History SoYouWantTo / WriteAFilmNoir

''"[[GrumpyOldMan Ah these kids and them new-fangled videogames]]," Bob [[GrumpyBear grumbled like a bear woken up three weeks too early.]] "Well if you want videogames, I'd suggest the VideoGame/MaxPayne series. Yeah, I know what made it sell was that BulletTime stuff, but it's seen as the best modern example of noir in the genre. Besides, any story that combines [[NorseMythology Ragnarok, Valkyries, and other such Norse lore]] with a solid noir pedigree and [[PrivateEyeMonologue metaphors]] that all go down smoother than a 12-year whiskey? Kudos to Remedy for bottling lightning."''

''"Well, damn," he said. "[[GenreSavvy I shoulda seen that coming]]."''

''"Yes; I'll admit, it's a parody of the Noir genre, but listening to this style on the radio can really show you a whole new dimension to your usual setup. And another buddy of mine is [[http://rogueking.com/life/calvin-hobbes-tracer-bullet Tracer Bullet]]. He's retired now, sad to say, but he used to appear in [[CalvinAndHobbes a newspaper comic drawn by a guy named Bill Watterson.]] You heard of him?"''

''"Besides the AntiHero and the FemmeFatale," Bob said, "there are plenty of other characters you can add. TheMafia's a nice choice. Sometimes there are two {{Femme Fatale}}s - there's the good one, who often comes around to the AntiHero's side, and TheVamp, who sometimes dies by the AntiHero's hands and sometimes gets away [[KarmaHoudini scott clean]]. You can also add TheIngenue to provide a nice contrast with the FemmeFatale. There's also the ConMan and the CorruptHick - oftentimes [[DirtyCop a sheriff or police chief.]] If you're doing it [[CityOfSpies in a particular setting]], [[ColdWar like Germany or Russia]], you can also include ThoseWackyNazis and DirtyCommunists."''

''He stopped in thought for a second before slapping his hand to his face. "I forgot!" he continued hurriedly "There was a CosmicHorrorStory Noir Game. Discworld Noir. One of those Point and Click ones." He stubbed out his cigarette into the dirty ashtray. "Came out pretty well, although you'd need to know the series to get the most out of it. Can't really forget one more, ''VideoGame/LANoire''."''

A good place to start is the Blog/TheUnitedFederationOfCharles and its description of Noir as a genre, covering both the classic Depression-era works as well as Neo-Noir attitudes in fiction. ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-is-noir.html What Is Noir?]]''

''"Sure," Bob said. "Old noir films [[DoubleStandard tended to be a little bit sexist]], so try changing around some [[GenderAndSexualityTropes gender roles]]. Don't be afraid to make the AntiHero a woman. Or even a [[VeronicaMars young girl]]."''

''He stopped in thought for a second before slapping his hand to his face. "I forgot!" he continued hurriedly "There was a CosmicHorrorStory Noir Game. Discworld Noir. One of those Point and Click ones." He stubbed out his cigarette into the dirty ashtray. "Came out pretty well, although you'd need to know the series to get the most out of it."''

''"Crumpled and on the floor is the way I like it," Bob said. "But if you gotta wear something, go simple. Men wear suits and [[NiceHat fedoras]]. Women...ah, [[RuleOfSexy as long as it looks good]], it's fine with me."'' You might want to try a [[LittleBlackDress black dress]] with [[StockingFiller stockings]], though. And remember - [[TrenchcoatBrigade everyone wears trenchcoats.]] [[BadassLongcoat Long coats just look cool]].

''"You certainly are," Bob said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"''

''"Besides the AntiHero and the FemmeFatale," Bob said, "there are plenty of other characters you can add. TheMafia's a nice choice. Sometimes there are two {{Femme Fatale}}s - there's the good one, who often comes around to the AntiHero's side, and TheVamp, who sometimes dies by the AntiHero's hands and sometimes gets away [[KarmaHoudini scott clean]]. There's also the ConMan and the CorruptHick - oftentimes [[DirtyCop a sheriff or police chief.]] If you're doing it [[CityOfSpies in a particular setting]], [[ColdWar like Germany or Russia]], you can also include ThoseWackyNazis and DirtyCommunists."''

''Bob let out a ring of smoke. "And then there's the plot," he said. "You can have your basic murder mystery, but you can also have a [[TheCaper heist]] or [[TheCon con]] of some sort. Then there's the McGuffin - it can practically be anything. In ''Casablanca'' it was the letters of transit, in ''The Maltese Falcon'' is was...well you can guess that. It was even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Kiss Me Deadly'', where the MacGuffin was a mysterious box of glowing material. One character called it 'The Great Whatsit.'" He took another puff of his cigarette. "That's a great film, by the way, but we'll get to that later."''

