Film noir directors book

Film noir emerged during world war ii when german emigres like fritz lang brought the experimental sensibility of german expressionist cinema to tinseltown. Popular film noir books meet your next favorite book. This book is a study of the genre neo noir and its relation to classic film noir. Two of noirs defining actors, gloria grahame and humphrey bogart, portray starcrossed lovers in the film. Published under the sponsorship of turner classic movies, it also includes a foreword by the czar of noir, eddie muller, providing his usual. Film noir the directors rectifies that situation, profiling these lesserknown directors right beside their famous contemporaries. The rough guide to film noir discusses all those elements, including the cinematographers one of the sections i worked on in this book. Sarris made us take the key directors seriously, as well as the genre itself. Directors utilized high key cinematography that dominantly featured bright direct light and cascading shadow, offkilter camera angles, and asymmetrical compositions to emphasize spooky or sordid storylines meant to thrill and intrigue.

Admittedly, this collection of essays on film noir directors is an important work and contains much information about the 28 famous directors cited by silver in a beautiful paperback volume that also contains an enormous amount of behindthescenes stills and articles by some 24 different noir scholars which makes for a certain kind of uneveness in the writing and perception although the. Film noir literally black film or black cinema was coined by french film critics first by nino frank in 1946 who noticed the trend of how dark, downbeat and black the looks and themes were of many american crime and detective films released in france to theatres during and following world war ii, such as the maltese falcon 1941. Although the concept of film noir remains nebulousnobody, until the nostalgia boom of the seventies and eighties, actually set out to make one it covers a distinguished collection of films that bring together an unrivaled assembly of talent. These two great german directors came to america and gave a visual style to film noir. Synopsis tuskas book is an attempt to link the film noir tradition to a wider world of american culture. Film noir, the directors by alain silver mar 1 2012.

Mar 29, 2012 the book covers the careers of thirty individual directors, from robert aldrich to robert wise, and i have an essay on the noir work of the little known craftsman felix e. Writerdirector shane blacks ode to pulpy detective fiction and film noir also satirizes action movie conventions and hollywood at large, thanks in large part to its quickwitted script and inspired performance from robert downey, jr. The book focuses on 30 key directors who helped shape the genre. Notorious, shadow of a doubt, stranger on a train, and the wrong man. It a great book that explains what makes the films included in the book noir film in the view of the authors. Influenced by the novels of the hardboiled crime fiction authors who gained popularity during the great depression, film.

A guide to film noir genre roger ebert roger ebert. But, at the very start, film noir meant a particular cycle of cynical american thrillers beginning around 1941 and continuing until about 1959. Generally the milieu is urban and middle class, and the overall feel is one of repression and fatalism. May 01, 1996 i knew absolutely nothing about film noir when i first got this book.

Noted film noir historians alain silver and james ursini acting as editors concentrate in this work on the thirty key directors of the classic noir period. A sound art michel chion, columbia university press, 2003. Film noir, the directors by alain silver editor, james. The film noir encyclopedia by alain silver, hardcover. Covering over one hundred outstanding films and offering more than two hundred carefully chosen stills, it is by far the most thorough and entertaining study available of. May 16, 2012 film noir the directors isnt impenetrable for those brand new to the genre, but it is full or references and comparisons to other films and directors, as well as popular authors from the hardbolied crime fiction world. Feist the devil thumbs a ride, the threat, the man who cheated himself, tomorrow is another day. Jun 06, 2014 film noir, in its classical sense, existed in hollywood from the 1940s to the late 50s. Film noir by alain silver, james ursini, hardcover barnes. Watch double indemnity and youll know straight away. These characters should come from a script based on a piece of american pulp fiction such as the maltese falcon or double indemnity, ideally adapted by a european. Hitchcock, of course, was english so the look and style of film noir was mostly defined by foreigners such as these.

