| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1308692408064620100 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:310:[[Film/{{DOA}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Noir_8041.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:310: PrivateDetective? Check. FemmeFatale? Check. {{Chiaroscuro}} lighting? Check. ''This'' is Film Noir.]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''"You need cops, Venetian blinds, lots of smoking, hats, sweat, dead-end streets, guys who know all the angles except for the one that ends up sticking out of their backs. Sirens of the automotive and female kind."'' |
| 8 | -->-- '''James Lileks''', ''The Bleat'', [[http://www.lileks.com/bw/noir/doublemoon/index.html "Black & White World"]] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | [[AC:For added effect, play one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoYAGNLqFwg of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCQfTNOC5aE these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bW75OwVXZI songs]] while reading the article.]] |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Film Noir (literally "black film" in French) is a genre of stylish, gritty crime dramas, difficult to define, but the [[TheForties 1940s]] and [[TheFifties '50s]] were the classic period. Whether works since then can be accurately classed as Noir is a subject of much debate among film critics. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Film Noir, and the literature from which it is drawn, is the progenitor of several modern genres, particularly {{cyberpunk}}. Common plots of noir films include murder (and subsequent murder investigations), [[TheCaper heists]], [[TheCon con games]], {{blackmail}} schemes, and (mostly) innocent men or women {{wrongly accused}} of crime. Use of the [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder double-cross]] and [[SmokingIsCool cigarette smoking]] are mandatory. [[KudzuPlot Complicated plots]] may be further convoluted by {{flashback}}s and {{flash forward}}s, with the [[{{Narrator}} narration]] tying everything together -- [[UnreliableNarrator assuming we can trust it]]. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | ''Noir'', in the classic and stylistic sense, is visually darker than your average gangster picture, [[{{Chiaroscuro}} playing with light and long, deep shadows]] instead of bright, documentary-styled camera work. This visual motif is so iconic that homages and parodies are almost universally DeliberatelyMonochrome, using a transition between colour and black and white where necessary. Scenes are often filmed on location, and night scenes are shot at night. Camera angles are often very creative and unusual, heightening the viewers' sense of unease, adding to the atmosphere. The contrast between light and dark is sometimes used in the cinematography to reflect the difference between the [[BigBad villain]] and the protagonist(s). [[CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain It rains most every night]] in Film Noir; filmmakers admit that this is entirely because at night wet pavement [[RuleOfCool looks cooler than dry]]. Also, the rain makes it plausible that no one else is around. That said, daytime scenes can be [[SunshineNoir harshly bright]]. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Film Noir is not really a genre in any sense, rather it reflects a tendency in certain American films of the '40s and '50s where crime and gangster stories are infused with an excessive visual style, a modern urban sensibility, and a powerful sense of moral ambiguity. These movies differed from the crime movies of the '30s, the Depression Gangster films such as ''Film/ThePublicEnemy1931'' or ''Film/Scarface1932'', in that criminal behaviour is no longer relegated to gangsters or ethnic ghettos, and the plots don't usually revolve around turf wars or police clampdowns. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Protagonists in film noir are often normal people (classically, but not necessarily, a PrivateDetective) who get involved in crime, and the motivations are no longer just social or circumstantial but psychological and personal. The standard noir plot is, in broad terms, best summed up as centering around a protagonist who, usually by pure chance, is placed in a complex and dangerous situation completely beyond their control where they are pitted against an adversary whose identity and motives are not immediately obvious. The system and the law is usually either [[PoliceAreUseless apathetic to their plight]] or is even [[DirtyCop outright working against them]], meaning that they will have to take up the fight and make sense of it all by themselves or die trying. As a style and sensibility, Film Noir was flexible to include hybrids such as the Western-Film Noir (The 1947 film ''Pursued'' with flashbacks, DarkAndTroubledPast, high contrast black and white lighting and weird Freudian themes), and even the film-noir musical (''The Man I Love, Love Me and Leave Me'') and in the case of ''Leave Her to Heaven'' a Film Noir in technicolor. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Trying to explain Film Noir is hard since it's kind of a mix of European cynicism and post-war American angst. It involves a clash between crude pulp fiction narratives and complex storytelling and characterization, which itself derived from emerging psychological research on criminal behavior, as well as wider influences in modern art and literature. The term was first used by French critics (hence the name), and it derives from "Serie Noir", the label of French translations of American pulp fiction, and French imitations thereof, [[ForeignCultureFetish which were highly popular in France at the time]]. French critics looked at the American crime films from ''their'' perspectives of post-Occupation France, which to some extent led them to overemphasize the doom and gloom of American films by projecting their experiences onto their interpretations of these films. Later, American writers when translating these articles into English brought this into PopCulturalOsmosis. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | The mix of European cynicism with American landscape is also borne out in the fact that several directors of films noir -- Creator/BillyWilder (who lost his mother in [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Auschwitz]]), Robert Siodmak, Creator/FritzLang, Creator/OttoPreminger -- were refugees, exiles and emigres from UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, being quite active in [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic 1920s Berlin]] which in many ways was the closest a real-life city came to being the exaggerated CityNoir landscape. The lighting in Film Noir was also strongly influenced by European trends, especially GermanExpressionism, but later after the war, the Italian neorealist films of Creator/RobertoRossellini also influenced it greatly. The subtext of many of these films often dealt with the trauma of the returning ShellShockedVeteran (most notably, ''Film/ActOfViolence'') and the rising RedScare and UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist which made the working climate in Hollywood highly paranoid and hostile, and this infused the films made in the late '40s. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Noir can also be seen as a successor to the GothicHorror novels of the 19th Century, moved from the decrepit castles of Romanticism and into the city streets of Modernism, and most forms of "new Gothic" - such as SouthernGothic, Southern Ontario Gothic, and especially SuburbanGothic - will have a heavy dose of noir influence. Both traditions typically revolve around some sort of [[AwfulTruth terrible secret]] coming to light, a general air of unease and paranoia, a feeling of alienation from one's surroundings, and a middle-class distrust of the rich, although noir typically trades in the [[AristocratsAreEvil evil aristocracy]] for [[CorruptCorporateExecutive businessmen]] and {{corrupt politician}}s. Noir is also usually more masculine than the female-driven Gothics and more likely to have a male protagonist, although both forms typically rely heavily on sweltering sexual tension - just as the Gothic [[TheIngenue ingenue]] was tempted by the ByronicHero, the noir hero finds himself caught up in the wiles of the FemmeFatale. Like the Gothic HauntedHeroine, the noir hero may be haunted by his own inner demons (though usually of a less supernatural kind), but the closest he can come to her IncorruptiblePurePureness is being a KnightInSourArmor. If, when it comes down to it, he does the right thing even when he knows it will cost him greatly (and he might not), the universe will not reward him for his inner nobility - in contrast to the Gothic, which, despite its darkness, is at heart a fairly idealistic tradition where good perseveres and [[HolyBurnsEvil crosses repel vampires]]. There are no such guarantees in noir. Being a DoomedMoralVictor will have to be enough for the noir hero; as Creator/RobertMitchum says in ''Film/OutOfThePast'', "Build my gallows high." Just as solving the mystery is an act of imposing order on chaos, so too is choosing [[TheAntiNihilist to follow a moral code in an amoral world]]. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | The standard Noir landscape is [[CityNoir a large, oppressive city (filmed in dark and dusky conditions to create a moody atmosphere)]]. Familiar haunts include cheap hotels, dimly-lit bars, [[BadGuyBar nightclubs filled with questionable clientele]] (including the {{Gayngster}}) whom the lead may intimidate for information, gambling dens, juke joints and the ubiquitous seedy [[AbandonedWarehouse waterfront warehouse]] filled with [[CrateExpectations crates]] that FellOffTheBackOfATruck. At night in the big city, you can bet the streets are slick with rain, reflecting streetlights like a Hopper painting. [[HumansAreBastards Most of the characters (including the lead) are cynical, misanthropical and hopeless]] all the way through the film, and may never find [[RedemptionQuest true redemption]] - and if they do, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath it won't come cheap]]. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | It is important to note that the term "Film Noir" was not available to the people who made them in the '40s and '50s. To quote Robert Mitchum once again, "We called them B-Movies." It comes from later audiences and critics who rediscovered these films in revival theaters and clubs and picked up the subtext, visual clues, and other HiddenDepths. Many historians feel that the classic Film Noir genre died when it became self-conscious. Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumenton cite the MGM musical ''The Band Wagon'' (made in 1952), where the final number featured a technicolor parody of a Mickey Spillane crime setting, with Creator/FredAstaire and Cyd Charisse playing the detective and femme fatale in an obvious send-up. Others feel that Creator/OrsonWelles' ''Film/TouchOfEvil'' was the real end, since it was made by the director of ''Film/CitizenKane'' (which, while not a Noir, influenced the lighting and style of several other films noir), and the genre conventions were pretty much stretched inside and outside. They also argue that Noir only worked in a climate of censorship, as the crime genre often fell BeneathSuspicion allowing writers and directors more chances to subvert cliches. Once censorship eroded, Film Noir had pretty much served its purpose and achieved its goals. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Attempts to revive this style led to Neo-Noir, which with some exceptions tends to {{Flanderization}}. The tone and outlook ''must'' be [[DarkerAndEdgier bleak]], [[CrapsackWorld defeatist]], and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism pessimistic]], always ''suggesting'' a sliminess beyond what it can [[CensorshipBureau show]]. Nobody gets what they want, and [[LaserGuidedKarma everyone gets what's coming to them]]. Characters are often armed -- [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolvers]][[note]]especially [[PintSizePowerHouse Snubnosed .38's]] if you're a cop or a [[FemmeFatale dame]][[/note]], [[HandCannon Colt 1911s]], and if they need MoreDakka, tommy guns. Also, no self-respecting Film Noir thug will be seen without his [[PowerFist brass knuckles.]] They'll probably wear a Fedora or trilby hat with a [[BadassLongcoat trench coat]]. Frequently the ending will be [[AntiClimax low-key]] and [[DownerEnding leave no one character happy or fulfilled]]. Commonly, there is also a great deal of [[BelligerentSexualTension sexual tension]] between the hero and the female lead; Noir stories are quite risqué. The original Film Noir era followed the [[CensorshipBureau Hays Code]], so the odds of a female lead removing her clothing are minimal, but even so, she'll often have some fine gams on display and walk with a SupermodelStrut. This applies to modern versions; [[{{Fanservice}} gratuitous nudity]] or scenes of excessive violence are [[GoryDiscretionShot hinted at]] [[SexyDiscretionShot rather than portrayed.]] It is often what is ''not'' seen that adds to the mystery and suspense. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | Film Noir usually features the AntiHero, AntiVillain, VillainProtagonist, the ambiguity often resting on questions of trust, leading to an atmosphere of paranoia where PoorCommunicationKills regularly. The conclusion may or may not tie up all the loose ends, with the major mystery being the [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally ambiguous theme]] of the story. These factors contribute to the widely-held opinion that [[TrueArtIsAngsty Film Noir works are among the best artistic works of all time]] and contributed greatly to the maturity of cinema as an art form. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | See FilmNoirIndex for a listing of live-action film noir. Examples from other media are listed below. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | Not to be confused with the religious conspiracy anime ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' (although that ''is'' an example of the genre). |
| 39 | |
| 40 | [[index]] |
| 41 | [[folder:Characters associated with Film Noir]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | * TheAlcoholic |
| 44 | * AmoralAttorney[=/=]PersecutingProsecutor |
| 45 | * AntiHero |
| 46 | * AntiVillain |
| 47 | * BadCopIncompetentCop |
| 48 | * ByronicHero |
| 49 | * TheChanteuse[=/=]GlamorousWartimeSinger |
| 50 | * CorruptBureaucrat |
| 51 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive |
| 52 | * CorruptPolitician |
| 53 | * TheCynic |
| 54 | * DameWithACase |
| 55 | * DeadpanSnarker |
| 56 | * DefectiveDetective |
| 57 | * DetectiveAnimal |
| 58 | * DirtyCop |
| 59 | * FemmeFatale |
| 60 | * GangBangers |
| 61 | * GirlFriday |
| 62 | * HangingJudge |
| 63 | * HardboiledDetective |
| 64 | * InternalAffairs |
| 65 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold |
| 66 | * KangarooCourt |
| 67 | * KnightInSourArmor |
| 68 | * LadyInRed |
| 69 | * TheLastDJ |
| 70 | * MysteriousWoman |
| 71 | * ObstructiveBureaucrat |
| 72 | * TheOldestProfession |
| 73 | ** {{Streetwalker}} |
| 74 | * Organized crime, including but not limited to: |
| 75 | ** TheMafia |
| 76 | ** TheMafiya |
| 77 | ** {{Yakuza}} |
| 78 | ** TheTriadsAndTheTongs |
| 79 | ** TheIrishMob |
| 80 | ** KosherNostra |
| 81 | ** and, within each organization, TheDon, TheConsigliere, and so on |
| 82 | * PrivateDetective |
| 83 | * ProfessionalKiller |
| 84 | * SleazyPolitician |
| 85 | * SmallTownTyrant |
| 86 | * TheSnarkKnight |
| 87 | * StepfordSnarker |
| 88 | * TheVamp |
| 89 | * VigilanteMan |
| 90 | * VillainProtagonist |
| 91 | [[/folder]] |
| 92 | |
| 93 | [[folder:Common noir settings]] |
| 94 | * AbandonedWarehouse |
| 95 | * BandOfBrothels |
| 96 | * TheBigRottenApple |
| 97 | * TheCityNarrows |
| 98 | * CityNoir |
| 99 | * CrapsackWorld |
| 100 | * DenOfIniquity |
| 101 | * DyingTown, particularly the bigger, city-sized examples, such as UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} |