''"Chandler's Philip Marlowe books are a must, as is DashiellHammett's. As for films, well, besides the ones I've already mentioned, like ''Kiss Me Deadly'' and ''The Big Sleep'', there's ''Chinatown''. And for a newer one, which is actually set in high school, but still contains all those noir mannerisms and lingo, see ''Brick''. It's great, I swear."''

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''"You know," Bob said, "I'd love to see a [[CosmicHorrorStory Cosmic Horror]] FilmNoir. I really think those two genres could hit it off. I'd like to see some SteamPunk noir, too, and I'll be damned if there's enough UrbanFantasy noir out there."''

''He stopped in thought for a second before slapping his hand to his face. "I forgot!" he continued hurriedly "There was a CosmicHorror Noir Game. Discworld Noir. One of those Point and Click ones." He stubbed out his cigarette into the dirty ashtray. "Came out pretty well, although you'd need to know the series to get the most out of it."''

''"The first thing there's gotta be," Bob said, "is an AntiHero. He could be a PrivateDetective - that's certainly one of the more popular options - but there's no need for that. In fact, he could be a she. Here's what RaymondChandler wrote about him in ''The Simple Art of Murder'':''

''"I do have to mention, though, that both ''{{Charmed}}'' and ''{{Smallville}}'' did a NoirEpisode. They did TheThemeParkVersion and were generally considered horrible. ''{{Moonlighting}}'''s noir episode, however, is considered especially good, with a cameo by Orson Welles himself."''

''"[[GrumpyOldMan Ah these kids and them new-fangled videogames]]," Bob [[GrumpyBear grumbled like a bear woken up three weeks too early.]] "Well if you want videogames, I'd suggest the MaxPayne series. Yeah, I know what made it sell was that BulletTime stuff, but it's seen as the best modern example of noir in the genre. Besides, any story that combines [[NorseMythology Ragnarok, Valkyries, and other such Norse lore]] with a solid noir pedigree and [[PrivateEyeMonologue metaphors]] that all go down smoother than a 12-year whiskey? Kudos to Remedy for bottling lightning."''

''"That's him, noir in the funny pages. His records show up with the ''Calvin and Hobbes '' gang, pretty sparingly, but worthwhile, I assure you. And then there's a show'' {{Noir}}, ''Japanese thing, pretty good. Got some thematic similarities, but not really FilmNoir in the same way that you and I might be lookin' for."''

''"Besides the AntiHero and the FemmeFatale," Bob said, "there are plenty of other characters you can add. TheMafia's a nice choice. Sometimes there are two {{Femme Fatale}}s - there's the good one, who often comes around to the AntiHero's side, and TheVamp, who sometimes dies by the AntiHero's hands and sometimes gets away [[KarmaHoudini scott clean]]. There's also the ConMan and the CorruptHick - oftentimes [[DirtyCop a sheriff or police chief.]] If you're doing it [[CityOfSpies in a particular setting]], [[TheColdWar like Germany or Russia]], you can also include ThoseWackyNazis and DirtyCommunists."''

''"{{Chase Scene}}s are nice and simple," Bob said. "There was even a HallOfMirrors scene in ''The Lady from Shanghai'' which was great. Fight scenes, however, tend to be like Hobbes' philosophy of human nature: nasty, short, and brutal. Like [[HumphreyBogart Bogart]] said, they'll beat your teeth in and then [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown kick you in the stomach for mumbling.]]"''

''"Yes; I'll admit, it's a parody of the Noir genre, but listening to this style on the radio can really show you a whole new dimension to your usual setup. And another buddy of mine is [[http://rogueking.com/life/calvin-hobbes-tracer-bullet]]. He's retired now, sad to say, but he used to appear in [[CalvinAndHobbes a newspaper comic drawn by a guy named Bill Watterson.]] You heard of him?"''

''"Yes; I'll admit, it's a parody of the Noir genre, but listening to this style on the radio can really show you a whole new dimension to your usual setup. And another buddy of mine is [[http://marcel-oehler.marcellosendos.ch/comics/ch/1991/02/19910226.gif Tracer Bullet]]. He's retired now, sad to say, but he used to appear in [[CalvinAndHobbes a newspaper comic drawn by a guy named Bill Watterson.]] You heard of him?"''

''"[[GrumpyOldMan Ah these kids and them new-fangled videogames]]," Bob [[GrumpyBear grumbled like a bear woken up three weeks too early.]] "Well if you want videogames, I'd suggest the MaxPayne series. Yeah, I know what made it sell was that BulletTime stuff, but it's seen as the best modern example of noir in the genre. Besides, any story that combines [[NorseMythology Ragnarok, Valkyries, and other such Norse lore]] with a solid noir pedigree and [[PrivateEyeMonologue metaphors]] that all go down smoother than a 12-year whiskey? Kudos to Remedy for bottling lightning."''

