Film Noir Light and Shadow

by Alain Silver

(Limelight). Alain Silver and James Ursini, the editors of numerous studies of film noir, present a new anthology of essays that examine the visual style of the filmmakers of cinema's classic period. Some focus on individual films or directors; some 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 motion-picture history. In addition to highlighting Silver's and Ursini's own innovative work and that of their late colleague Robert Porfirio, Film Noir: Light and Shadow features the work of many other contributors who have written and edited their own books on the subject including 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 anthology is lavishly illustrated with 500 images that capture the richness and breadth of the classic period's imagery.

352 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017

About the author

Alain Silver has co-written and co-edited a score of books including The Samurai Film, The Noir Style, The Vampire Film, Raymond Chandlers 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.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delight. It's absolutely crammed with pictures, details, observations, information, trivia, facts, and theories and... yeah, it is completely wonderful.

The only real problem with this book is that now I have dozens more noir films on my to-be-watched list. Such a problem to have, huh?

Basically, the whole book is essay after essay devoted to the visual aspects of film noir. The essays have titles like "Rooms like Reveries: Interiors and Interiority in Film Noir" (Imogen Sara Smith), "The Gangster and Film Noir" (Alain Silver), "Fragments of the Mirror: Hitchcock's Noir Landscape" (Alain Silver), and "Women's Song and Dance Performances in Film Noir" (Christophe Gelly and Delphine Letort) -- you can see how enticing they are to someone who enjoys this film style!

By far, my favorite essay was "Nothingness and Purpose: Light and shadow in It's a Wonderful Life" by Todd Erickson. I've always felt that Wonderful Life was a much darker movie that it gets credit for, and so much darker than most Christmas movies -- I heartily agree with Erickson that it has noir in its heart.

If you're a fan of film noir and love learning about how movies are made, love delving into what's going on below the surface of a story, or just generally love reading about movies, you will probably enjoy this book.

[Steven Davies-morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding set of in-depth essays about Film Noir. This is the 2017 updated edition. Worth having for the 750 pristine B&W stills.