| 102 | * GangsterLand |
| 103 | * GrayRainOfDepression |
| 104 | * HellholePrison |
| 105 | * HolidayInCambodia (the urban variant, involving seedy Asian cityscapes) |
| 106 | * IndustrialGhetto |
| 107 | * NotSoSafeHarbor |
| 108 | * NordicNoir |
| 109 | * RedLightDistrict |
| 110 | * SoiledCityOnAHill |
| 111 | * SunshineNoir |
| 112 | * UrbanSegregation |
| 113 | * ViceCity |
| 114 | * WretchedHive |
| 115 | * WrongSideOfTheTracks |
| 116 | [[/folder]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | [[folder:Common noir eras (both setting and publication)]] |
| 119 | * VictorianLondon (for OlderThanTheyThink examples) |
| 120 | * TheRoaringTwenties |
| 121 | * GenteelInterbellumSetting |
| 122 | * TheGreatDepression |
| 123 | * ChandlerAmericanTime |
| 124 | * TheFifties (mostly as a subversion of postwar American prosperity, but likelier to be played straight in war-devastated Europe) |
| 125 | * TheSeventies (especially for major American cities—TheBigRottenApple is the TropeCodifier) |
| 126 | * TheEighties (the rise and heyday of CyberPunk noir) |
| 127 | * TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture (for sci-fi examples) |
| 128 | [[/folder]] |
| 129 | |
| 130 | [[folder:Visual elements and camera techniques]] |
| 131 | * {{Chiaroscuro}} |
| 132 | * DeliberatelyMonochrome |
| 133 | * DutchAngle |
| 134 | * RealIsBrown |
| 135 | * UnnaturallyBlueLighting |
| 136 | [[/folder]] |
| 137 | |
| 138 | [[folder:Sound elements and music]] |
| 139 | * CyberpunkIsTechno |
| 140 | * LonelyPianoPiece |
| 141 | * {{Sexophone}} |
| 142 | * SimpleScoreOfSadness |
| 143 | * SinisterTangoMusic |
| 144 | [[/folder]] |
| 145 | |
| 146 | [[folder:Other tropes associated with Film Noir]] |
| 147 | * AnyoneCanDie |
| 148 | * BittersweetEnding |
| 149 | * BlackAndGreyMorality |
| 150 | * EmergingFromTheShadows |
| 151 | * EverybodySmokes |
| 152 | * GoingByTheMatchbook |
| 153 | * IOwnThisTown |
| 154 | * InherentInTheSystem |
| 155 | * MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot |
| 156 | * NoHoldsBarredBeatdown |
| 157 | * PhotoIdentificationDenial |
| 158 | * PoliceAreUseless (in the sense that government authorities cannot be counted on to solve ordinary people's problems, because of either corruption, sheer incompetence, or both) |
| 159 | * PoliceBrutality |
| 160 | * PrivateEyeMonologue |
| 161 | * {{Revenge}} tropes |
| 162 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections |
| 163 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney |
| 164 | * ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem |
| 165 | * SherlockScan |
| 166 | * SmokingIsCool |
| 167 | * SnowMeansDeath |
| 168 | * SocialServicesDoesNotExist |
| 169 | * SympathyForTheDevil |
| 170 | * TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth |
| 171 | * UnreliableNarrator |
| 172 | * WeatherReportOpening |
| 173 | * WhoWatchesTheWatchmen |
| 174 | [[/folder]] |
| 175 | [[/index]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | A common form of FormulaBreakingEpisode is the NoirEpisode -- a work spends a single episode {{homag|e}}ing or {{parody}}ing Film Noir style ([[ShallowParody or just has everyone wearing trilbies and talking about the rain, in black and white]]). FantasticNoir is a SubGenre with [[{{Fantasy}} fantastic]] or ScienceFiction elements. See also our SoYouWantTo/WriteAFilmNoir guide. |
| 178 | ---- |
| 179 | !!Examples: |
| 180 | |
| 181 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 184 | * ''Anime/Area51'' has a very pronounced chiaroscuro art style and a private detective protagonist in a wretched town. Despite those elements though, there's quite a bit of humor. And also lots of monsters, gods, and other fantastical creatures. |
| 185 | * ''Anime/TheBigO'' |
| 186 | * ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', in its more "serious" moments. |
| 187 | * ''Anime/ErgoProxy''. Especially the first few episodes. |
| 188 | * ''Manga/DeathNote'' had some noir traits, including the chiaroscuro lighting, moral ambiguity, and dark themes. |
| 189 | * ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'', especially the movie ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShell1995 Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence]]'', which even mimics typical designs for cars and buildings from the classic Noir movies. |
| 190 | * ''Manga/{{Golgo13}}'' |
| 191 | * ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' |
| 192 | * ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack''. It's the real deal, but the character of Gai Kurasawa (a private detective), is used to parody it. |
| 193 | * ''Anime/SpeedGrapher'' is set in a Tokyo which is a CityNoir teaming with corruption and has its hero in IntrepidReporter Saiga who is a good example of a KnightInSourArmor. |
| 194 | * ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' has some elements of this trope. |
| 195 | * The York Shin Arc of [[Manga/HunterXHunter Hunter x Hunter]] has a noir feel to it that gets more prominent as the tone becomes darker. |
| 196 | * ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' and ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'', which are written by the same author, both have definite noir elements, the former focusing on mafia members and the latter focusing on gang members, with plenty of private-eye monologues from [[EnsembleCast multiple characters]]. |
| 197 | * ''Manga/{{Yuureitou}}'' is a murder-mystery set in TheFifties with this type of setting |
| 198 | * ''Franchise/LupinIII'' has this vibe sometimes, DependingOnTheWriter. |
| 199 | * ''Manga/CaseClosed'', being a series about a GreatDetective solving murders and fighting a deadly criminal organization, uses plenty of noir tropes. |
| 200 | * ''Anime/{{Oddtaxi}}'' is a murder mystery where the taxi-driving protagonist gets involved with corrupt cops, rival Yakuza members of the same gang, and the seedier side of glamourous idols. |
| 201 | * ''Manga/TheWitchAndTheBeast'' is this in spades. Just ''look at it''. Even one of the main characters smokes and the atmosphere is perpetually dark and gloomy. May or may not bleed into Main/FantasticNoir. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 205 | * ''ComicBook/OneHundredBullets'' |
| 206 | * ''ComicBook/SinCity'' |
| 207 | * ComicBook/{{Batman}} - many stories are noir at their core. Gotham City is obviously a very noirish setting. |
| 208 | * ComicBook/TheQuestion. Bonus points for his fedora and trench coat. |
| 209 | * ''Manga/DogbyWalksAlone'' - parodied by being placed in a ThemeParks setting. |
| 210 | * ''ComicBook/TheDregs'' stars a {{crazy homeless|people}} man convinced he's a HardboiledDetective uncovering a mystery in Vancouver. When he imagines himself as ''Literature/PhilipMarlowe'' the palette becomes more monochrome, he gets a PrivateEyeMonologue, and he hallucinates a beautiful FemmeFatale who talks to him at pivotal moments. |
| 211 | * The ''ComicBook/MarvelNoir'' line. Changes to ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, for example, include his [[WolverineClaws signature claws]] actually being handheld Japanese weapons. Naturally, there's a different version of Logan [[ComicBook/XMenNoir on the X-Men]]. In normal Marvel continuity, such street-level heroes as ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, ComicBook/MoonKnight, and ComicBook/{{the Punisher}} have all had runs or story arcs that followed many noir conventions. |
| 212 | * ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}'' - An anthropomorphic detective series, that follows the stories of John Blacksad. |
| 213 | * ''The Damned'' - A detective cursed to never die working for demonic(literally demons) gang bosses in the midst of a war with a rival organization. |
| 214 | * ''ComicBook/NewTeenTitans'' arc "ComicBook/WhoIsDonnaTroy" has serious noir overtones, especially the first few pages featuring [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] in a dark office lit dramatically with light coming in through the blinds while looking at pictures and other evidence relating to the case he's taken for [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna]]. |
