Orson Welles and Film Noir

Film noir is a style of black and white film that became prominent in the post war era and lasted until about 1960. Film noir has its roots in German Expressionist cinematography, but was imported to Hollywood by emigrant film makers. This type of film was noted for their stark movements and camera angles, chiaroscuro, and contrasted images. The themes that film noir used, reflected the mood of the society. Bleakness, loss of innocence, melancholy, despair, fear, and mistrust was evident in Noir.

Orson Welles used Noir features in his movie “Citizen Kane”, not only because the movie was black and white, but also because it showed the inhumane and dark side of human nature of the main character.