The term is most often applied to narrative features, especially to films made in Hollywood during the 1940s and 50s. Typical titles include The Big Sleep (1946), D.O.A. (1950) and The Big Heat (1953), among others. More recently, film noir style has been used, often with reverential references to classic noir films, in contemporary dramatic features ranging from Chinatown (1974) to L.A. Confidential (1997). And, the noir genre has been widely parodied in films such as Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).
In nonfiction filmmaking, noir style has been used to enhance the dramatic elements in the real life stories being told. Noir stylistic elements notably used by documentary filmmakers include shooting in black and white, using dim and mysterious lighting, shooting from forced or extreme camera angles, dramatically staged re-enactments, the use of suspense-building music and editing designed to make the film suspenseful for the audience -- even when the story's outcome is already known. Chasing Madoff (2011), directed by Jeff Prosserman, exemplifies the use of film noir style in a nonfiction film.
