Overview

A deep dive into classic noir films and how filmmakers today are refreshing and updating the genre for new generations. In American Film Noir, M. Keith Booker introduces readers to the cult-favorite genre of film noir and discusses the ongoing power and popularity of the genre’s key elements and themes in modern films, often considered neo-noir, well into the twenty-first century. Booker covers a wide range of noir favorites, from the early classics The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, to late 20th-century neo-noir such as Chinatown,and ultimately newer iterations of the genre as seen in films like Inherent Vice, Promising Young Woman, and Uncut Gems. American Film Noir contains three separate parts, each exploring crucial categories of noir: the detective film, the lost man film, and femme fatale films. Within each section, Booker discusses the essential classic noir films that embody these themes as well as neo-noir films that invite viewers to analyze how the traditional components of noir have evolved with filmmaking. Finally, each section concludes with twenty-first-century films that evoke noir elements while refreshing the genre and enhancing viewers’ appreciation of the originals that inspired them—what Booker terms “revisionary noir”. Whether new to noir films, students of the genre, or long-time fans, readers will be sure to learn what makes this genre so special, discover why filmmakers keep coming back to it, and find a new favorite movie to add to their shelves.

Full Product Details

Author:   M. Keith Booker
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN:  

9781538194096

ISBN 10:   1538194090
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   19 November 2024
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION TO NOIR FILM PART I. NOIR DETECTIVE FILMS CHAPTER 1. THE FILM NOIR DETECTIVE: Maltese Falcon (1941) CHAPTER 2. THE FILM NOIR DETECTIVE: Murder, My Sweet (1944) CHAPTER 3. THE NEO-NOIR DETECTIVE: Chinatown (1974) CHAPTER 4. THE NEO-NOIR DETECTIVE: Blue Velvet (1986) CHAPTER 5. THE REVISIONARY NOIR DETECTIVE: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) CHAPTER 6. THE REVISIONARY NOIR DETECTIVE: Inherent Vice (2014) CHAPTER 7. THE REVISIONARY NOIR DETECTIVE: Under the Silver Lake (2018) PART II. THE NOIR FILM LOST MAN CHAPTER 8. THE FILM NOIR LOST MAN: Detour (1945) CHAPTER 9. THE FILM NOIR LOST MAN: Out of the Past (1947) CHAPTER 10. THE NEO-NOIR LOST MAN: After Dark, My Sweet (1990) CHAPTER 11. THE NEO-NOIR LOST MAN: The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) CHAPTER 12. THE REVISIONARY NOIR LOST MAN: The Killer Inside Me (2010) CHAPTER 13. THE REVISIONARY NOIR LOST MAN: You Were Never Really Here (2017) CHAPTER 14. THE REVISIONARY NOIR LOST MAN: Uncut Gems (2019) PART III. WOMAN IN NOIR FILM CHAPTER 15.WOMEN IN FILM NOIR: Double Indemnity (1944) CHAPTER 16. WOMEN IN FILM NOIR: Sunset Boulevard (1950) CHAPTER 17. WOMEN IN NEO-NOIR: Body Heat (1981) CHAPTER 18. WOMEN IN NEO-NOIR: The Last Seduction (1994) CHAPTER 19. WOMEN IN REVISIONARY NOIR: Basic Instinct (1992) CHAPTER 20. WOMEN IN REVISIONARY NOIR: Gone Girl (2014) CHAPTER 21. WOMEN IN REVISIONARY NOIR: Promising Young Woman (2020) CONCLUSION NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reviews

