Film Noir Summary and Reviews

Film Noir
by Andrew Spicer

Film Noir
List Price: $46.95
Our Price: $24.87
You Save: $22.08 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.26 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Andrew Spicer
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-07-28
ISBN: 0582437121
Number of pages: 264
Publisher: Longman

Book Reviews of Film Noir

Book Review: "Film noir" what is all the mystery about ???
Summary: 5 Stars

Andrew Spicer's book "film noir" is the best id-depth study of this intriguing and entertaining film style. Now, the first thing one has to understand about "noir" films is that they are Black and White (B/W), if you don't like watching B/W movies, then move on to another style of film!

For most casual film goers the term "film noir" has a mysterious sound to it but they really don't know what it means. The French film critic Nino Frank in 1946 first coined the phrase "film noir" after reviewing the movie the "Maltese Falcon," John Houston 1941. He saw that one of the most important components of "film noir" was characters that are portrayed as self questioning in an intellectual search dominated by Existentialism, (which is a philosophy that places emphasis on chance, in a world of no values or moral absolutes). Thus, you have the "non-heroic" hero in "film noir" such as portrayed by Humphrey Bogart as the detective Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon."

Spicer gives a very good general definition of "film noir" in his book and then explains some of the different sub categories. "The label `film noir' designates a cycle of films that share a similar iconography, visual style, narrative strategies, subject matter and characterization. (Spicer, 4). Spicer defines iconography (repeated visual patterning) as consisting "of images of dark, night-time city, its streets damp with rain...Its sleazy milieu of claustrophobic alleyways" (4). This effect is very reminiscent of one of the greatest "film noir" movies "The Third Man," Carol Reed 1949. "The visual style habitually employs high contrast (chiaroscuro) lighting, where deep, enveloping shadows are fractured by shafts of light from a single source, and dark, claustrophobic interiors have shadowy shapes on the walls" (4). This visual style is expertly displayed in "Touch of Evil," Orson Welles, 1958. "Noir's highly complex narrative patterning is created by the use of first-person voice-overs, multiple narrators, flashbacks and ellipses which often create ambiguous or inconclusive endings" (4). This motif is exemplified in the film "Kiss of Death," Henry Hathaway 1947. Thematic characterization of "film noir" is "dominated by a mixture of existential and Freudian motifs...The `noir' universe is dark malign and unstable where individuals are trapped through fear and paranoia, or overwhelmed by the power of sexual desire. `Noirs' principal protagonists consist of the alienated, often psychologically disturbed, male anti-hero and the hard, deceitful `femme fatale he encounters" (4-5). This aspect of `film noir' is best epitomized by the film "Double Indemnity," Billy Wilder 1944.

One of the great features of Spicer's book is his list of movies that fit into the "film noir" style, there are over 200 films. He breaks his list down under the following sub-titles. Antecedents of "film noir," classical "film noir 1940-59, modernist neo-noir and its antecedents, postmodern "film noir," British "film noir," miscellaneous.

In addition, Spicer's book is valuable because he takes each element of film noir and explains it in-depth, by using "noir" films that are the epitome of each element. Therefore, you get a book that also winds up being a great guide to the best of "noir" films! I recommend this book highly; it deserves a place on the shelf of every serious lover of films from Hollywood's "Silver Screen Era"!

Performing Arts Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Performing Arts Books
The Film Director: Updated for Today's Filmmaker, the Classic, Practical Reference to Motion Picture and Television Techniques ImageThe Film Director: Updated for Today's Filmmaker, the Classic, Practical Reference to Motion Picture and Television Techniques
by Richard L. Bare
Wiley; Published: 2000-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.75
Price in other shops: $19.95
How Movies Work ImageHow Movies Work
by Bruce F. Kawin
Allyn & Bacon; Published: 1987-03-13; Hardcover; Book
The Sun Soap Quiz Book: 2,000 Questions on Your Favourite TV Soap Operas ImageThe Sun Soap Quiz Book: 2,000 Questions on Your Favourite TV Soap Operas
by Chris Bradshaw
HarperCollins UK; Published: 2008-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops: $11.95
Make Your Own Adult Video: The Couple's Guide to Making Sensual Home Movies ImageMake Your Own Adult Video: The Couple's Guide to Making Sensual Home Movies
by Petra Joy
Collins; Published: 2007-01-03; Paperback; Book
Blessings in Disguise ImageBlessings in Disguise
by Alec Guinness
Fontana; Published: 1986; Paperback; Book
Irish Dancing (Collins Pocket Reference) ImageIrish Dancing (Collins Pocket Reference)
by Tom Quinn
Harpercollins Pub Ltd; Published: 1998-11; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $14.95
Harmony ImageHarmony
by Heinrich Schenker
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1980-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $33.64
Price in other shops: $37.50
A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, Second Edition ImageA Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, Second Edition
by Steven Louis Shelley
Focal Press; Published: 2009-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $38.82
Price in other shops: $51.95
The Theater Experience ImageThe Theater Experience
by Edwin Wilson
Mcgraw-Hill College; Published: 1994-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $44.76
Price in other shops: $51.80
Bill Hicks ImageBill Hicks
by Kevin Booth
Harpercollins Entertainment; Published: 2005-03-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $40.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Big Sleep ImageThe Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler
Vintage; Published: 1988-07-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: $14.00
Film Noir Reader 4: The Crucial Films and Themes (Bk. 4) ImageFilm Noir Reader 4: The Crucial Films and Themes (Bk. 4)
by Alain Silver, James Ursini
Limelight Editions; Limelight Editions; Published: 2004-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.49
Price in other shops: $22.95
The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories (Everyman's Library Classics) ImageThe Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories (Everyman's Library Classics)
by James M. Cain
Everyman's Library; Published: 2003-07-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.61
Price in other shops: $26.00
Farewell, My Lovely ImageFarewell, My Lovely
by Raymond Chandler
Vintage; Published: 1992-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.77
Price in other shops: $14.95
Film Noir Reader ImageFilm Noir Reader
Limelight Editions; Limelight Editions; Published: 1996-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.15
Price in other shops: $22.99
L.A. Confidential ImageL.A. Confidential
by James Ellroy
Warner Books; Published: 1997-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops: $14.99
Double Indemnity: The Complete Screenplay ImageDouble Indemnity: The Complete Screenplay
by Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
University of California Press; Published: 2000-12-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.77
Price in other shops: $21.95
Double Indemnity ImageDouble Indemnity
by James M. Cain
Vintage; Published: 1989-05-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.13
Price in other shops: $13.00
More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts, Updated and Expanded Edition ImageMore than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts, Updated and Expanded Edition
by James Naremore
University of California Press; Published: 2008-01-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.94
Price in other shops: $27.95
Jar City: A Reykjavi­k Thriller ImageJar City: A Reykjavi­k Thriller
by Arnaldur Indridason
Picador; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops: $15.00