It's a Bitter Little World: The Smartest, Toughest, Nastiest Quotes From Film Noir

by Charles Pappas (Editor)

A fascinating collection of quotes from the world of film noir is organized into themed chapters and includes witticisms from Pat Sajack, Harry Knowles, Wil Wheaton, Gary Hart, Tara Santana, and many others. Original.

Genres: Film, Reference

230 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the quotes from the true "noir" era but the newer film quotes didn't work for me. With the end of the production code and the advent of saying "f*#!k every other word, something was lost. Gone are the clever double entendres and ways to circumvent the code. Saying f@#k all the time isn't clever nor does it require talented screenwriters.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

La batería audiovisual del cine abrió una nueva dimensión a la serie negra, donde las frases de Hammett, Chandler y otros tomaron un singular matiz que otras adaptaciones y guiones inéditos terminaron de forjar. Un subgénero de respuestas rápidas, sarcásticas y duras cuyas citas más representativas se recogen en esta lectura.

[Leonard Pierce · Rating 1 out of 5]

You only get a book like this for one reason: the quotes themselves. The book's a tad hit-and-miss in this regard; there's plenty of great quotes (opened up by Pappas' otherwise questionable decision to expand the definition of noir considerably), but they're organized in a what-the-hell manner, with no real rhyme or reason. It's a smartly designed book, which is nice, but Pappas' introduction and notes are nearly unreadable, using an awkward hard-boiled style he's not suited for and smacking of meanness rather than cynicism.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book of film noir quotes--what I call a "potty book"...:) something you can read while you know..pottying...Actually a pretty fun read--I giggled a lot--there is probably no genre of film or literature that has better quotes. Most really important film noir is referenced here and a few obscure films as well. My only complaint would be that there is a bit more modern noir than I would have included. L.A. Confidential obviously belongs in this book whereas I would not have put the Big Lebowski here. But that's a bit of nit picking. Overall, an entertaining little book.

[Mitchlav · Rating 3 out of 5]

A subjective smattering of smarminess from film noir. I thought it was pretty funny, but others might find this too much distilled, concentrated nastiness in one book.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For what it's worth, a fun little book. I may not have learned anything, but I sure added a bunch to my movie queue! =)

[Jake Scherzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

always a solid read and reminds me of all the film noir that I still need to watch.