film noir

American  

[nwahr] / nwɑr /

noun

1. a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.

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film noir British  

/ nwɑː /

noun

1. a gangster thriller, made esp in the 1940s in Hollywood characterized by contrasty lighting and often somewhat impenetrable plots

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Etymology

Origin of film noir

1955–60; < French: literally, black film

Example Sentences

Given a slight tweak, “The Stranger” could be a film noir about a man who simply drifts along the currents of a cruel universe.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme, he said the "list of imagined assassination methods" on his life "reads like a film noir".

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2025

But even that doesn’t seem fitting for works that nod to centuries-old chant music and film noir.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2024

A radical restaging of Hollywood film noir musical ‘Sunset Boulevard’ was the big winner on Sunday at the London stage Olivier Awards.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2024

Here it’s considered archaic, a throwback to film noir that taught us to associate it with some of cinema’s immortal screen goddesses – Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford.

From Salon • Oct. 1, 2024