| 215 | * ''ComicBook/XFactor2006'' features Jamie Madrox's attempt at a noir mutant detective agency. The prequel series, ''ComicBook/{{Madrox}}'', also has a plot with the standard tropes associated with the genre; A brilliant yet dysfunctional detective, a mysterious FemmeFatale, a rich man suspected of being a criminal, and a grouchy reluctant ally. The tropes are also lampshaded by Jamie. |
| 216 | * Many books by Creator/EdBrubaker, especially when he's working with Creator/SeanPhilips. ''Comicbook/Criminal2006'' and ''Comicbook/TheFadeOut'' are straight noir. ''Comicbook/SleeperWildStorm'' and ''Comicbook/{{Incognito}}'' are superhero/pulp hero noir, and ''Comicbook/{{Fatale}}'' is noir where the FemmeFatale's supernatural allure [[CosmicHorrorStory actually is supernatural.]] |
| 217 | * Brian Michael Bendis's ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}''. |
| 218 | * ''ComicBook/{{Sandman Mystery Theatre}}'' takes place during 1938 and follows Wesely Dodds and his fight against the criminals that lurk throughout New York. |
| 219 | * Also by Bendis, ''Sam And Twitch'', a spin-off from the ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' series |
| 220 | * ''Comicbook/SpiderManNoir'' reimagines Comicbook/SpiderMan through a Film Noir lens, with Spidey shown as being [[DarkerAndEdgier more ruthless in his pursuit of villains]] (up to and including [[BatmanGrabsAGun using guns]]), and classic rogues' gallery members like Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus depicted as mob bosses and Nazis. |
| 221 | * ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' is [[GenreRoulette a menagerie of different genres colliding into one]], but many of the bigger bones of its story are influenced by noir, primarily with the character of Rorschach, an {{unscrupulous|Hero}}, [[ByronicHero seriously troubled]] vigilante trying to solve the murder of a retired superhero. Its loose sequel, ''ComicBook/Rorschach2020'' (a DistantSequel that doubles as a meta-examination on the namesake character) also carries heavy noir undertones, with heavy emphasis on ideologies and PsychologicalHorror. |
| 222 | * ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'', particularly the newspaper strip. |
| 223 | * ''ComicBook/StrayBullets'' |
| 224 | * ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': One of Calvin's {{Imagine Spot}}s follows the adventures of a very noir-ish private investigator called Tracer Bullet. |
| 225 | * ''ComicBook/TheGoodAsian'' follows Chinese-American detective Edison Hark as he navigates San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1930s and tries to find a missing girl. He soon finds himself stuck in the middle of a powder keg, caught between brutal/racist cops, the agendas of various powerful and wealthy people, a deranged blackmailer, and a ruthless killer out for revenge. To make matters worse, the well-being of everyone in Chinatown hinges on what happens, as any excuse will be used to crack down on residents and curtail their quest for greater civil rights. |
| 226 | * The ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story arc "The Tarnished Angel" and its sequel, "Things Past", are noir stories about broken, cynical people trying to get by in a heartless world. |
| 227 | * ''Les Enquêtes Polar de Philippine Lomar''. The eponymous teenage detective regularly helps clients, has a PrivateEyeMonologue, and deals with criminals from the seedy underworld. |
| 228 | * ''ComicBook/JewGangster'' |
| 229 | [[/folder]] |
| 230 | |
| 231 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 232 | * The aptly named ''Fanfic/CoruscantNoir''. |
| 233 | * ''FanFic/ADarkKnightOverSinCity'' |
| 234 | * ''FanFic/CitiesInDust: [[Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff shit lets be hardboiled]]'' is a ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic that puts the characters in a noir-AU. |
| 235 | * ''Fanfic/NightsInTheBigCity'' |
| 236 | * [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7206038/1/bDial_b_bM_b_For_bMutant_b Dial M For Mutant]] puts the characters of ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' into the noir setting, complete with copious use of 30's/40's slang. |
| 237 | * ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' sometimes uses this, resulting in an OutOfGenreExperience. |
| 238 | * [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7234043/1/Noirble-Hornets This]] WebVideo/MarbleHornets fan fiction, aptly titled "[[PunnyName Noirble Hornets]]," is a noir reimagining of Entry #22, in which [[spoiler:Alex lets Seth meet his fate in the abandoned building]]. |
| 239 | * [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9386666/1/Ash-Ketchum-Master-Detective This Pokemon fanfiction]] is titled "[[ExactlyWhatitSaysOntheTin Ash Ketchum: Master Detective]]". It uses many HardboiledDetective tropes and is best read while listening to a Jazzy Noir Soundtrack. |
| 240 | * ''FanFic/AnUncommonWitness'' is a well-researched ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' AU fic set in the RoaringTwenties which features Fakir as the HardboiledDetective, Duck as TheIngenue, Rue as the FemmeFatale, and Mytho as part of TheMafia ran by Rue's father. |
| 241 | * ''Fanfic/RepublicCityBlues'' is a noir-AU of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. |
| 242 | * ''Fanfic/SeVisPacemParaBellum'' takes place in the world of ''Franchise/JohnWick'', but it features only characters from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''[=/=]''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower''. |
| 243 | * ''Bright Jewels, Chained City'' is an installment of ''Fanfic/SkyholdAcademyYearbook'', in which two of the school's students write a collection of noir stories about a pair of detectives based on [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII Varric]] and [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Cullen]]. |
| 244 | * ''Fanfic/VariumFortune'' is a noir-AU based on ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. |
| 245 | %%* ''WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl'' |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
| 247 | |
| 248 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 249 | * The Mina Davis books ''Literature/HungoverAndHandcuffed'' and ''Literature/AssholeYakuzaBoyfriend'' are extremely noiry, and their covers evoke classic noir imagery (Creator/HumphreyBogart and ''Film/{{Gilda}}'', specifically). |
| 250 | * Most of Lawrence Block's work, ''Bernie Rhodenbarr'' mysteries in particular. |
| 251 | * The ''Literature/GarrettPI'' novels by Glen Cook, Literature/NeroWolfe in a gritty fantasy world. |
| 252 | * The novels of Creator/DashiellHammett, Creator/RaymondChandler, Creator/JamesMCain, and Jim Thompson. |
| 253 | * The ''Literature/JoGar'' series, set in UsefulNotes/{{Manila}}, capital of the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}}, then under U.S. colonial rule. |
| 254 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' is Noir [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] UrbanFantasy. |
| 255 | * ''Literature/TheAutomaticDetective'' is Noir [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] RaygunGothic. |
| 256 | * ''Literature/{{Felidae}}'' is a Film Noir [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace WITH CATS]]. |
| 257 | * The ''Literature/CoruscantNights'' series of Star Wars novels contains a lot of film noir homages. They are, in fact, an ''official'' Coruscant Noir. |
| 258 | * ''Literature/AllTheWrongQuestions'' is a big homage to noir and stars a young Creator/LemonySnicket as a KidDetective. |
| 259 | * ''Literature/{{Nightside}}'' combines Film Noir with UrbanFantasy spiced with (un)healthy dose of RuleOfCool. |
| 260 | * The ''Literature/MillenniumSeries'', along with [[Film/TheMillenniumTrilogy its movie adaptations]], is [[NordicNoir noir set in modern-day Sweden]], with heavy emphasis on computer technology. |
