Film Noir Compendium: Key Selections from the Film Noir Reader Series (Limelight)
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Film Noir Compendium: Key Selections from the Film Noir Reader Series (Limelight) Details
Review "With the 1980 now classic FILM NOIR, film noir historians Alain Silver & Elizabeth Ward spotlighted what has become one of Hollywood's most revered, influential genres - the dark "black films" (literally the French translation of film noir) in mood, lighting and subject matter that emerged most fully after WWII and reflected the war's enduring consequences on America s psyche and attitudes. Now Silver & James Ursini present FILM NOIR COMPENDIUM which assembles "all the key articles" from the Film Noir Reader series of critical writing about this genre. The authors include TAXI DRIVER screenwriter Paul Schrader and New Wave French filmmaker Claude Chabrol. With 375 stills, this anthology covers in depth studies of monumental noir classics like Otto Preminger's ANGEL FACE, Barbara Stanwyck's THE FILE ON THELMA JORDAN and Robert Siodmak's PHANTOM LADY. --Boston Herald"Like The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia, the Film Noir Compendium edited by James Ursini and Alain Silver should be a required read for new film fans. But that's a rather limiting classification, since it fails to highlight the inherent joy in these articles. The newly updated compilation features legendary critics like Robin Wood as well as critics-turned-filmmakers like Paul Schrader and Claude Chabrol. Standouts include an analysis of Kiss Me Deadly with perfectly chosen stills and a stunning, deep dive into Out of the Past." --thefilmpage.com Read more About the Author Alain Silver (Los Angeles, CA) is the co-editor of the Film Noir Reader series and co-writer of The Noir Style and L.A. Noir, as well as The Samurai Film and Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles. His commentaries may be heard and seen on numerous DVDs, including Murder, My Sweet and Kiss Me Deadly. He is a writer/producer/director in independent feature productions.With Alain Silver, James Ursini (Los Angeles, CA) has co-written studies of David Lean, Robert Aldrich, and Roger Corman and on such genres as the vampire film, the zombie film, and most recently American neo-noir. He has also done numerous DVD commentaries on classic film noir DVDs such as Out of the Past, Kiss of Death, and Ride the Pink Horse. He recently completed his first neo-noir feature film. Read more
Reviews
I used this book for a film class. Although my vocabulary is pretty good, there have been times while reading the essays that I’ve had to look up words for their meanings. A bit esoteric.