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Book Synopsis

Although film noir is traditionally associated with the mean streets of the Dark City, this volume explores the genre from a new angle, focusing on non-urban settings. Through detailed readings of more than 100 films set in suburbs, small towns, on the road, in the desert, borderlands and the vast, empty West, the author investigates the alienation expressed by film noir, pinpointing its motivation in the conflict between desires for escape, autonomy and freedom--and fears of loneliness, exile and dissolution.

Through such films as Out of the Past, They Live by Night and A Touch of Evil, this critical study examines how film noir reflected radical changes in the physical and social landscapes of postwar America, defining the genre''s contribution to the eternal debate between the values of individualism and community.

In Lonely Places Film Noir Beyond the City

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    A Paperback by Imogen Sara Smith

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      Publisher: McFarland and Company, Inc.
      Publication Date: 8/17/2011 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780786463053, 978-0786463053
      ISBN10: 0786463058
      Also in:
      Entertainment Films, cinema

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Although film noir is traditionally associated with the mean streets of the Dark City, this volume explores the genre from a new angle, focusing on non-urban settings. Through detailed readings of more than 100 films set in suburbs, small towns, on the road, in the desert, borderlands and the vast, empty West, the author investigates the alienation expressed by film noir, pinpointing its motivation in the conflict between desires for escape, autonomy and freedom--and fears of loneliness, exile and dissolution.

      Through such films as Out of the Past, They Live by Night and A Touch of Evil, this critical study examines how film noir reflected radical changes in the physical and social landscapes of postwar America, defining the genre''s contribution to the eternal debate between the values of individualism and community.

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