Like a second-place contestant on Jeopardy, my fellow students and I weren’t allowed to leave our class on 1940’s film noir without a parting gift: our instructor Elliot Lavine sent us links to seven further films that he claims he could have added to our pile of twenty-four had their only been time. Not all of them are … Continue reading UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES – Le Bonus

Ten weeks ago, I decided to share with you my journey through a world of 40’s film noir that I watched as part of my course “Primacy of the Visual,” taught by Elliot Lavine through Stanford University. Twenty-four films later, I am so grateful to Elliot for allowing me to visit a few favorites, for introducing me … Continue reading UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES: Week 10 – Worshipping at the Alton of Noir

Well, it was bound to happen. After nine weeks of forty people gathering in a tiny Zoom room to marvel over all the 1940’s films noir that our instructor Elliot Lavine has shared with us, he finally presented a double bill of films that were, each in their way, so extreme that they managed to divide us. … Continue reading UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES: Week 9 – The Great Schism

Most of the time it’s easy to kick back and enjoy an old movie for its story, its performances, and – as often happens in the case of film noir – its distinctive look. But sometimes, like when you’ve been sitting isolated for over fourteen months and you’ve been forced to watch one major political party do … Continue reading UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES: Week 8 – Mid(century) Evil Woman

If you sit down to watch a film noir, you can expect to be both shaken and stirred. You might have to turn your head away a few times at the violence (or you might find yourself staring agog at the screen, baffled by what this sub-genre of film got away with in the mid-20th century.) You’ll certainly feel … Continue reading UN VOYAGE DANS LES TENEBRES: Week 7 – Battle Noir Didactica