Film noir is a genre that has provided audiences with some of the best movies of alltime. Film noir itself was an important genre for legitimizing cinema as an artform the use of shadows for terror, the seductive placement of limbs, glances, and the way someone smoked a cigarette. I asked muller about his favorite book that became a noir movie. If its not here i havent seen it yet, or maybe i don. Or post to your blog and anywhere else you feel it would be a good fit. Movies of his such as 20,000 years in sing sing 1932 and private detective 62 1933 are among the early. But, at the very start, film noir meant a particular cycle of cynical american thrillers beginning around 1941 and continuing until about 1959. The answer to that question isnt as straightforward as it would be with science fiction, fantasy, romantic comedies, or other popular movie genres.
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish hollywood crime dramas. The collection is assembled by the editors of the third edition of film noir. Nov 03, 2015 theres the book a panorama of american film noir 19411953 by raymond borde and etienne chaumeton. For a more book accurate and non noir adaptation, watch the 2011 hbo miniseries. 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. The rough guide to film noir a great introduction that covers the genre from early german expressionism to the latest neonoirs, and highlights the movies to look. Film noir is not a clearly defined genre see here for details on the characteristics. Pages other brand website entertainment website film noir classic movies.
Packed full of great movie stills, the book is written with mullers trademark encyclopedic knowledge and infectious love of the genre. The term film noir, french for black film literal or dark film closer meaning, was first applied to hollywood films by french critic nino frank in 1946, but was unrecognized by most american film industry professionals of that era. Though a tricky genre to define, there are the usual telltale signs such as seduction, violence, and loose morals all revolving around a central mystery. The classic period of film noir is generally recognized as a set of american titles released during the 1940s and 50s that were in part inspired by the hardboiled fiction of raymond chandler. The film noir encyclopedia by alain silver, hardcover. Like all genres, different people have different feelings about what makes or does not make a film noir. Please share it in your social networks facebook, twitter, email etc by using social media buttons at the side or bottom of the blog. A list of the best filmnoir movies and tv shows, as ranked by imdb users, like you. This bountiful anthology combines all the key early writings on film noir with many newer essays, including some published here for the first time.
Fortunately, official english translations of the book are now ava. 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. Cinema historians and critics defined the category retrospectively. Concentrated in the ten years following world war ii and characterized above all by its atmosphere and its urban settings, film noir gave a broadly pessimistic treatment to melodrama and to crime movies. Best film noir movie quotes of all time movie mistakes. Introduction michael walker the politics of the maladjusted text richard maltby noir is also a french word. Film noir is a term coined by postwar french film critics to describ. The best film noir movie quotes of all time, as voted by visitors to. The 10 best film noir movies of alltime screenrant. First published in french in 1955, its the book that gave the genre its name. Film noir is a term coined by postwar french film critics to describe an area of hollywood filmmaking that they particularly relished.
She walks into my life legs first, a long drink of water in the desert of my thirties. An enclyclopedic reference to the american style, now regarded as the standard work on the subject. 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. 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. Leonard maltins movie crazy blog thank heaven for the ecumenical definition of film noir used by.
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. Shes an italian flag in occupied territory, and i fall for her like paris. Film noir itself was an important genre for legitimizing cinema as an artform the use of shadows for terror, the seductive placement of limbs, glances. 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. Wed be oversimplifying things in calling film noir oneiric, strange, erotic, ambivalent, and cruel. A list of 194 films compiled on letterboxd, including 99 river street 1953, ace in the hole 1951, among the living 1941, angel face 1953 and angels with dirty faces 1938.
Explore the dark and brooding elegance of film noir with this essential handbook to the genre, exploring key noir themes and their most representative. Including an analysis of film noir classics such as double indemnity and the big sleep, it shows. Therefore, the composition of this list may be controversial. Kiss me deadly is the blackhearted apotheosis of film noir, and a key film of the 50s, embodying the profoundest anxieties of eisenhowers america. Pursued 1947 the gunfighter 1950 high noon 1952 the halliday brand 1957. Film noir emerged out of a nexus of american sociopolitical crises, including the great depression, world war ii, and the cold war. Undertow is a 1949 american film noir crime film directed by william castle and starring scott brady, john russell, dorothy hart and peggy dow. He answered and connected me with two other mystery authors who provided.