| 261 | * ''Literature/SmallerAndSmallerCircles'', a Filipino crime novel with two priests moonlighting as {{Amateur Sleuth}}s, and is also an exploration on the [[PoliceAreUseless sheer ineptness of Philippine law enforcement authorities]]. |
| 262 | * ''Literature/ShamanBlues'' has a lot of shout-outs to the genre, including a down-on-his-luck detective with problems and first-person narration, his beautiful but clearly troubled ex, and a case police can't be entrusted with. The hero even lampshades FemmeFatale in his head. |
| 263 | * Much of ''Literature/TheAngaranChronicles'' is like this with a hefty, hefty dose of DieselPunk. The most notable example is the novella ''[[https://www.wattpad.com/story/123095410-the-angaran-chronicles-hamar-noir/ Hamar Noir]]'' which embodies many of the themes and tropes of Film Noir. Which follows the [[VampireHunter Hunter]] [[GuileHero Anargrin]] as he tracks down a serial killing vampire in the slums of the [[WretchedHive underground city of Valtagan.]] |
| 264 | * Creator/LairdBarron's ''Isaiah Coleridge'' series follows the titular character, a retired mob enforcer turned hardboiled private detective, as he investigates various cases around upstate New York's Hudson Valley, which often turn out to be connected to various mafia and government conspiracies. The third novel in the series, ''Worse Angels'', has a bit of a curveball, as it reveals that the series actually takes place in the same universe as Barron's previous {{Cosmic Horror Stor|y}}ies. |
| 265 | * ''Literature/TheLongShalom'' is a supernatural noir story about a down-on-his-luck detective in New York investigating disappearances, leading to the discovery of a conspiracy. |
| 266 | * The ''Easy Rawlins'' series, which centers on an African-American WWII veteran turned Los Angeles detective, and examines racism in America, and the many injustices caused by it. The first book was adapted into [[Film/DevilInABlueDress a 1995 film]] starring Creator/DenzelWashington, and like its source material pays homage to the themes and style of noir stories. |
| 267 | [[/folder]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 270 | * ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': The latter part of "Postage Due" is very much film noir-influenced, with Miss Brooks providing a PrivateEyeMonologue. |
| 271 | * ''Series/{{Dragnet}}'': Especially in its first run in the '40s and '50s. |
| 272 | * ''Series/Daredevil2015''. Given that it's based on the comics of Creator/FrankMiller, it was to be expected. |
| 273 | * ''Series/JackTaylor'' is a dark, and at times humorous series about a hard-drinking Irish Private Eye with a smart mouth. |
| 274 | * ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' The Netflix series plays heavily on noir themes; Jessica herself being a gender-swapped, alcoholic, emotionally detached private detective. |
| 275 | * ''Series/TwinPeaks'' has a heavy noir element to it, with a murder leading to the uncovering of the corruption and moral ambiguity of a seemingly idyllic town. Various noir tropes are given their due in the show, from the dark jazz motifs in the score to various character archetypes. This being a Creator/DavidLynch series, though, it's filled with nice helpings of surrealism, and it's just as much a SoapOpera with heavy doses of the supernatural. |
| 276 | * ''Series/VeronicaMars'' somehow effectively used this style in a San Diego high school setting. And gender-swapped. |
| 277 | * ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' had an episode based around a book taking them to a place with this style. |
| 278 | * ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'': "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" is an extended homage to the genre with David and Maddie dreaming they're in a murder mystery in the 1940s. The crew shot the dream sequences on black and white film to properly capture the feel, and also because [[ExecutiveMeddling the network]] threatened to override them and air the scenes in color. |
| 279 | * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' had a Jimmy-centric episode set in a noir dream sequence. |
| 280 | * Other than the Hawaii setting and heavy doses of comedy, ''Series/MagnumPI'' tends toward this as well, complete with PrivateEyeMonologue. |
| 281 | * ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' is based on Noir. |
| 282 | * ''Series/{{Terriers}}'' |
| 283 | * ''Series/BigMouth2022'' is set in a HellholePrison with corrupt wealthy people and gangs and mafia. |
| 284 | * ''Series/BoredToDeath'' |
| 285 | * ''Series/{{Luther}}'' |
| 286 | * ''Series/EZStreets'' |
| 287 | * ''Series/LostGirl'' has the chiaroscuro lighting and grand but decaying settings. Interesting twist though that the FemmeFatale also happens to be the AntiHero-PrivateDetective. |
| 288 | * The BBC two-part Drama "Exile" |
| 289 | * ''Series/{{Monk}}'' has the Season 5 episode, "Mr. Monk and The Leper," done in a complete homage to Film Noir including an introduction from Tony Shaloub dropping references to FemmeFatale amongst other tropes. A black-and-white then a color version aired back-to-back when the episode premiered. The DVD includes the black-and-white version. |
| 290 | * ''Series/PeterGunn'' mixed Noir tropes with 1950s cool Jazz. |
| 291 | * ''{{Series/Ripley}}'' is a dark, gritty thriller with a conman protagonist who's willing to [[spoiler:murder those who get in his way]]. The entire series is filmed in {{Main/Deliberately Monochrome}}, emphasising its Film Noir nature. |
| 292 | * ''Series/TheShadowLine'' is heavily inspired by Film Noir, borrowing many plot elements and a very dark and cynical tone. |
| 293 | * ''Series/{{Angel}}'' was heavily influenced by Film Noir, mostly up to about halfway through the third season, but it retained certain Film Noir traits until the very end, such as the moral ambiguity. [[spoiler: The final scene of the show is in the classic Film Noir setting of a rainy alleyway]]. |
| 294 | * The ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' season 4 episode "The Blue Butterfly" has Castle find the diary of a private eye from 1948, which results in a number of Film Noir-style flashbacks with the regulars taking on various roles in the story - Castle as the detective, Beckett as a nightclub singer, Esposito and Ryan as gangsters and Alexis (!) as a FemmeFatale. We also get Castle doing the monologue and at one point [[FreudianSlip inadvertently swapping the name of the singer for Kate]]... which results in a RecordNeedleScratch drop out of flashback as Beckett looks at him funny. |
| 295 | * ''Series/SerangoonRoad'', set in 1960s Singapore. This might seem odd as a setting until one realises that Singapore in TheSixties was more WretchedHive than ShiningCity. |
| 296 | * A 2014 episode of ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' in which Spencer goes into hallucination mode uses this setting. |
| 297 | * It's in color, but {{Series/Gotham}} has a very ''Noir'' feel to it with corrupt police, a seedy underworld that can only hint at the real level of nastiness, corrupt and shady politicians, and a brewing mob war. |
| 298 | * ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'' looks like your typical BodyOfTheWeek show on the surface, but as each episode goes on that veneer is scraped away to something much darker and conspiracy-oriented. The way Phryne loves to pretend to be a FemmeFatale certainly helps. |
| 299 | ** ''Series/MissS'', its Chinese remake, is slightly less dark but still has noir elements. |
| 300 | * ''Series/BabylonBerlin'': A German TV crime series (based on a book trilogy) set in [[UsefulNotes/TheWeimarRepublic 1929]] Berlin, a city rife with underground pornographers, gangsters, Communists and Fascists. |
| 301 | * ''Series/IAmTheNight'' is a homage to Los Angeles set neo-noir classics like ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' and ''Film/LAConfidential''. |
| 302 | * ''Series/BaghdadCentral'' |
| 303 | * The 200th episode of ''{{Series/Bones}}'' was done in this style. |
| 304 | [[/folder]] |
| 305 | |
