semidocumentary
{{short description|Form of storytelling}}
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.
Characteristics
Stylistically, it has certain similarities to Italian Neorealism, 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.{{cite book |first1=Philippe |last1=Romanski |first2=Aïssatou |last2=Sy-Wonyu |title=Trompe (-)l'oeil: Imitation & Falsification |page=343 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pbJHd6i9nwC&pg=PA343 |publisher=University of Le Havre Press |year=2002 |isbn=2877753344 |series=Publications de l'Université de Rouen |volume=324}}
Background
One of the first films of this kind was Henry Hathaway's The House on 92nd Street (1945).[http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/30-overlooked-noir-films-that-are-worth-watching/ 30 Overlooked Noir Films That Are Worth Watching — Taste of Cinema]
In the late 1940s, semidocumentary films were often associated with film noir thrillers, sharing a commitment to on-location shooting, gritty realism, and understated performances.
Decline
Notable semidocumentary examples
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- The House on 92nd Street (1945)[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17831/vice-squad#articles-reviews?articleId=408970 Vice Squad (1953) - Turner Classic Movies][https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/48614 DVD Talk review of Kiss Me Deadly: The Criterion Collection]
- The Killers (1946)
- 13 Rue Madeleine (1946)[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17831/vice-squad#articles-reviews?articleId=408970 Vice Squad (1953) - Turner Classic Movies]
- T-Men (1947)
- Boomerang (1947)
- Brute Force (1947)
- Kiss of Death (1947)
- The Naked City (1948)[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17831/vice-squad#articles-reviews?articleId=408970 Vice Squad (1953) - Turner Classic Movies]
- Call Northside 777 (1948)
- Canon City (1948)
- He Walked by Night (1948)
- The Street with No Name (1948)
- Bodyguard (1948)
- The Asphalt Jungle (1950)[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-noir-best-movies-double-indemnity-shadow-doubt-killing-a8816426.html 20 best film noirs: From Double Indemnity to Shadow of a Doubt|The Independent]
- Armored Car Robbery (1950)
- Mystery Street (1950)
- Night and the City (1950)[http://mikegrost.com/semidoc.htm Film Noir: The Semi-Documentaries - by Michael E. Grost]
- Highway 301 (1950)
- Panic in the Streets (1950)
- Side Street (1950)
- The Racket (1951)
- On Dangerous Ground (1952)
- Walk East on Beacon (1952)
- The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
- Dragnet (1954)
- The Phenix City Story (1955){{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/movies/414187/The-Phenix-City-Story/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128125904/http://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/movies/414187/The-Phenix-City-Story/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 28, 2018 |title=The Phenix City Story |last=McGee |first=Scott |work=WatchTCM |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |accessdate=2021-02-22 |quote=Part semi-documentary, part social problem film, part film noir, Phil Karlson's The Phenix City Story (1955) is a one-of-a-kind window into a sordid and fascinating period in American crime history. }}
- Man on a String (1960)
- The Cool World (1963)[https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/ Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles|Library of Congress]
- The Insect Woman (1963)[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17564905.2017.1289297 Butterflies, beetles, and postwar Japan: semi-documentary in the 1960s: Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema: Vol.9, No 1]
- A Hard Day's Night (1964)[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-a-hard-days-night-1964 A Hard Day's Night movie review (1964)|Roger Ebert]
- The Endless Summer (1966)[https://www.filmsite.org/60sintro4.html Film History of the 1960s]
- The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-st-valentine-s-day-massacre-1967 The St. Valentine's Day Massacre review (1967)|Roger Ebert]
- Night Flight from Moscow (1973)
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