Film Noir: The Encyclopedia
Lets you meet the cynical and obsessive heroes of film noir portrayed by actors like Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, James Cagney, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.
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Cannot be improved on,
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This really is the definitive work, academic but gripping nontheless.
It covers the complete subject right up to the present day and yes “film Noir” films are still being made.
“China Town” to mention just one.
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A Shadowy Tale,
Into it’s fourth edition, I was expecting a solid companion to my quest for illumination into the dark alleys of the noir list. So far I have been rather disappointed. Partly this is due to the shear number of people who have now penned the entries, to the point where it is difficult to find ones by the cover authors. This means there is no overall style or theme to the text. What really annoys me though is the fact that I am not even sure that all these people have even watched the films. There are so many errors in the simple plot outlines that it makes you wonder if it is worth reading the rest of the text. These range from the simple misreading of details in the film to out and out incorrect details. I have just watched The Mask of Dimitrios for which the entry plot ends ‘After a struggle, Peters and Dimitrios kill each other’. Well not in the version I saw, where Peters is shot but recovers enough to make an impressive exit accompanied by the police and a cutting pay off line. In fact that whole entry was rather bizarre as the author seemed to berate the film as being a poor adaptation of the original book because it was made too noir! The book is still a useful starting point but read with caution. I fear the original concept has got a little out of control of the original authors.
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The best book on noir ever.,
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This book is a revelation. Comprehensive plot summaries and analysis of every noir you can imagine and loads you cannot.
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