| 306 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 307 | * The song and video for "Music/BillieJean" by Music/MichaelJackson is thematically and stylistically in this genre. The song is about a man being wrongfully accused (according to him at least) of sleeping with a woman and getting her pregnant, a woman who he implies schemed this whole thing up to trap him. The video features a CityNoir, a DeliberatelyMonochrome section, and a paparazzo who is dressed like a PrivateDetective from 1950s movies in the genre. |
| 308 | * KPop group SECRET's music video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP56DuUpKBE "Poison"]] is in the style of Film Noir, complete with LadyInRed FemmeFatale. |
| 309 | * Music/{{Ultravox}}'s breakthrough hit "Vienna" was heavily influenced by film noir themes. The music video in particular was inspired by ''The Third Man''. |
| 310 | * Music/DireStraits' "Private Investigations" pretty much checks every noir trope into three short verses. |
| 311 | -->''A bottle of whiskey and a new set of lies\ |
| 312 | Blinds on the window and a pain behind your eyes...'' |
| 313 | * Music/{{Television}} pull on noir imagery in several songs on ''Music/MarqueeMoon'', most notably "Prove It" and "Venus." |
| 314 | -->''Broadway looked so medieval\ |
| 315 | It seemed to flap, like little pages'' |
| 316 | * Dave Callahan of Music/{{Moonshake}} ''loved'' film noir and, when the band split in half and he was given full reign of it, he infused the band's already moody sound and UrbanHellscape imagery with more prominent jazz elements in an attempt to replicate the genre's aesthetics. |
| 317 | [[/folder]] |
| 318 | |
| 319 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 320 | * ''Podcast/BlakeSkyePrivateEye'' has all the auditory hallmarks of the Film Noir genre, with a twist of Lovecraftian horror in the mix. |
| 321 | [[/folder]] |
| 322 | |
| 323 | [[folder:Pinball]] |
| 324 | * ''[[Pinball/WhoDunnit1995 WHO dunnit]]'' (1995) |
| 325 | [[/folder]] |
| 326 | |
| 327 | [[folder:Print Media]] |
| 328 | * The 2007 Hollywood Portfolio of ''Vanity Fair'' magazine set up a faux noir film called [[http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/03/filmnoir_portfolio200703#slide=1 "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die"]] to accompany the series of photos taken, complete with casting and set descriptions in the captions. |
| 329 | [[/folder]] |
| 330 | |
| 331 | [[folder:Spoofs and Parodies]] |
| 332 | * ''Film/TheCheapDetective'' |
| 333 | * ''Film/DeadMenDontWearPlaid'' |
| 334 | * ''Film/PlayItAgainSam'', a play and later film by Creator/WoodyAllen that matches up Allen's "neurotic Jew" character with Creator/HumphreyBogart. HilarityEnsues. |
| 335 | * ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'', at least setting-wise, plays with the genre and its tropes in part. The bulk of the work is an incredibly silly take on the EasternRPG, but it's decidedly within a Film Noir framework. And when it does noir, oh, ''[[http://i.imgur.com/Toe2lwD.jpg it does noir]]''. |
| 336 | ** In a similar vein, ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s Midnight Crew intermission plays with the [[AntiHero darker]] end of the genre's spectrum, [[TimeyWimeyBall just with extra time travel]]. |
| 337 | * ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' -- underneath the cartoonish action, there is a very straight Film Noir in there. |
| 338 | * ''Film/KissKissBangBang'', an AffectionateParody with [[spoiler:a [[AvertedTrope surprisingly happy ending]].]] |
| 339 | * The [[AffectionateParody Tracer Bullet]] stories in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''. |
| 340 | * ''Franchise/SamAndMax'', especially with the character Flint Paper. |
| 341 | ** In the third episode of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'', Max gets his brain stolen, causing Sam to go on an '[[HeroicBSOD noirish rampage]]' that turns the game into a Film Noir spoof for a while, even down to the lighting and the camera angles. Highlights include Sam demonstrating his edgy true-to-life violence by [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique slapping people in the face mid-sentence]] and having a 'Noir' option during conversations which causes him to [[{{Wangst}} give a largely incoherent metaphorical description about how amoral and miserable he is]]. |
| 342 | * ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'': |
| 343 | ** Less spoof than reference, but Tyrell Badd is a blatant noir detective down to the stubble, trenchcoat, and tragic past. |
| 344 | ** Godot counts as well, from his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6KRIMASing slow, sweet, jazzy]] {{leitmotif}} even in it's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZxLlirprF0 in-game sound]], to his [[IceCreamKoan coffeenese]] and coffee-oriented metaphors, tragic and mysterious backstory, and his style of dress which looks like a HardBoiledDetective without his trenchcoat. His "worried" animation at first glance makes it look like he's smoking, though the "cigarette" is actually his ring and the smoke is off his mask. |
| 345 | * ''The Black Bird'' is a film spoof of ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon1941'' without much originality. |
| 346 | * ''Film/RockSlyde'' (2009) is a modern film-noir parody starring Creator/PatrickWarburton as "Rock Slyde", private-eye and former [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot homosexual-pirate musical-pornstar]]. |
| 347 | * One of the scenarios in the Artificial Reality machine in Series/RedDwarf is a film noir setting, complete with monochrome, a FemmeFatale, UsefulNotes/AlCapone-style outfits, and a car from the '30s. |
| 348 | * Swiss claymation film "Pas de cercueil pour les pantins" ("No coffin for puppets"). Partly hommage, partly parody, all 4th wall. [[spoiler: At the final shootout, the private-eye-turned-killer crashes into the requisites set and realizes he is a clay figure. Everyone else would have GoneMadFromTheRevelation, but a noir dude can take anything...]] |
| 349 | * ''AudioPlay/TheFurtherAdventuresOfNickDanger'' (and the later Nick Danger skits) by Creator/TheFiresignTheater. |
| 350 | * ''Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion'' has the recurring "Guy Noir: Private Eye" segment. |
| 351 | [[/folder]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 354 | * ''TabletopGame/UrbanJungle'' is an RPG that draws heavily on the genre. |
| 355 | * The superhero RPG ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' has a supplement simply called ''Noir'', set in a 1940s city that might have some masked vigilantes, but is far too cynical for the UsefulNotes/GoldenAgeOfComicBooks. |
| 356 | [[/folder]] |
| 357 | |
| 358 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 359 | * ''VideoGame/LANoire'' (2011) [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin fittingly enough]]. |
| 360 | * ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' (2001) - Also [[Film/MaxPayne a movie]]. [[VideoGame/MaxPayne2TheFallOfMaxPayne The second game]] was even billed with the tagline "A ''film noir'' love story". |
| 361 | * ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' (2001). With its pessimistic atmosphere, dark tone, moral ambiguity, and muted colors, the game has many elements of this trope. |
| 362 | * ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' (2008) has some elements of this trope. |
| 363 | * The ''VideoGame/BioShock'' series constantly [[PlayingWithATrope plays with]] elements of the genre. A dark-yet-stylized and moody atmosphere (not to mention a setting where you aren't quite sure who to trust -- or who the real "bad guy" is) permeates the [[VideoGame/BioShock1 first]] [[VideoGame/BioShock2 two]], and [[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite the third]] has you play a private detective. Bonus points for the first ''VideoGame/BioShockInfiniteBurialAtSea'' DLC being a straight-up NoirEpisode. |
| 364 | * ''VideoGame/BluesAndBullets'' (2015) |
| 365 | * The ''VideoGame/KneeDeep'' (2015) theatrical stage adventure features several noir tropes in its grim Florida setting. |