The term film noir has also been more widely applied to other categories of films. So, the title film noir defines the moment when we started to take such films seriously and it was given a french. Black widow is a 1954 mystery film with elements of film noir, written, produced and directed by nunnally johnson and starring ginger rogers, van heflin, gene tierney, peggy ann garner and george raft. Explore the dark and brooding elegance of film noir with this essential handbook to the genre, exploring key noir themes and their most representative movies. Hardcover, 288 pages, 248 x 168 mm, illustrated with over 200 black and white stills, 1992. It presented the underbelly of the traditionally optimistic and utopian american dream and drew upon numerous cultural influences, such as german expressionism, american hardboiled fiction, french poetic realism of the 1930s, tabloid journalism, italian. Im sticking only to traditional film noir 1938 1955ish with a few exceptions. The book is every bit as bleak and hopeless as any noir, but the movie takes it to a new level of noir, adding a mystery that is not in the book.
Film noir simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The encyclopedia of film noir is designed to provide an accessible yet scholarly, userfriendly but researchinformed, comprehensive account of the phenomenon of. Sep 19, 2017 film noir itself was an important genre for legitimizing cinema as an artform the use of shadows for terror, the seductive placement of limbs, glances, and the way someone smoked a cigarette. Film noir and ecclesiastes certainly seem to be from the same neighborhood. The movie marks the second film to feature a young actor named rock hudson and the first in which he received a film credit for his work. This extensive encyclopedia describes movies from noirs earliest days and. Film noir has long been one of the most fascinating styles of filmmaking in the history of cinema. French critics coined the term film noir in reference to the lowkeyed lighting used to enhance these dramas stylisticallyalthough the term would not become commonplace in international critical circles until the publication of the book panorama du film noir americain 1955 by. This illustrated volume covers the films, directors and themes of the film noir genre 19451955. The best books on film noir five books expert recommendations.
Peter lorre, diana dors, barbara payton, humprey bogart, alfred hitchcock. But what exactly this style and mood are seems to vary from scholar to scholar. Confidential, by james ellroy the third book in ellroys l. Theres the book a panorama of american film noir 19411953 by raymond borde and etienne chaumeton. Film no ir is not a clearly defined genre see here for details on the characteristics.
Quartet marks the point at which noir invaded the literary world and made a home for itself. Film noir is a term coined by postwar french film critics to describe an area of hollywood film making that they particularly relished. His audio commentaries on classic film noir dvds include call northside 777 and double indemnity. Witty, entertaining and compelling something thar cant always be said about the films discussed. 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. Film writer barry forshaw plunges us into a world of dangerous women in ankle bracelets, flawed heroes silhouetted against a dark rainswept street, smoky jazz scores and very unhappy endings. Notorious, shadow of a doubt, stranger on a train, and the wrong man. This is certainly an important book to have on your shelf.
Some of the most interesting film noir derivatives were the film noir westerns of the 1950s. Nov 02, 2018 the book is every bit as bleak and hopeless as any noir, but the movie takes it to a new level of noir, adding a mystery that is not in the book. The best books on film noir recommended by barry forshaw. The french antecedents of film noir ginette vincendeau how hollywood deals with the deviant male deborah thomas psychoanalysis and film noir deborah thomas tame wolves and phoney claims. Film noir, style of filmmaking characterized by such elements as cynical. This book is a history of the b movie and how it led to the development of the genre that would become known as film noir. For a more book accurate and nonnoir adaptation, watch the 2011 hbo miniseries. The book film noir ward \ silver, list 4 hitchcock films. Robert benton, writer of bonnie and clyde this is certainly an important book to have on your shelf. Included is a comprehensive filmography with title, date, studio, running time, alternate titles, credits, plot outline, and critique for each film.
A movie which at no time misleads you into thinking there is going to be a happy ending. Yet in his book meaning at the movies 2010, grant horner writes, there is one important differencebetween film noir and the book of ecclesiastes. It a great book that explains what makes the films included in the book noir film in the view of the authors. 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 guide to film noir genre roger ebert roger ebert.