Fox’s Gotham Will Be Like 1970s Noir

It seems that the 1970s are making a huge comeback in the comic book realm.  First, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was inspired by that era.  Next, in an interview with Stephen S. DeKnight, Netflix’s Daredevil will have the same quality.  This week, we’re getting information that executive producers Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon drew inspiration from 1970s New York for their vision of Fox’s Gotham.

During Sunday morning’s Gotham panel at the Television Critics Association press tour, Heller described the series as a Greek tragedy — “how the city falls into disrepair and total anarchy.”  As for the era that embodied that theme, Heller had this to say:

"… we talked about New York City in the 1970s. It’s a time when that city was falling apart with decadence and decay. It was both sexy and scary. There’s something about a city as it falls apart that you’re compelled to watch."

To create the aesthetics of such a time and atmosphere, Cannon researched a library of 1970s crime films from the likes of William Friedkin and Sidney Lumet.  He also used old photos of New York’s Bowery.  Costume ideas came from the trends of Iggy Pop, Blondie, and the Ramones.

Heller also added that the focus of the story will be less about superheroes and more about an individual’s struggle:

"This is noir. The structure that exists around James Gordon is so daunting and challenging that no single man can defeat it.  The notion is that our hero is doomed. Gotham is as much about the hope and struggle that everyday people are engaged in. It’s not about superheroes."

But would not having superheroes in a story about the beginnings of Batman make the story dull?  Heller offered his take on the mythology:

"Many stories can be told, but not all of them can be true with each other. We won’t break the canonical truth of the Batman stories, but we’ll play with issues of chronology … How do you deal with crime at this level when there are no superheroes? … This is about people trying to overcome real problems, as opposed to learning how to fly … To me that’s a more interesting story."

Heller’s vision of Gotham City will be very much in line with what we’ve seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy which was also described as noir.  So, I think fans need not despair.  Even though we may not see the Dark Knight in his full glory until the series end (Hopefully, it’ll have as much of a successful run as Smallville.), we can at least see what makes the future Commissioner Gordon tick.