The classic era of film noir was notable for the incredible amount of talent behind the camera. It is said that the themes of noir attracted european directors, who often felt like outsiders within the hollywood studio system. Admittedly, this collection of essays on film noir directors is an important work and contains much information about the 28 famous directors cited by silver in a beautiful paperback volume that also contains an enormous amount of behindthescenes stills and articles by some 24 different noir scholars which makes for a certain kind of uneveness in the writing and perception although the writers kept. A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman. Title screens are the initial titles, usually projected at the beginning of a film, and following the logos of the film studio. Coming on the heels of their film noir reader series, this volume is a copious compendium that slices through the thick shadows of noir to explore the directorial knowhow behind the tough talkin dames and doublecrossing private eyes. First, film noir needs the right cast of characters, including an investigator with relative integrity like sam spade or philip marlowe, a criminal usually a murderer, one bad, beautiful woman, and another good, bland woman. The essential elements of film noir explained in one grand. Billy wilders classic was part of a wave of films in 1944 see also. These include wellknown luminaries, such as orson welles, billy wilder, nicholas ray, and joseph losey as well as lesserknown lights of noir, such as gerd oswald, felix e.

The directors is a compilation of essays, biographies and analysis of various directors that have worked within the genre that existed from 1941 to 1957. In the first half of the book, the author puts film noir into historical context. In this way, the book can be used as an entry way into film noir and its origins as well as a neverending recommendation. Humphrey bogart, rod steiger, jan sterling, mike lane. Edited by two of the worlds prominent film noir historians, alain silver and james ursini, we are able to dive into the genre by way of its authors and how theyve contributed. Examining classic noir films and books by writers such as albert camus, dashiell hammett and james cain, contributors discuss essence of film noir as. Im not saying im a fan of the genre now a little too fatalistic for my taste, but thats the basis of the film type, but this book gave me a better appreciation of film noir by giving me a grasp of the breakdown and background in clear, intelligent language. However, those onto which some light was shed feature key qualities of noir, very recognizable ingredients that help define whatever it is film noir is supposed to be. Nov 29, 20 kiss me deadly is the blackhearted apotheosis of film noir, and a key film of the 50s, embodying the profoundest anxieties of eisenhowers america.

A movie which at no time misleads you into thinking there is. This is the book that kickstarted appreciation of film noir. Film noir the directors by alain silver, paperback. Its a massively influential book that introduced the auteur theory into english writing. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. With a number of respected books on the subject, film historians alain silver and james ursini have become something of the goto experts on film noir. A movie which at no time misleads you into thinking there is going to be a happy ending. Horror film reader, gangster film reader, four film noir readers, and film noir. Iconic and enduring, film noir attracted great stars bogart, bacall, mitchum, lancaster, many of the best directors of the era wilder, lang, preminger, hawks, siodmak, welles and this book is an indispensible guide to this popular genre. Thus it provides not only a description of the cinematic antecedents of the films but also a history of its literary origins. Directors and the business of noir a scene from in a lonely place 1950, directed by nicholas ray and based on a novel by noir fiction writer dorothy b. Eric rohmer pascal bonitzer, cahiers du cinema, 1991. The 23 best french noir films of all time taste of cinema. One of the first films to cement the nascent sundance film festivals reputation, blood simple isnt so much neo noir as neoneo noir, using postmodern flourishes that still seem bold today.

However, other hollywood directors renowned for a film noir style hailed from europe, including billy wilder, alfred hitchcock, jacques tourneur, and fritz lang. Though not specifically about film noir, this book was one of the first studies of the world of b films that birthed many noir classics. The films mentioned above represent but a snippet of what film noir has to offer. By the time the term caught on in english more than a decade later, film noir had come to mean a historically superseded film movement. In the second part, he discusses the evolution of neo noir from the 1970s up through the early 1990s. Along with bazins unfinished jean renoir this is one of the best monographs i know on any director. With james ursini, alain silver santa monica, ca wrote and edited the noir style, the vampire film. Film noir reader by alain silver meet your next favorite book. Film noir, the directors by alain silver 2012, paperback. Therefore, the composition of this list may be controversial. This 476page book discusses not only each director s career trajectory, but also a brief summation of common themes in their work and their best noir titles. The primary literary influence on film noir was the hardboiled school of american detective and crime fiction, led in its early years by such writers as dashiell hammett whose first novel, red harvest, was published in 1929 and james m. The directors, edited by alain silver and james ursini, is a compendium chockfull of wonderful black and white film stills and production shots film noir buffs are sure to enjoy.