''"Ha!" Bob guffawed. "A boatload! Try the DutchAngle. That one's great - gives you a real twisted worldview. And then there's the [[AbsurdityAscendant surreal]] and dreamlike. Heck, Hitchcock even got Salvador Dali to design some scenes in ''Spellbound''. Another important thing you'll want, if you're doing a film, if it's black and white, you've got to get the light perfect: [[{{Chiaroscuro}} stark, dramatic, and not a lot of it. Venetian blinds, a knocked-over lamp, even a veil pulled down over a dame's face falls into this category. Noirs are claustrophobic and dark; place your light carefully."''

''"Crumpled and on the floor is the way I like it," Bob said. "But if you gotta wear something, go simple. Men wear suits and [[NiceHat fedoras]]. Women...ah, as long as it [[{{Fanservice}} looks good]], it's fine with me."''

''"Besides the AntiHero and the FemmeFatale," Bob said, "there are plenty of other characters you can add. TheMafia's a nice choice. Sometimes there are two {{Femme Fatale}}s - there's the good one, who often comes around to the AntiHero's side, and TheVamp, who sometimes dies by the AntiHero's hands and sometimes gets away [[KarmaHoudini scott clean]]. There's also the ConMan and the CorruptHick - oftentimes [[DirtyCop a sheriff or police chief.]] If you're doing it in a particular setting, like Germany or Russia, you can also include ThoseWackyNazis and DirtyCommunists."''

''"I do have to mention, though, that both ''{{Charmed}}'' and ''{{Smallville}}'' did a FilmNoir episode. They did TheThemeParkVersion and were generally considered horrible. ''{{Moonlighting}}'''s noir episode, however, is considered especially good, with a cameo by Orson Welles himself."''

''"You, Mr. Holder," Alice pulled out a pistol and pointed it at him.''

''"Well damn," he said. "[[GenreSavvy I shoulda seen that coming]]."''

-->''"But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. I do not care much about his private life; he is neither a eunuch nor a satyr; I think he might seduce a duchess and I am quite sure he would not spoil a virgin; if he is a man of honor in one thing, he is that in all things. He is a relatively poor man, or he would not be a detective at all. He is a common man or he could not go among common people. He has a sense of character, or he would not know his job. He will take no man's money dishonestly and no man's insolence without a due and dispassionate revenge. He is a lonely man and his pride is that you will treat him as a proud man or be very sorry you ever saw him. He talks as the man of his age talks, that is, with rude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for sham, and a contempt for pettiness. The story is his adventure in search of a hidden truth, and it would be no adventure if it did not happen to a man fit for adventure. He has a range of awareness that startles you, but it belongs to him by right, because it belongs to the world he lives in.''\\

''"Ah, now here's where we get interesting," Bob took out a packet of cigarettes. "The film noir is essentially a modern genre, but you can make one in almost any time period. Most have been set in the Classic Period of Film Noir, the [[WorldWarII 1940s]] and [[TheFifties '50s]], so many modern noirs try to ape those times and be DeliberatelyMonochrome where EverybodySmokes because SmokingIsCool" He searched himself for some matches, but was interrupted by Alice, who lit his cigarette with a chrome lighter. "Thanks. But you can take your AntiHero and plunk him down TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture and it can [[CyberPunk still be noir]]."''

''Bob let out a ring of smoke. "And then there's the plot," he said. "You can have your basic murder mystery, but you can also have a [[TheCaper heist]] or [[TheCon con]] of some sort. Then there's the McGuffin - it can practically be anything. In ''Casablanca'' it was the letters of transit, in ''The Maltese Falcon'' is was...well you can guess that. It was even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Kiss Me Deadly'', where the McGuffin was a mysterious box of glowing material. One character called it 'The Great Whatsit.'" He took another puff of his cigarette. "That's a great film, by the way, but we'll get to that later."''

''He got up and looked out his slatted windows. "Another thing: the mysteries in noirs tend to be pretty complicated and sometimes generate [[PlotHole plot holes]]. There's even a story about when they were making ''The Big Sleep'' into a movie and couldn't figure out how one character died. They called up Chandler himself and he said, 'Damned if I know.' You gotta watch for those - make sure you know where all your characters are at a given time. And keep track of your {{Red Herring}}s."''

''"Sure," Bob said. "Old noir films tended to be a little bit sexist, so try changing around some [[GenderAndSexualityTropes gender roles]]. Don't be afraid to make the AntiHero a woman. Or even a [[VeronicaMars young girl]]."''

