James Bond - Film Noir

Casino Royale, a James Bond film made in 2006, has a very interesting introduction that closely follows a film noir style. This is unusual for modern day films as they are quite uncommon, it was done a lot in the 40's to 60's but much less now. But it suits the mood and scene perfectly in this situation. The extended cut version is about 4 and a half minutes long and contains one long conversation split into two sections and a fight scene in-between that.

There are a few ways that makes this film noir, the main one being the use of shadows. They make it so that all your focus is on one place which in this case is oo7's (Daniel Craig) face. This is good for a conversation scene as there are no distractions so all your attention is on what is being said and the depth of those words. With this being the introduction of the film as well it tells you who is the main character is. He is seen as more powerful and commands the scene.

For a lot of the scene it is very claustrophobic. Tight  shots that focus on small details more than big wide shots that show everything. This is very common in film noir as it can make a character seem trapped or in danger.

This links with the fact that crime, gangsters and spying are all traits of film noir. This works with James Bond perfectly as he is only there for crime related purposes and ends up killing two people in the scene. Although there are many more traits to film noir like lust, greed and enigma, only a few fit this scene in particular.

The scenery right at the beginning fits the film noir style very nicely. Although it could be seen as a slight cliché it builds the scene well. The lamppost, smoke and extreme long shot are all part of film noir. The extreme long shot makes the car look vulnerable, while the smokes makes it enigmatic.

Extreme angles are very common in film noir, they add diversity and makes it almost feel like it isnt real and exaggerated. And for something like james bond this could be important as it is all exaggerated and unrealistic, that's the appeal of it. Big explosions and impossible scenarios, so having extreme angles suits James Bond completely.



All in all i would say that this does count as a film noir style scene. It has extreme angles, cliché scenery, smoke, claustrophobic and tight shots and it's use of shadows and lighting to direct attention and importance to an object or person is done perfectly. Just because it is black and white doesn't make it film noir, it requires a lot more than just that, which it does very well.