They are often an ignored aspect of films, although they reflect the time period or era of the film, the mood or design of the film. Christopher nolan the master of the modern film noir. The 10 best film noir movies of alltime screenrant. The director robert siodmak which he insisted, be pronounced seeoddmack was a masterful film maker who successfully blended the techniques of german expressionism with contemporary styles of american film, particularly film noir, in the process creating a handful of moody, sometimes chilling. But the book takes the genre seriously and suggests we can look at these films in the same way as art cinema directors such as fellini and bergman, who were. The book also defines noirs typical style, themes and concerns, actors, actresses, and directors. Each article will include a short biography of the director, a list of their major noir films, as well as a deep analysis of the films themselves. The strength of this book is its extensive list of film noir in its broadest sense.

The style of film noir would cross the water to britain and france and elsewhere in the world, just as it would return in the 1970s and 80s and the present day. Noted film noir historians alain silver and james ursini, acting as editors, concentrate in this work on the thirty key directors of the classic noir period. Cain whose the postman always rings twice appeared five years later, and popularized in pulp magazines such as black mask. These three critical perspectivesthat of the mid1940s, describing a vibrant, emerging sensibility. These include wellknown luminaries such as orson welles billy wilder nicholas ray and joseph losey as well as lesserknown lights of noir such as gerd oswald felix e. Film noir the directors book 2012 by alain silver,james.

To minimize dispute the films included here should preferably feature a footnote linking to a reliable, published source which states that the mentioned film is considered to be a film noir by an expert in this field, e. A copious appendix contains filmographies of prominent directors, actors, and. Movie title screens classic film noir the 1940s and 1950s. Robert benton, writer of bonnie and clyde this is certainly an important book to have on your shelf. Paul duncan is a film historian whose taschen books include the james bond archives, the charlie chaplin archives, the godfather family album, taxi driver, film noir, and horror cinema, as well as publications on film directors, film genres, movie stars, and film posters. Mar 01, 2012 admittedly, this collection of essays on film noir directors is an important work and contains much information about the 28 famous directors cited by silver in a beautiful paperback volume that also contains an enormous amount of behindthescenes stills and articles by some 24 different noir scholars which makes for a certain kind of.

An exsportswriter is hired by a shady fight promoter to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable rising star from argentina. To minimize dispute the films included here should preferably feature a footnote linking to a reliable, published source which states that the mentioned film is considered to be a film noir by an. The directors is a compilation of essays, biographies and analysis of various director s that have worked within the genre that existed from 1941 to 1957. A french term meaning black film, or film of the night, inspired by the series noir, a line of cheap paperbacks that translated hardboiled american crime authors and found a popular audience in france. There are few film directors today that have defined a decade of film making, films which ignite debates and where moments are repeated by both word and image, christopher nolan has showcased in his own idealistic style why he is important to the film industry, and why he is vital in the survival of how films are made and how they become eternal through time.

Leonard maltins movie crazy blog thank heaven for the ecumenical definition of film noir used by the editors the fourth and fattest edition of the film noir encyclopedia. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. The genre was prevalent mostly in american crime dramas of the post world war ii era. Silver has published some 20 books in addition to his career as a guild upm and director, many of which touch on the dark genre. Film noir the directors, book by alain silver paperback. Film noir by foster hirsch, film noir reader by alain silver, dark city. It goes without saying that several lauded movies are not referenced in the present article. Film noir the directors by alain silver, paperback barnes. Jul 23, 2014 the big french book on the subject of film noir was written, in 1955, by raymond borde and etienne chaumetontwo critics associated with the magazine positif, cahierss bitter rival. The best books on film noir five books expert recommendations. The book film noir ward \ silver, list 4 hitchcock films. Limelight editions film noir, the directors limelight.