Film Noir and the Arts of Lighting

by Patrick Keating

Overview

More than any other set of films from the classical era, the Hollywood film noir is known for its lighting: the cast shadows, the blinking street signs, the eyes sparkling in the darkness. Each effect is rich in symbolism, evoking a world of danger and doppelgangers. But what happens if we set aside the symbolism? This book offers a new account of film noir lighting, grounded in a larger theory of Hollywood cinematography as emotionally engaging storytelling. Above all, noir lighting is dynamic, switching from darkness to brightness and back again as characters change, locations shift, and fates unfold. Richly illustrated, Film Noir and the Arts of Lighting features in—depth analyses of eleven classic movies: The Asphalt Jungle, Sorry, Wrong Number, Odds against Tomorrow, The Letter, I Wake Up Screaming, Phantom Lady, Strangers on a Train, Sweet Smell of Success, Gaslight, Secret beyond the Door, and Touch of Evil.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781978810259
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	07/12/2024
Series:	Techniques of the Moving Image
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

PATRICK KEATING is a professor in the Department of Communication at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of The Dynamic Frame: Camera Movement in Classical Hollywood and the editor of Cinematography (Rutgers University Press).
 

Table of Contents

Note on the Text 
1 Introduction 
2 The Dramatic Arc 
3 Lighting Characters 
4 Genre, Adaptation, and the Art of Unfolding 
5 Lighting Milieu 
6 Subjectivity, Symbolism, and Depiction 
7 Conclusion 
Acknowledgments
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index