American Noir Film is a lucid and thoughtful introduction to film noir and its neo- and revisionary variants. Throughout, Booker expertly periodizes film noir and its various tropes, supported by careful close readings of key films. This is an essential read for students and experts alike who wish to learn more about film noir. --Zoran Samardzija, Columbia College Chicago Booker has given us one of the most complete introductions to American film noir available. A tour of the genre's history in three categories, American Noir Film offers both initiates and aficionados sharp overviews of exemplary Hollywood noirs, from the classics to the most neo of the neo-noirs. --Zachary Tavlin, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Film noir is probably the most beloved of old Hollywood genres. In this deep and probing book, M. Keith Booker looks not only at the classics of the genre, but also at the ways its urgent themes of violence and decay, and its bracingly negative vision of American life, continue to be explored and transformed in film today. --Steven Shaviro, emeritus professor of English, Wayne State University M. Keith Booker's new book, American Noir Film, offers a fascinating and beguiling trip into the dark heart of American noir. Impressive in both its breadth and depth, it shines a light on some of the most remarkable films that have emerged from Hollywood since the 1940s, all the way up until the present day. It is a book to be savored and one not to be missed. --Terence McSweeney, Solent University Southampton This is a neatly structured and superbly argued study of film noir from the 1940s to the present day. Booker develops a trajectory that leads from classic noir films like The Maltese Falcon to neo-noir efforts like Chinatown to what he calls ""revisionary noir,"" movies (like Inherent Vice and Uncut Gems) that push the genre's tropes to their limits in critical and transformative ways. The book offers consistently illuminating discussions of a wide range of topics, from the gender politics of noir to the way the genre engages with historical events and contexts, and Booker has a magisterial command of the relevant primary and secondary texts. American Noir Film is highly recommended to anyone interested in the development of this important and complex cinematic artform. --Rob Latham, LA Review of Books While expertly deploying examples and case studies that span roughly one hundred years, M. Keith Booker maps out the importance of film noir within American culture and the history of cinema. Booker's novel ""revisionary noir"" designation productively extends the purview of film noir into the twenty-first century and illuminates how filmmakers continue to use and adapt such aesthetics, narratives, and themes. For scholars, students, casual viewers, and newcomers alike, this expansive study of film noir is an engaging and compelling read. --Adam Ochonicky, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

"American Noir Film is a lucid and thoughtful introduction to film noir and its neo- and revisionary variants. Throughout, Booker expertly periodizes film noir and its various tropes, supported by careful close readings of key films. This is an essential read for students and experts alike who wish to learn more about film noir. --Zoran Samardzija, Columbia College Chicago Booker has given us one of the most complete introductions to American film noir available. A tour of the genre's history in three categories, American Noir Film offers both initiates and aficionados sharp overviews of exemplary Hollywood noirs, from the classics to the most neo of the neo-noirs. --Zachary Tavlin, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Film noir is probably the most beloved of old Hollywood genres. In this deep and probing book, M. Keith Booker looks not only at the classics of the genre, but also at the ways its urgent themes of violence and decay, and its bracingly negative vision of American life, continue to be explored and transformed in film today. --Steven Shaviro, emeritus professor of English, Wayne State University M. Keith Booker's new book, American Noir Film, offers a fascinating and beguiling trip into the dark heart of American noir. Impressive in both its breadth and depth, it shines a light on some of the most remarkable films that have emerged from Hollywood since the 1940s, all the way up until the present day. It is a book to be savored and one not to be missed. --Terence McSweeney, Solent University Southampton This is a neatly structured and superbly argued study of film noir from the 1940s to the present day. Booker develops a trajectory that leads from classic noir films like The Maltese Falcon to neo-noir efforts like Chinatown to what he calls ""revisionary noir,"" movies (like Inherent Vice and Uncut Gems) that push the genre's tropes to their limits in critical and transformative ways. The book offers consistently illuminating discussions of a wide range of topics, from the gender politics of noir to the way the genre engages with historical events and contexts, and Booker has a magisterial command of the relevant primary and secondary texts. American Noir Film is highly recommended to anyone interested in the development of this important and complex cinematic artform. --Rob Latham, LA Review of Books While expertly deploying examples and case studies that span roughly one hundred years, M. Keith Booker maps out the importance of film noir within American culture and the history of cinema. Booker's novel ""revisionary noir"" designation productively extends the purview of film noir into the twenty-first century and illuminates how filmmakers continue to use and adapt such aesthetics, narratives, and themes. For scholars, students, casual viewers, and newcomers alike, this expansive study of film noir is an engaging and compelling read. --Adam Ochonicky, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh"

Author Information

M. Keith Booker is the author or editor of over sixty books including Mad Men: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), Tony Soprano’s America: Gangsters, Guns, and Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), Star Trek: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), and The Coen Brothers’ America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). He is professor of English at the University of Arkansas.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions