Search results for ""Author Alain Silver""

In this essential study of film noir editors Alain Silver and James Ursini select the most significant and influential articles on the movement from their highly respected Film Noir Reader series and assemble them into a single convenient heavily illustrated volume. Still included of course are many rare early articles and such seminal essays as Borde and Chaumeton's Towards a Definition of Film Noir from ÊPanorama du Film Noir AmericainÊ Paul Schrader's Notes on Film Noir and Paint It Black: the Family Tree of the Film Noir by Raymond Durgnat. With newer studies such as Lounge Time by Vivian Sobchack Manufacturing Heroines in Classic Noir Films by Sheri Chinen Biesen and Voices from the Deep: Film Noir as Psychodrama J. P. Telotte this collection of over 30 articles probes this most influential American film movement from varying angles: formalist feminist structuralist sociological and stylistic; narrative-thematic historical and even from the point of view of a pure aficionado. There is something in this volume for every student or devotee of film noir. Plus like the readers that have proven an invaluable tool for academics planning a syllabus it can serve as the most complete core text for any of the myriad of film noir courses taught throughout the world.

Read more less

This newest edition will track the form's evolution from such 1970s reinventions as ÊCount Yorga VampireÊ and ÊBlaculaÊ ÊThe HungerÊ and ÊVampire's KissÊ in the Eighties ÊInterview with the VampireÊ ÊBram Stoker's DraculaÊ and the ÊBladeÊ series in the Nineties through Ê30 Days of NightÊ ÊI Am LegendÊ and the ÊUnderworldÊ series in the first decade of the 21st century. All these films plus celebrated international examples such as ÊThirstÊ and ÊLet the Right One InÊ and the hit television series ÊBuffy the Vampire SlayerÊ ÊNew AmsterdamÊ ÊAngelÊ ÊThe Vampire DiariesÊ and ÊTrue BloodÊ are covered in this long-awaited completely revised expanded and redesigned fourth edition that follows the vampire figures both male and female through the millennium and beyond.

Read more less

Despite a glut of black and white filters the digital revolution in videography has all but abandoned the art science beauty and power of cinematic lighting that literally illuminated the Golden Age of motion pictures. ÊFilm Noir Light and ShadowÊ explores an era before CGI ä a time when every photon mattered and the lighting of a set served a grander purpose than simply rendering its subjects visible. Edited by Alain Silver and James Ursini the duo behind numerous critically acclaimed studies of other aspects of noir this anthology presents a series of essays that examine the visual style of the filmmakers of cinema's classic period. Some focus on individual pictures or directors; others discuss elements of style or sub-groups of movies within the movement. All are sharply focused on what makes the noir phenomenon unique in American ä and global ä cinematic history. Aside from highlighting the innovative work of its editors and their late colleague Robert Porfirio ÊFilm Noir Light and ShadowÊ also shares its light with a bevy of contributors who have written and edited their own books on the subject ä a list of luminaries that includes Sheri Chinen Biesen Shannon Clute and Richard Edwards Julie Grossman Delphine Letort Robert Miklitsch R. Barton Palmer Homer Pettey Marlisa Santos Imogen Sara Smith and Tony Williams. As befits the topic this volume is lavishly illustrated with 500 images that capture the richness and breadth of the classic period's imagery making it an ideal companion for students of the genre film historians sprocket fiends and the retrospectively inclined.

Read more less

The behind-the-scenes story of the quintessential film noir and cult classic, Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity—its true crime origins and crucial impact on film history—is told for the first time in this riveting narrative published for the film's 80th anniversary. From actual murder to magazine fiction to movie, the history of Double Indemnity is as complex as anything that hit the screen during film noir’s classic period. A 1927 tabloid sensation “crime of the century” inspired journalist and would-be crime-fiction writer James M. Cain to pen a novella. Hollywood quickly bid on the film rights, but throughout the 1930s a strict code of censorship made certain that no studio could green-light a murder melodrama based on real events. Then in 1943 veteran scriptwriter and newly minted director Billy Wilder wanted the story for his third movie. With tentative approval from the studio he hired hardboiled novelist Raym

Read more less

After scores of books and commentaries on film noir and its classic period experts Alain Silver and James Ursini turn their full attention to neo-noir the self-conscious mannered sometimes ersatz and often surprising genre that sprang from the original movement. This volume surveys the full breath of American neo-noir its style and substance its evolution over succeeding generations of filmmakers from activist through postmodern to millennial and on with extensive illustrations in black-and-white and full-color that capture the genre's dramatic and visual essence.

Read more less

Film noir is one of the most enduring and popular genres in cinema. But it did not spring up spontaneously fully formed. Rather its origins can be traced to sources as varied as Victorian literature German Expressionism and American art and photography. In this comprehensive collection of essays that's packed with illustrations and artwork a team of eminent scholars and film writers present thorough analyses of the influence of prototypes on the classic period of film noir.ÞSome essays focus on particularly influential genres such as the rogue cop film and gothic thrillers; while others discuss the choices of individual filmmakers including John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock in their most well-loved films.ÞThe editors and all of the featured contributors ä Sheri Chinen Biesen Todd Erickson Richard Edwards Julie Grossman Robert Miklitsch Homer Pettey Robert Porfirio Tom Ryall Marlisa Santos Jesse Schlotterbeck and Tony Williams ä are noted scholars in the field of film noir most of whom have written book-length studies of their own.ÞFrom the gangster and horror genres to social realism and Hitchcock's spy films of the 1930s ÊFilm Noir PrototypesÊ offers compelling accounts of the genre's influences. As befits the topic over 300 illustrations keyed to the text capture the richness and breadth of the classic period's imagery.

Read more less

Whether it’s Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, or The Big Sleep, roam a screen world of dark and brooding elegance with this essential handbook to Film Noir. From private eyes and perfect crimes to corrupt cops and doomed affairs, editors Paul Duncan and Jürgen Müller examine noir’s key themes and their most representative movies from 1940 to 1960. Copiously illustrated with film stills as well as original posters, this book offers page after page of noir’s masterful visual compositions while exploring the narrative paradigms of this cryptic, compelling, and evolving genre. If that weren’t enough to tickle your cinematic appetite, the volume concludes with TASCHEN’s top 50 pick of noir classics. Brimming with the enigmatic dames, desperate gangsters, and psycho killers that continue to cast a long and captivating shadow over cinema, this is a must-have handbook for noir aficionados and amateurs alike.

Read more less