''"Ha!" Bob guffawed. "A boatload! Try the DutchAngle. That one's great - gives you a real twisted worldview. And then there's the [[AbsurdityAscendant surreal]] and dreamlike. Heck, Hitchcock even got Salvador Dali to design some scenes in ''Spellbound''. Another important thing you'll want, if you're doing a film, if it's black and white, you've got to get the light perfect: stark, dramatic, and not a lot of it. Venetian blinds, a knocked-over lamp, even a veil pulled down over a dame's face falls into this category. Noirs are claustrophobic and dark; place your light carefully."''

''"Sure, yeah," Bob said, slightly [[DistractedByTheSexy distracted]] by how her chest moved as she inhaled and exhaled. "Bars are good. [[BlindAlley Alleyways]], too. Anyplace that's dark and claustrophic is good."''

''"Now, this is a beauty," Bob said as he pulled out his [[GunsAndGunplayTropes snubnosed revolver]]. "The Colt .38 Special, also known as the Detective Special, the snubby, the belly gun, or, as [[ICallItVera I call her]], Carol." He put the gun back in his desk. "There are other weapons, too. Brass knuckles, truncheons, things like that. I can give you a list. Just don't go wild - I don't know if you would find [[{{Ninja}} shurikens]] in a private dick's briefcase."''

''"Besides the AntiHero and the FemmeFatale," Bob said, "there are plenty of other characters you can add. TheMafia's a nice choice. Sometimes there are two {{Femme Fatale}}s - there's the good one, who often comes around to the AntiHero's side, and TheVamp, who sometimes dies by the AntiHero's hands and sometimes gets away [[KarmaHoudini scott clean]]. There's also the ConMan and the CorruptHick - oftentimes a sheriff or police chief. If you're doing it in a particular setting, like Germany or Russia, you can also include ThoseWackyNazis and DirtyCommunists."''

''"{{Chase Scene}}s are nice and simple," Bob said. "There was even a HallOfMirrors scene in ''The Lady from Shanghai'' which was great. Fight scenes, however, tend to be like Hobbes' philosophy of human nature: nasty, short, and brutal. Like Bogart said, they'll beat your teeth in and then kick you in the stomach for mumbling."''

''"Yes; I'll admit, it's a parody of the Noir genre, but listening to this style on the radio can really show you a whole new dimension to your usual setup. And another buddy of mine is [[http://marcel-oehler.marcellosendos.ch/comics/ch/1991/02/19910226.gif Tracer Bullet]]. He's retired now, sad to say, but he used to appear in newspaper comics, drawn by a guy named Bill Watterson. You heard of him?"''

''"[[GrumpyOldMan Ah these kids and them new-fangled videogames]]," Bob grumbled like a bear woken up three weeks too early. "Well if you want videogames, I'd suggest the MaxPayne series. Yeah, I know what made it sell was that BulletTime stuff, but it's seen as the best modern example of noir in the genre. Besides, any story that combines [[NorseMythology Ragnarok, Valkyries, and other such Norse lore]] with a solid noir pedigree and [[PrivateEyeMonologue metaphors]] that all go down smoother than a 12-year whiskey? Kudos to Remedy for bottling lightning."''

''"Don't go yet, sweetcheeks. You'll also want to check out a couple of noteworthy detectives outside the typical genre. I've a good friend called Guy, Guy Noir, he's on National Public Radio Saturday afternoons, as part of '' A Prairie Home Companion."

''"Yes, I'll admit, it's a parody of the Noir genre, but listening to this style on the radio can really show you a whole new dimension to your usual setup. And another buddy of mine is Tracer Bullet. He's retired now, sad to say, but he used to appear in newspaper comics, drawn by a guy named Bill Watterson. You heard of him?"''

''Alice seemed a bit dismayed at this remark, as if she was [[Metaphorgotten going through a bucket of birds and just found a corpse]].''

''Alice seemed a bit dismayed at this remark, as if she was going through a bucket of birds and just found a corpse.''

''"[[GrumpyOldMan Ah these kids and them new-fangled videogames]]" Bob grumbled like a bear woken up three weeks too early. "Well if you want videogames, I'd suggest the MaxPayne series. Yeah, I know what made it sell was that BulletTime stuff, but it's seen as the best modern example of noir in the genre. Besides, any story that combines [[NorseMythology Ragnarok, Valkyries, and other such Norse lore]] with a stolid noir pedigree and [[PrivateEyeMonologue metaphors]] that all go down smoother than a 12-year whiskey? Kudos to Remedy for bottling lightning."''

''"Don't go yet, sweetcheeks. You'll also want to check out a couple of noteworthy detectives outside the typical genre. I've a good friend called Guy, Guy Noir, he's on National Public Radio Saturday and Friday afernoons, as part of '' A Prairie Home Companion."