History

- The term film noir, meaning "black cinema," was coined by French film critics to describe the American films that arrived in Europe in the years after World War II

- Film noir is a result of a combination of genres and styles, with origins in painting and literature, as well as film. The principles of film noir are heavily influenced by German Expressionism.

- Emerging in the 1940s as an alternative to classic Hollywood cinema, film noir is a blend of violent crime, national identity crisis, and budget moviemaking. It takes a bleak view of human nature and American life.

- American authors wrote crime stories that reflected the fear and anxiety of rampant urban expansion and corruption in America.