| 366 | * ''VideoGame/TexMurphy'' (1996) |
| 367 | * ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' (1998) |
| 368 | * ''The Black Dahlia'' (1998) - correct setting, period clothes, and corny dialogue to boot. |
| 369 | * ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir'' (1999) - ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Its sequel even used the tagline "A Film Noir Love Story", which is somewhat ironic, given that the protagonist is much less cynical and jaded than in the original. |
| 370 | * ''VideoGame/{{Blackout}}'', an AdventureGame that combines Noir with PsychologicalHorror and puppets. |
| 371 | * ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985'' |
| 372 | * ''VideoGame/JackOrlando'' |
| 373 | * ''VideoGame/NickBounty'' A series of adventure games featuring the titular wanna-be hardboiled detective. |
| 374 | * ''Dead Head Fred'' |
| 375 | * ''VideoGame/GabrielKnight: Sins of the Fathers'' combines Noir with horror much the same way as the film ''Film/AngelHeart''. |
| 376 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' series. |
| 377 | * ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' Neon Noir, deeply inspired by ''Film/Drive2011''. |
| 378 | ** ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'' |
| 379 | * ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' (2010). Shelby's character is a homage to Noir while Jayden is a homage to its more modern counterparts. |
| 380 | * The later ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'' games start to veer into this territory by virtue of GrowingTheBeard and aiming for a more DarkerAndEdgier feel. Several missions in ''VideoGame/HitmanContracts'' and ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'' have a genuinely noir tone. |
| 381 | * Creator/WadjetEyeGames ''loves'' this genre, with most of their games so far either belonging fully to this genre or using parts of it. These include: |
| 382 | ** ''VideoGame/TheShivah'', with a Rabbi who's losing faith in the goodness of God as the protagonist. |
| 383 | ** ''VideoGame/EmeraldCityConfidential'' was described by the producer as follows: "Harsh city streets, grey rainy skies, femmes fatales, tough guys, trenchcoats, fedoras, and plot twists. It's [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Oz]], seen through the eyes of Raymond Chandler." |
| 384 | ** ''VideoGame/TheBlackwellSeries'' uses some elements of noir (one of the protagonists is a DeadpanSnarker ghost from the '30s). |
| 385 | ** ''VideoGame/{{Unavowed}}'' is mainly UrbanFantasy, but the aesthetic is soaked in the atmosphere of neo-noir featuring constant rain, which of course gives the colored lighting of various businesses the chance to spill on the street, and pretty much each mission sees the player tasked with getting to the bottom of a mystery and then having to make a heavy moral choice at the end. |
| 386 | * The ''Franchise/DeusExUniverse'' is {{Cyberpunk}} and heavily borrows from the noir aesthetics and narrative structure. Technically, they're noir games with government agents and conspirators replacing more common private dicks and crooks. |
| 387 | * ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' (2012), a video game that achieves a neo-noir feel through a DieselPunk setting. |
| 388 | * ''VideoGame/SubsurfaceCircular'' (2017). The detective, as well as all of the other characters, are robots traversing a subway line. |
| 389 | * ''VideoGame/KillerIsDead'', as well as ''VideoGame/Killer7'', from Creator/Suda51, features some heavy surreal film noir looks, down to [[BadassInANiceSuit badass assassins in suits]], heavy shading and shadows, hypnotic soundtracks and weird characters. They're much more ScienceFiction than film noir, though the influence is clearly there. |
| 390 | * ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' was developed to evoke a Film Noir atmosphere as a lone soldier investigates an alien-occupied city. |
| 391 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'' |
| 392 | ** By virtue of evoking late '80s sci-fi movies, ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' evokes this in parts, especially on Omega, Ilium, and the Citadel. Thane and Samara's loyalty missions are even investigations with much less action than the rest of the game (oddly enough, both characters are stoic badasses with philosophical sides). |
| 393 | ** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'''s Citadel DLC has among its tidbits a brief audio recording of Mordin Solus narrating his own SelfInsertFic in a film noir hardboiled style as an homage, starring himself as the detective and Aria T'Loak, unofficial ruler of [[WretchedHive Omega Station]], as the FemmeFatale. |
| 394 | --->''"Had broken Omega's one rule... in more ways than one."'' [[note]]Said rule states that you "Don't ''fuck'' with Aria".[[/note]] |
| 395 | * ''VideoGame/BladeRunner'' (1997) follows the movie with its distinctive noir feeling mixed with s-f settings. |
| 396 | * ''Carte Blanche: For a Fistful of Teeth''. Bonus points for [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black-and-white graphics]]. |
| 397 | * ''VideoGame/{{Gunpoint}}'' plays many of the tropes of Film Noir fairly straight despite its more humorous atmosphere and incredibly snarky protagonist. |
| 398 | * ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters2'' (2002) the Chicago level has this in spades, from the opening monologue to the soundtrack for the level. |
| 399 | * ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' (2009) and its sequel are very noir, even though they're set in a fantasy world replete with witches and golems. It has corrupt, drunken authorities, the drug trade, a conspiracy, several femme fatales, and a jaded, sarcastic anti-hero who's primarily concerned with his own goals. |
| 400 | * ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' is a murder mystery set in 1986 New York, and starring Sheriff Bigby Wolf, a DeadpanSnarker[=/=]HardboiledDetective type investigating Fairytale characters in a noir setting. |
| 401 | * ''VideoGame/LastCaseTheDisappearanceOfAmandaKane'' is a mostly black-and-white crime drama about a private investigator trying to look for a mission person. The protagonist drinks, has recently lost his partner, and the game has a smooth, somewhat somber accompaniment to the setting (which seems to take place in the mid to late nineties). |
| 402 | * ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' is an UrbanFantasy Noir with a 1970s aesthetic and can perhaps best be described as ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' meets ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. It is also somewhat of a GenreDeconstruction, turning a critical eye to some of the staple tropes of the genre such as the DefectiveDetective, the FemmeFatale, and the AssholeVictim, and taking them apart. |
| 403 | * ''VideoGame/BlacksadUnderTheSkin'', based on the ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}'' comics, is equally as noir as its source material. Its furry HardboiledDetective investigates (and narrates) over a supposed suicide and is exposed to crime, corruption, infidelities, conspiracies, and so on. |
| 404 | * ''VideoGame/NickBounty'' is a parody version. |
| 405 | * ''VideoGame/ChickenPolice'' is a film noir styled detective game, [-BUT WITH ANTHROPOMORPHIC ANIMALS-]. |
| 406 | * ''VideoGame/Lacuna2021'' |
| 407 | * ''VideoGame/BearWithMe'' |
| 408 | * ''VideoGame/ShadowsOfDoubt'' may technically take place in an AlternateHistory {{Cyberpunk}} {{dystopia}}, but its aesthetic is heavily inspired by film noir, including the player character being a private detective investigating murders and doing odd (sometimes questionable) jobs for people with credits to burn. The sparse instances of in-game music even mixes the mournful notations of blues music with synthwave-y instruments. |
| 409 | * ''VideoGame/ElPasoElsewhere'' |
