A semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

Characteristics

Stylistically, it has certain similarities to

Italian Neorealism Italian neorealism (), also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They p ...

, such as the use of location shooting and employing non-actors in secondary roles. However, the viewer is not intended to mistake a semidocumentary for a real documentary; the fictional elements are too prominent.

Background

One of the first films of this kind was

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

's ''

The House on 92nd Street ''The House on 92nd Street'' is a 1945 black-and-white American spy film directed by Henry Hathaway. The movie, shot mostly in New York City, was released shortly after the end of World War II. ''The House on 92nd Street'' was made with the full ...

'' (1945). In the late 1940s, semidocumentary films were often associated with

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

thrillers, sharing a commitment to on-location shooting, gritty realism, and understated performances.

Decline

In the 1960s and 1970s, the semidocumentary style declined in feature films. The standard documentary had blurred the difference between itself and fiction so much that there was viewer confusion regarding what they were seeing.

Notable semidocumentary examples

*''

'' (1945) *''

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

'' (1946) *'' 13 Rue Madeleine'' (1946) *'' T-Men'' (1947) *''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

'' (1947) *'' Brute Force'' (1947) *'' Kiss of Death'' (1947) *'' The Naked City'' (1948) *''

Call Northside 777 ''Call Northside 777'' is a 1948 American drama film directed by Henry Hathaway. The film parallels the true story of a Chicago newspaper reporter who proved that a man jailed for murder 11 years previously was wrongly convicted. James Stewart ...

'' (1948) *'' Canon City'' (1948) *'' He Walked by Night'' (1948) *''

The Street with No Name ''The Street with No Name'' is a 1948 American film noir directed by William Keighley. A follow-up to ''The House on 92nd Street'' (1945), it tells the story of an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI agent, Gene Cordell (Mark Stevens ...

'' (1948) *''

Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

'' (1948) *'' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950) *'' Armored Car Robbery'' (1950) *'' Mystery Street'' (1950) *'' Night and the City'' (1950) *'' Highway 301'' (1950) *'' Panic in the Streets'' (1950) *''

Side Street A side road is a minor highway typically leading off a main road.Main road — definition

'' (1950) *'' The Racket'' (1951) *'' On Dangerous Ground'' (1952) *'' Walk East on Beacon'' (1952) *'' The Hitch-Hiker'' (1953) *'' Dragnet'' (1954) *'' The Phenix City Story'' (1955) *'' Man on a String'' (1960) *'' The Cool World'' (1963) *'' The Insect Woman'' (1963) *'' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) *''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf movie, surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown (director), Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the wor ...

'' (1966) *'' The St. Valentine's Day Massacre'' (1967) *'' Night Flight from Moscow'' (1973)

Notable directors associated with semidocumentary

Richard Fleischer Richard Owen Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director. His career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. He was the ...

* Louis de Rochemont * Gordon Douglas *

10 great New York noirs, BFI
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References