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Sin City: a Film Noir

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Film noir is a cinematic term used to describe heavily stylized Hollywood crime dramas emphasizing on cynical attitudes, sexual motivations and recurring dark themes. However, film noir is not considered a genre and it is not defined by conventions of setting and conflict but rather by the subtle aspects and details of tone and mood. The two films being compared are Out of the Past and Sin City. Out of the Past was filmed in 1947 and directed by Jacques Tourneur. It is a superb example of film noir due to its convoluted dreamlike storyline and the impressive chiaroscuro cinematography. It has since, been added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” in 1991. Sin City on the other hand is a 2005 neo-noir film produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. The former being an actual film from Hollywood’s most celebrated but relatively unknown era in filmography, differs vastly from that of Sin City but at the same time drawing similarities in comparison generated from the various aspects of film noir. This will be further analyzed by comparing the two films to what film noir is comprised of.

Looking back into the history of film noir and why it was deemed so important, there were four catalytic elements that could define the technique and the distinct trait of noir drew from them. War and post war disillusionments, post war realism, the German influence and the hardboiled traditions. Out of the Past was heavily based around these elements as it was of that time period whereas Sin City made only a few years back, had no direct relation with such elements. However, Sin City still retained many similarities, as they are two films of the same filmography technique and style. Recurring themes from film noir are showcased in both the films such as

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