The Lady from Shanghai 1947

 The Lady from Shanghai is a Film Noir directed and acted by Orson Welles. The movie was released in 1947 and is considered to be the last true Film Noir.







 As soon as we meet Elsa a contrast between light and dark is instantly established. The whole film is in black and white and so we see the whole genre has adapted this to fit certain themes. A theme that the black and white colour fits well is good vs evil which appears to be personified by our lead characters, Mike and Elsa. Mike, a troubled sailor who's had various run ins with the police, is presented to us wearing a dark suit. A combination of these things gives us the impression that Mike is maybe a bit of a tough guy. This is quickly followed up with the introduction of Elsa, a mysterious woman married to a world class lawyer. These 2 characters begin to embody good and bad through their actions and we see the contrast come alive.

 Another technique the Lady of Shanghai uses is it gives us a voice over. When we are introduced to Mike we hear him thinking out loud reflecting back on the current situation he's been presented with. Seeing him think the night over with negative connotations gives us the idea that the story maybe isn't going to end well. This gives us an idea of how the story will continue.

 A final technique we see being used to create a vibe is the setting. in the first 15 minutes we are shown shots containing smoke, city skyline, shadows and water. All of these things combined create a gritty and sad city vibe. This technique sets the trend of the story and gives it a perfect place to be carried out. It's the small things like this that make the story the way it is.