Critical Approaches to Film The Big Sleep (dir. Hawks, 1946) & Film Noir

Roots of Film Noir

1940s

Howard Hawks (1896-1977)

"He worked in every major genre, and produced classics in each of them "He worked in every major genre, and produced classics in each of them. The French auteurist critics put him in the highest pantheon, alongside Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles. Yet Hawks was the least pretentious of great filmmakers. His style is transparent and unobtrusive; he didn't want the aesthetics to distract from the characters." - Tom Charity (The R

Hawks: some key works

"a master American filmmaker whose creative efforts hold a distinguished place in world cinema."

Hawks’ Trademarks The narrative always elegantly and symmetrically structured and patterned. Sharp sense of storytelling Hawks' visual style was one of dead-pan understatement, never proclaiming its trickiness or brilliance but effortlessly communicating the values of the stories and the characters point of view could confine us to the perceptions of a single character masterful in their atmospheric films were very improvisatory

Hawks’ Characters Devoted to characters who were professionals with fervent vocational commitments men in Hawks' films were good at what they did union of two apparently opposite physical types Hawks' characters reveal their feelings through their actions, not by what they say Hawksian male: loner, cynical, world weary, good at his profession Hawksian female: strong independent, equal to man, masculine characteristics, can overpower the man.

"I'm a storyteller - that's the chief function of a director "I'm a storyteller - that's the chief function of a director. And they're moving pictures, let's make 'em move!" - Howard Hawks

The ‘Hawksian woman’

Hawksian men