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The film noir genre generally refers to mystery/crime dramas produced from the early-1940s to the late 1950s. Movies of this genre were shot in black and white, and featured stories involving femmes fatales, doomed heroes/anti-heroes, and tough, cynical detectives.

The neo-noir subgenre refers to crime dramas and mysteries produced from the mid-1960s to the present that, while they are generally shot in color and do not always emulate the visual style of classic film noir, often borrow the themes, archetypes, and plots made famous by the film noir genre.