In this first session, we look at the prewar roots of the French crime film in the cinematic style known as ‘Poetic Realism’ and the literary fiction of Georges Simenon, creator of Inspector Maigret. Then we see how the postwar world and the trend, on both sides of the Atlantic, toward ‘film noir’ created fertile ground for a revival and a new cycle of gangster films, such as Touchez pas au grisbi and Rififi.
Lecture: This lecture will be led by season tutor Dr Sheldon Hall.
Film Studies - The Real Film Noir: French Crime Cinema
This course looks at four key examples of French crime cinema, each from a different decade, to examine the characteristics and creative achievements of the genre and how it changed over the years.
Duration
2h