.

        Cora Smith, played by Lana Turner, is what is known as a femme fatale a common and key element of the Noir genre. " She's very smart, very powerful, and she's extremely sexual. She uses her sexuality to get what she's after and what she's after isn't the man in the picture, he's another tool. What she's after is something for herself." This depiction of the femme fatale as described by scholar Janey Place is a typical concept of the deadly woman in the noir films. The main character who is usually male comes across this woman and she uses him to reach her own ends while leading him astray and down a path of his own undoing. Cora Smith however doesn't exactly fit the role as a typical femme fatale. While she does manage to involve herself with Frank and is ultimately the source of his undoing she does not lead him done that road solely of her own accord. It is more of a joint effort that the two develop plans and devise schemes that get them into trouble. It is true she is the source of negative change in Frank's life but the things that are done are done out of desire and perhaps even genuine love. Cora is ambitious and driven as a femme fatale but does not use Frank as a tool to reach her own ends, at least not intentionally.

        In Film Noir the mood that is created using light and sound has a set formula and a tradition that is followed throughout the genre. The films' use of high contrast black and white made it so shadows and darkness could be use to emphasize or conceal foreboding evidence in scenes or show exclusive details that needed to be brought to the audiences' attention. Creating a glow around a character's face or a highlight on the eyes of an actor show a sort of focus, as if telling you that all the attention belongs there in the glow. The eyes are especially important, as in times of great distress or confusion and ones is at a loss for words the eyes tell an elaborate story that the mouth cannot and in Film Noir times of confusion and distress are common place. An example of such a scene of lighting and contrast can be seen when Cora is first introduced in "The Postman Always Rings Twice." In this scene another element is expressed and that is the tilt of the camera that goes up from Cora's legs as she comes down the stairs. This sort of tilt is supposed to be how Frank reacted as she enters the room. As the audience we are supposed to place ourselves in his position and see through his eyes. Forming this connection with the character is important in the Noir films as it made the fall of that character all the more distressing as someone who watches this go on, unable to do anything to prevent it. This increases the allure of the Noir world, the fact that we as audience members find ourselves in these dark situations we aren't normally or willingly placed into. A connection is further established in most Noir films through the use of narration done through the main character, the fall guy. We hear his thoughts and are present in his head as we watch as his action bear great consequences. The soundtracks for these movies are often dramatic to overplay actions that cannot be seen or significant events of the movie such as the murder of Nick or the execution of their several plots. This helps make Film Noir "dark film" in more ways than one.

          As time went on homages to the art of Film Noir were developed in the form of Neo-Noir.  Comparatively Neo-Noir loses it's literal darkness and replaces it with color film in some cases. The high black and white contrast is lost and replaced with creative uses of lighting to try and and achieve similar moods  and invoke specific emotions such as suspense or distress. Acting has improved a great deal since the 40's and this helps convey perhaps a stronger inner turmoil even without the use of traditional black and white.As a homage Neo-Noir shares many elements of Film Noir in it's products such as story, music and character cliches. An example could be the 1981 Neo-Noir film "Body Heat", which as a fundamentally Noir film is quite similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice." The story is of typical Noir tradition, with a man becoming involved with a woman he shouldn't have. Ned Racine, who has a reputation with the opposite sex comes across a woman named Matty Walker, a married woman and what he believes to be his next conquest. His involvement with her results in the shattering of his stable day to day and his life is changed for the worse. The story is similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but in a way fits the typical mold of a Noir film a bit more if only because of it's characters. The character involved in "Body Heat" are those of the traditional formula and are an obvious nod to Neo-Noir's predecessor. While Ned is the fall guy, Matty is the femme fatale but unlike Cora, Matty knows what she wants and uses Ned from the very beginning. Where Cora did not fit the typical femme fatale, Matty does completely. The music is a bit different in "Body Heat" as music has changed as time had progressed but the way music influences the mood in a scene has not. The soundtrack still emphasizes the drama involved in crime and the passion of a forbidden love and a life of secrets. The music has definitely been built upon the shoulders of the past. "Body Heat" as an homage to Film Noir is a succesful film that uses the traditional technique with a touch of modern ideas and technology.