Noir, Now and Then: Film Noir Originals and Remakes

echidnaboy

at 7:54 am

I recently finished an 8500-word dissertation on the topic of film noir and during my reseach I read every noir book I could lay my hands on. I can honestly say that this was the least useful of the lot. Its only purpose is to point out that several old films noirs have been remade. There is little attempt at analysis or commentary on the changes made to the films. Several of the entries are pointless: “While You Were Sleeping” and “Ransom”, for instance, have very little relevance to film noir. The reviews (and they are reviews, as opposed to analyses) are also very repetitive. You’ll get tired of overused phrases like “filmed in glorious black-and-white,” “the real star of the film is the script,” “the real star here is the glorious black-and-white cinematography.” See, you’re sick of it already. Sorry to go on about it, but I really thought this book was a waste of time. If you’re after a good book about neo-noir, get Foster Hirsch’s “Detours and Lost Highways”.
Rating: 2 / 5