The Rules of Film Noir (2009)

 

Director:  Elaine Donnelly Pieper

Writer:  Matthew Sweet

Starring:  Matthew Sweet (host), Sheri Chinen Biesen, Neil Brand, Sarah Churchwell, Roger Deakins, John Mathieson, George Pelecanos, Paul Schrader, Adrian Wootton

More info:  IMDb

Plot:  Documentary that shows the characteristic traits of film noir and their historical context.

My rating:   7.5/10

Will I watch it again?   Nah.

This near one-hour BBC documentary does a great job at condensing the style and what makes a film noir movie a good primer for someone who has little to no knowledge of the genre.  The language used (from writer/host Matthew Sweet) is often in the style of the films their discussing which adds to the fun.  There are the usual clips from the greatest hits of the genre and the standard bases covered from the dialogue, to lighting/shadows, music, bad news broads, doomed heroes and so on.  For longtime fans of the genre, you've probably seen everything discussed but if not, it's definitely worth checking out.