Double Indemnity and Film Noir

Double Indemnity is widely viewed as on of the first proper Film Noir Picture that was ever made. It is based on an insurance salesman named Walter Neff, who is tempted into murdering an innocent man he does not know by money and a woman; neither of which he ends up with. It explores all kinds of issues, such as: fate, willpower and justice – just a few examples. The shot above, of Phyllis (the sort of ‘antagonist’ that tempts our hero and leads him to his doom) challenges the ideas of fate and free will. To fully understand, you’d probably have to see the film and watch the scene, but in this scene Phyllis ends up in Walter’s flat after she had already been knocked back by him; after a while arguing they end up kissing and then…well i’ll leave the rest up to your imagination. But in the still we can see here, all the frolicking has finished and the pair refresh themselves with an alcoholic beverage. The lighting doesn’t fall on phyllis’ face making her seem shady and mysterious.

 

The Generation Gap – 1960’s

 

If you’ve seen the film Hard Days Night then you’ll recognise this scene as the scene in which the Beatles torment an old war veteran on a train. But is it really that simple? Were the Beatles really so heartless? Personally I don’t think so, I believe that this scene was actually a hidden message to the audience – a metaphor if you like. The way the Beatles treat the old timer, in my opinion, is a statement about the attitude of the younger generation to the older generation and vice versa, during the 60’s. The Beatles are disrespectful to the man, however he is very condescending and rude to them too: the scene highlights the misunderstanding and tensions between the younger and older generation. During the 50’s and 60’s the idea of a ‘teen rebel’ was becoming increasingly popular with the young generation after being brought around by stars such as James Dean, this meant that they were becoming cheekier, less respectful and more independent. This new attitude was breeding contempt in the older generation who were stuck in the past, when young people respected they’re elders and didn’t speak unless spoken to; hence why there was such a gap present, and why neither generation understood the other, or respected them. This is what I believe the scene is trying to capture – the unrest and disrespect in society at the time.

‘The Wicker Man’ Is a controversial British horror film from 1973 directed by Robin Hardy and written by Anthony Shaffer. The big names in the cast are Edward Woodward who plays the main protagonist in the film (Sergeant Neil Howie), and Christopher Lee playing the main antagonist (lord Summerisle). At the time of its release the film was quite unpopular and didn’t do very well at all, yet 40 years later the film is known as a cult classic. This is partly due to the versatility of the film, as it really doesn’t have any distinguishable genre: it was made as a horror, marketed as a musical and won a sci-fi award, which made it a very saleable film due to its multi-generic reputation. However this was a long time after it was released, in fact at first most cinemas even rejected the film as they believed no one would come and see it. It wasn’t until 1977 when an American magazine published an issue on the Wicker Man dubbing it ‘the Citizen Kane of Horror’ that the film got the recognition it deserved.