Beginning with a general overview of film noir and covering its most important themes chapter by chapter (lovers plan murder, corrupt police, doomed love, psychological noir, etc.), this copiously illustrated handbook provides instant and in-depth access to the film noir genre for amateurs and aficionados alike. Among the films covered are these "top ten": Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, Gun Crazy, Criss Cross, Detour, In A Lonely Place, T-Men, Out of the Past, The Reckless Moment, and Touch of Evil.

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Beau livre

Alain Silver has co-written and co-edited a score of books including The Samurai Film, The Noir Style, The Vampire Film, Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles, director studies of David Lean and Robert Aldrich, and four Film Noir Readers. His articles have appeared in numerous film journals, newspapers, and online magazines. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA and is a member of the Writers Guild of America west and the Directors Guild of America. James Ursini has co-written and co-edited eleven books with Alain Silver and the director study Preston Sturges: An American Dreamer. He has an MA in motion pictures from UCLA and currently lectures on filmmaking at UCLA and other schools in the Los Angeles area.