Film Noir: A Very Short Introduction

[read 2.7.25]
for media research


Not a super artistic/stylistic approach, but pretty handy first look into film noir. didn't realize there was such a variety to the genre. 

sundry notes: 

the first real book about film noir is A Panorama of the American Film Noir: 1941-1953, originally written in French, because the French took the American noir-type films and made it an "official" genre to copy the style of 

> These authors determined five elements of noir

1. oneiric (i.e. relating to dreams or dreaming

2. strange

3. erotic

4. ambivalent 

5. cruel

- also a text mentioned: Paul Schrader wrote "Notes on Film Noir" (1972)...think it was for a magazine or something 

really interesting section of the book p.78-87 "Black & white & color" which talks about the use and development of lighting and color in the noir pictures

> chapter 5 in general has a pretty good overview of the different periods of noir, and the attitude to noir in each of these periods

NOIR MOVIES TO SEE

- The Lady in the Car with the Glasses and a Gun (2015)

- Double Indemnity (1944)

- The Third Man (1949) 

- The Killer Inside Me (2010) 

    based off the work of Jim Thompson who was "initially too disturbing for film" 

    Thompson was hired by Stanley Kubrick as a writer for a time

- Two Faces of January (2014)

    the book thinks this movie best captures the "lucid, fastidious irony" of the original Talented Mr. Ripley book 

- Inherent Vice (2014)

- The Glass Shield (1994) noir film with black lead (Ice Cube)

- Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) noir film with black lead (Denzel Washington)

- The Usual Suspects (1995) REWATCH

- Jerichow (2008) ... German noir 

- Mad Detective (2007) ...Hong Kong noir 

- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ... Swedish version (2009); US version (2011)

- Gone Girl (2014) 

- Girl on the Train (2016)

- Rope (1948) REWATCH

- Rear Window (1954)

- Vertigo (1958)

- Collateral (2004) ...one of "many good films we could call noir that didn't involve pastiche"

other notes: 

- Turner Classic Movies does "Noir Alley" showcase (changing it every year, I assume) 

- wikipedia distinguishes films into "classic noir" and "neo-noir" titles...(the neo-noir films go from 60s to modern day, interesting to look at 

★★★ 

3 stars I guess...but really just a practical book  

Then We Came To The End

[read 1.22.25]
for Logan Square (or anywhere) Book Club


I really liked the writing style of this...very much built on second/third-hand stories and gossip, no line breaks for convo...a good choice for structure to capture the feeling of this late 90s dot-com boom/bust advertising-agency workplace setting. 

some well-written characters for sure.
captures the essence of pre-internet work culture--when your work friends were still your friends in many ways.
I think it's good that we've moved on from that, but I think the book presents that even if work is more focused on the work now, we've lost a little something.
you can't defend a lot of the actions and waste, but there's something charming about it 

makes me think of Empire Records (1995) which I watched recently too 

★★★ 

3 stars...maybe 3.5 the more I think about it 

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital

[read 1.8.25]
for 150 club

frustrated with the main character (Berie)...felt like she didn't have any agency in her own life...did she even love Sils

I respect Sils cuz she actually had a dream (mailman) and did it. It seems like even though Berie traveled the world and did all these things, she didn't actually have a passion for anything. She was so caught up in nostalgia (doing history museum exhibit or smg) but like for what. 

just annoyed that she was unhappy with her left that she didn't take much of an active role in. just don't really respect her. 

REGARDLESS.. very well written. 

★★½

2.5 stars...would be interested to talk to someone who really relates to this book