Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style

by Alain Silver (Editor), Elizabeth M. Ward

First printing. Large format book may require extra shipping charges.

Genres: Film, Reference, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Art, Noir

479 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 3.5 read for me. I am an avid fan of film noir but was not particularly engrossed in this book as I thought I would be.

It is an excellent reference as it lists all the films that the author recognized as noir and I agreed with 90% of his choices. He gives complete information regarding each film: the complete production staff, main actors, and even bit players. Since many of these films are from the 1940/50s, I got a chuckle at some of the the bit players who went on to bigger and better things.

Then comes the section of each particular film in which the author gives his opinion. That is what gave this book a lower rating than it may have deserved. These opinions seem to be repetitive and constantly speak of light and shadow which is a raison d'etre of noir film.

It is a good reference book but not one of the best, IMO.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

America's greatest contribution to world cinema. There is no substance to film noir. The plots, characters and situations matter little. What counts is the style. Film noir is brooding, a world ruled by shadows, and claustrophobic. The great masters of noir, Welles, Lang, Ray, and Huston, to name but a few, cast their films in a seedy, sunless environment. The film noir anti-hero is like D.H. Lawrence's classic American hero: cool, laconic and a killer. He suffers from a bad case of weltschmerz. The femme fatale is the black widow nemesis. She can't help but launch herself upon her prey. Alain Silver's encyclopedia is comprised equal parts of an exhaustive listing of noirs from the 1930s to the 1980s, and essays on themes, plots and connections to other genres, comedy to Westerns. This is an All-American book, a celebration for noir fans an introduction for the poor souls who don't live in the dark.

[Muzzlehatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, the structure: the book has a lengthy, detailed introduction on what noir is, its importance to American film history, how it developed, etc. Then the bulk of the book, which is an alphabetical listing of 300+ noirs with plot summary and analysis; these vary from perhaps 200 to as many as 1000 words, depending on the author's/editors' impressions of the significance of the film. Following the main section are appendices describing major genres which occasionally interacted with noir but are not considered to be true noir by the editors (the gangster film, the western, the period film, the comedy), and then a listing breaking the pictures up by director, writer, stars, composer, cinematographer, and studio. There is a comprehensive index.

This well-produced large format book remains the standard introductory work to the style, I think, despite the almost 30 years since this edition, and 15 since the most recent. The analysis is nearly always on the money from what I can see, and the authors' insights into what makes noir, noir, are forthrightly and convincgly stated. A couple of points that may be controversial: proto-noirs and neo-noirs are included within the bulk on the main text, thus "M" and "Taxi Driver" rub shoulders with "On Dangerous Ground" and "Laura"; and foreign noirs, including British productions like "The Third Man" are completely omitted. I believe the updated editions make some changes in these areas. And a word of warning: don't read the plot descriptions until after you've seen the films!

Essential. The copy I read is a 2nd printing hardcover of the 1st edition.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

The core of this encyclopedic reference is the more than 300 articles describing individual noir films. Arranged alphabetically by title, the articles provide complete production history and primary credits for cast and crew, as well as an overview of the film’s plot, its noir sensibility, plus its significance in the noir canon. There is an introduction describing noir as an indigenous American film style, and more than 20 appendices, plus an extensive bibliography and index, all of which provide numerous approaches to tunnel down and do targeted research on noir films. Calling this an essential reference is an understatement: with the third edition it is now the starting point for future research.

[John Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book that is what the title says. An A-Z reference to the great Film Noir Movies. Prepare to get pulled in to this dark seedy world.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an early edition of the book so is limited in the films it covers, it is a full encyclopaedia so is impossible to read in one go, but it does mean you can dip in and out of following one then another trail. it has some excellent biographical reference in the back breaking down the entries to not only years but also principle elements of its production including producers and directors. Great reference if you have any love for film Noir.

[Nancy Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bible of Film Noir. Every category necessary to making a movie is somehow presented including the studios and which type of noir film they shot.
Accounted for are: Lead to minor characters, writers, directors, dates, sub themes in noir, tidbits, actors, plot summaries ( watch out a few spoilers).
I watch TMC with this book by my side!

[Ben Gallman · Rating 5 out of 5]

After looking at it for about 5 or 6 years previous, I think by the time I did an independent study on the subject at school, I finally had read the whole thing.... There maybe portions of the enormous appendix I didn't get to. This is a fantastic reference.

[Aaron the Pink Donut · Rating 4 out of 5]

A almost definitive book of all the film noir genre films of the 40’s and 50’s. Since publication a few more small budget films have surface from collectors, but Still a really good reference book.

[Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent compendium of film noir classics!