A few of the obits on the passing of the great European director, Ingmar Bergman, refer to the influence of film noir on his ouvre. Personally, I don’t see it, unless perhaps you refer to the significant influence of 40′s Hollywood on all film-makers of his generation. His films were mostly dark intellectual ruminations on life and death, and appealed only to narrow audiences. Film noir is a genre that talks to everyman. The interesting thing for me is the realisation that he was at his peak when aged in his 40s and 50s. In today’s ageist realm, most of us in that age groove are considered history. The Financial Times obit on Bergman is recommended.