Film Noir - Paperback

by William Luhr (Author)

Film Noir offers new perspectives on this highly popular and influential film genre, providing a useful overview of its historical evolution and the many critical debates over its stylistic elements.

• Brings together a range of perspectives on a topic that has been much discussed but remains notoriously ill-defined
• Traces the historical development of the genre, usefully exploring the relations between the films of the 1940s and 1950s that established the "noir" universe and the more recent films in which it has been frequently revived
• Employs a clear and intelligent writing style that makes this the perfect introduction to the genre
• Offers a thorough and engaging analysis of this popular area of film studies for students and scholars
• Presents an in-depth analysis of six key films, each exemplifying important trends of film noir: Murder, My Sweet; Out of the Past; Kiss Me Deadly; The Long Goodbye; Chinatown; and Seven

Front Jacket

Film Noir is the first book to survey this delightfully depraved--and highly popular--cinematic world, populated by shady characters flawed by moral imperfections. The volume provides a valuable overview of the historical evolution of this genre; it teases out the critical debates over generic and stylistic elements, and charts film noir from its inception in the post-War period through to contemporary times. From Double Indemnity to Devil With a Blue Dress, Murder, My Sweet to Mulholland Falls and Woman at the Window to Usual Suspects, Film Noir enables readers to move chronologically through a cinematic world at once shadowy and seductive.

Luhr brings together a range of perspectives on a topic that has been widely discussed but remains notoriously vague. He explores the relationship between the films of the 1940s and 1950s that established the noir universe and the more recent films in which it has been frequently revived. The result is a text that brings a thorough and engaging analysis of this popular area of film studies for both for students and scholars.

Back Jacket

Film Noir is the first book to survey this delightfully depraved--and highly popular--cinematic world, populated by shady characters flawed by moral imperfections. The volume provides a valuable overview of the historical evolution of this genre; it teases out the critical debates over generic and stylistic elements, and charts film noir from its inception in the post-War period through to contemporary times. From Double Indemnity to Devil With a Blue Dress, Murder, My Sweet to Mulholland Falls and Woman at the Window to Usual Suspects, Film Noir enables readers to move chronologically through a cinematic world at once shadowy and seductive.

Luhr brings together a range of perspectives on a topic that has been widely discussed but remains notoriously vague. He explores the relationship between the films of the 1940s and 1950s that established the "noir" universe and the more recent films in which it has been frequently revived. The result is a text that brings a thorough and engaging analysis of this popular area of film studies for both for students and scholars.

Author Biography

William Luhr is Professor of English at St. Peter's College, Co-Chair of the Columbia University Seminar on Cinema and Interdisciplinary Interpretation, and Standing Editor of the Oxford University Press Online Bibliography on Cinema and Media Studies. He is the editor of The Coen Brothers' Fargo (2004) and The Maltese Falcon: John Huston, Director (1995) and the author of, amongst others, Screening Genders (with Krin Gabbard, 2008), Thinking About Movies: Watching, Questioning, Enjoying, third edition (co-author with Peter Lehman, 2008) and Raymond Chandler and Film, second edition (1991).