| 410 | * ''VideoGame/TheSilverCase'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/TheTwentyFifthWard'' from Creator/Suda51 have aspects of the genre, with some of the protagonists being hardboiled investigators (of varied dubious morality in nature and methods) who unravel conspiracies. They lean a bit more towards cyberpunk (especially in the sequel), but qualify otherwise. |
| 411 | [[/folder]] |
| 412 | |
| 413 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 414 | * ''VisualNovel/HotelDuskRoom215'' (2006) and its sequel, ''VisualNovel/LastWindow'' (2010) |
| 415 | * ''VisualNovel/JakeHunter'', an early game example that started out on the Famicom. |
| 416 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'': {{Cyberpunk}}, deeply inspired by (almost to the point of plagiarism) ''Film/BladeRunner''. |
| 417 | [[/folder]] |
| 418 | |
| 419 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 420 | * ''WebAnimation/WeekendPussyHunt'', a cartoon parody of the genre made by Creator/JohnKricfalusi during the late '90s, animated in UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash. |
| 421 | [[/folder]] |
| 422 | |
| 423 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 424 | * ''Webcomic/AntiBunny'' draws heavily on Film Noir in its visual and storytelling style. As a call-out to the visual style in Chapter 5 of ''The Gritty City Stories'', Pooky cynically narrates "No one gets film noir these days anyway." |
| 425 | * ''Automata'', and its sequel ''Blood and Oil''; two short stories created by the ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' duo. [[http://penny-arcade.com/archive/results/search&keywords=automata/]] |
| 426 | * ''Webcomic/BloodAndSmokePaulMitzkowski'' is a black and white comic set in a hellhole of a city, starring a cynical, chain-smoking, fedora and trenchcoat-wearing police detective that chases a serial killer with a cool-sounding name. |
| 427 | * ''Webcomic/TheTalbotChronicles'' placed Lawrence Talbot from the ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 Wolf Man]]'' series into a film noir setting. A good fit, as Talbot's whole bag has always been existential angst. |
| 428 | %%* ''WebComic/LivingWithInsanity'' did this in its [[http://www.livingwithinsanity.com/index/?p=364 one arc.]] |
| 429 | %%* ''WebComic/TwoRooks'' combines crime noir with a dystopian setting. |
| 430 | %%* [[http://www.sintitulocomic.com/2007/06/17/page-01/ Sin Titulo]] definitely has noir undertones (and it uses color very sparingly). |
| 431 | * ''WebComic/IWasKidnappedByLesbianPiratesFromOuterSpace'' has a [[http://lesbianspacepirates.com/index.php?id=424 bonus story]], originally subscribers only, following a HardboiledDetective who gets hired to find a young woman who went missing from her workplace. [[spoiler: Of course he never finds her, because she's been ... you know.]] |
| 432 | * ''Webcomic/{{Daniel}}'' is a vampire horror comic set in the 1930s. Its setting and grayscale color scheme give it a feel very akin to film noir. |
| 433 | * ''Webcomic/RiversideExtras'' is a male gangster vs female gangster comic. It's DeliberatelyMonochrome except for splashes of red. The main character is the FemmeFatale with a DarkAndTroubledPast instead of a detective (who has appeared but is only a minor player compared to the lady gangsters). |
| 434 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' parodies this with the Detective Block "storyline" in EGS:NP, where the detective is an unintelligible writer's block. |
| 435 | * ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': The title page of [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/chapter-17-page-1 "Confluence"]] is one big homage to the film noir genre and aesthetic, making use of a [[DeliberatelyMonochrome limited color palette]] and casting the series' MagicalGirl protagonists as a variety of noir archetypes. Among them are Bud as the HardboiledDetective behind the classic [[PrivateDetective private eye]]'s desk, her partner Harley as the mob muscle in a vest and flat cap, and Undine as the sharply-dressed DameWithACase in a LittleBlackDress. |
| 436 | [[/folder]] |
| 437 | |
| 438 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 439 | * Perri Rhoades' web serial ''Literature/{{Spectral Shadows}}'' has a peculiar planet, Cygnus, that's populated by lots of half-human half-animal creatures, with each town having an JustForFun/{{Intellectual Property Religion}} (literally -- even if sometimes the religion doesn't correctly match the source material). The town of Noire tries its best to fit this trope, even going so far as to use fossil fuels for vehicles while the rest of the world uses solar power -- because in the gangster movies, they didn't have solar power. |
| 440 | * ''Blog/TheUnitedFederationOfCharles'' had a [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-is-noir.html discussion of Noir and its role in fiction]]. It argues that the genre never died and is continuing today. |
| 441 | [[/folder]] |
| 442 | |
| 443 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 444 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tRfL2EUhDo The Deadliest Tag]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFyxJd6uOQg Deadliest Tag Chapter Two]] on VlogTag. |
| 445 | * ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'': Parodied in the [[http://youtu.be/KYBU4G2ERyU "Mycaruba"]] T-shirt ad, complete with Danny as Detective N.S. Grump and Arin as... um... just watch it. |
| 446 | [[/folder]] |
| 447 | |
| 448 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 449 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' with "BMO Noir". |
| 450 | * The eighth season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', titled [[NewSeasonNewTitle "Archer Dreamland"]], is a 1940s Film Noir that's justified as taking place inside [[AdventuresInComaland Archer's coma dream.]] [[CerebusSyndrome It's played straighter than one would expect from the show]], leaning closer to a {{Dramedy}} rather than the outright SpyFiction spoof of previous seasons. |
| 451 | * ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had chiaroscuro lighting, snap-brim hats, a gun moll for ComicBook/TheJoker, and a number of other ''noir'' traits. |
| 452 | ** Also applies to its three [[TheMovie movies]]: ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'' especially but also ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndMisterFreezeSubZero'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMysteryOfTheBatwoman'' (though ''Mystery Of The Batwoman'' is LighterAndSofter, it still retains noir aspects and a BittersweetEnding). |
| 453 | * In "The Case of the Disappearing Doll" from ''WesternAnimation/FancyNancy'' Nancy slips into an ImagineSpot in this style, complete with the use of old-timey detective slang. |
| 454 | * Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Rarity Investigates" complete with voiceover narration, flashbacks, noirish lighting, and black-and-white style. |
| 455 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther'': Parodied in the 1993 series ("Black and White and Pink All Over"). |
| 456 | * ''Plantywood: The City of Plants'' plants the three heroes of ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'' into a film noir-type Hollywood filled with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin plants.]] |
| 457 | * The ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "The Tale of X9" was most certainly created with this genre in mind. |
| 458 | * The ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' episode "The Third Mouse" is a send-up of ''Film/TheThirdMan''. Keeping true to the source material, it is also in black-and-white. |
| 459 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheRomanceOfBettyBoop'' has elements of noir, set in New York City during TheThirties, and uses muted backgrounds of black & gray. |
| 460 | * ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' has the spoof episode 'Private Beak' where the Count decides he wants to be a private investigator (or an etavirp rotagitsevni as his door displays) in crime-ridden Chicago. |
| 461 | [[/folder]] |
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