What is film noir? /

What is film noir? /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Park, William.
Imprint:Lanham, Md. : Bucknell University Press, 2011.
Description:1 online resource (ix, 213 pages) : illustrations
Language:English
Subject:
Film noir -- History and criticism.
Film noir.
Electronic books.
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11300768
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Other authors / contributors:Bucknell University Press.
ISBN:9781611483635
1611483638
1283255529
9781283255523
9781611483628
161148362X
Digital file characteristics:data file
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Print version record.
Summary:Everyone seems to know what Film Noir is, but scholars and critics cannot agree on any definition. Some go so far as to insist that there is no such thing. What is Film Noir? claims that this confusion arises from the fact that Film Noir is both a genre and a period style, and as such is unique in the history of Hollywood. The genre, now known as "neo-noir" continues into the present, while the period, which began in the early 40s, had expired by 1960. Park surveys the various theories of film noir, defines the genre, and explains how film noir relates to the style and the period in which it was created. The book corrects several common misconceptions: that film noir was an afterthought, that Hollywood was not conscious of what it was creating, andthat film noir is too amorphous to be a genre. Park also provides a very useful theory of genre and how it relates to film study.
Other form:Print version: Park, William. What is film noir?. Lanham, Md. : Bucknell University Press, 2011
Review by Choice Review

Park (formerly, Sarah Lawrence College) begins his well-researched study of film noir by asking, "Is it a genre, a style, or a period?" He gives a learned, clearly written chapter to each of these alternatives, and he answers "yes" to all three: film noir is a genre and a style and a period (1940-60). Chapter 6 is dedicated to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, whose Vertigo Park considers the ultimate noir film. Some cinephiles may quarrel with that assessment. Throughout his lively, wide-ranging analyses, Park engages with important predecessors in noir criticism, notably, James Naremore's authoritative More than Night (CH, Apr'99, 36-4393; rev. ed., 2008). Park's book makes an interesting intervention in the noir debate, but his is not the last word. Five appendixes list important films in various noir subcategories. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. R. Ducharme emeritus, Mount Saint Mary's University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review

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