2024 the best of film noir review

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(as of Nov 11, 2024 11:11:17 UTC - Details)

You know film noir when you see it: the shadowed setting; the cynical detective; the femme fatale; and the twist of fate. Into the Dark captures this alluring genre with a cavalcade of compelling photographs and a guide to 82 of its best films.

Into the Dark is the first book to tell the story of film noir in its own voice. Author Mark A. Vieira quotes the artists who made these movies and the journalists and critics who wrote about them, taking readers on a year-by-year tour of the exciting nights when movies like Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Sunset Boulevard were sprung on an unsuspecting public. For the first time, we hear the voices of film noir artists speak from the sets and offices of the studios, explaining the dark genre, even before it had a name. Those voices tell how the genre was born and how it thrived in an industry devoted to sweetness and light.

Into the Dark is a ticket to a smoky, glamorous world. You enter a story conference with Raymond Chandler, visit the set of Laura, and watch Detour with a Midwest audience. This volume recreates the environment that spawned film noir. It also displays the wit and warmth of the genre's artists. Hedda Hopper reports on Citizen Kane, calling Orson Welles "Little Orson Annie." Lauren Bacall says she enjoys playing a bad girl in To Have and Have Not. Bosley Crowther calls Joan Crawford in Possessed a "ghost wailing for a demon lover beneath a waning moon." An Indiana exhibitor rates the classic Murder, My Sweet a "passable program picture." Illustrated by hundreds of rare still photographs, Into the Dark conveys the mystery, glamour, and irony that make film noir surpassingly popular.

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Running Press Adult; Illustrated edition (May 24, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0762455233
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0762455232
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.75 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 1.25 x 10.25 inches
Reviewer: martyoooo
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Into The Dark, Film Noir personified!!
Review: I got my long awaited for copy of Into The Dark today and I was actually surprised that Mark Vieira has outdone himself AGAIN! This masterful author has produced one of the most beautiful volumes to grace any library. If you are a fan of film history and you enjoy beautiful photgraphic images, this book is a must for your collection. I'm amazed by the sheer number of incredibly produced photographs of both scenes and portraits from a favorite period in Hollywood film making, Film Noir. Vieira is a favorite author of mine due to his archival style of conveying the essence of the period he's portraying. This fine author's attention to details and the utmost respect for historical accuracy gives the reader hours and hours of pure enjoyment and insight into this period of Film Noir. I can't recommend this book enough. You won't be able to put it down! Bravo and thank you again, Mark Vieira for another unparalleled work!

Reviewer: James L
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Worth the price, Well written, Great photos.
Review: I purchased this book for my mom, she had seen it advertised on TCM. The book is naturally 40 dollars and well worth the money as well. Nice hardbound book with lots of great tidbits on Film Noir movies from that era and the pictures in the book are handsomely done. I was able to snag up this gem for 24 dollars and it has been worth the money.Great piece for anyone that is into movies of that era or looking for a great addition to their own library of books about film and the stories behind some of the classics of a sometimes forgotten era.

Reviewer: Larry David Wilson
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A curious book about films noir
Review: Mark Vieira has penned an unusual book about films noir of the period from 1941 to 1950 entitled Into the Dark: The Hidden World of Film Noir, 1941–1950. I say that he penned the book, but what he really did was gather together an eclectic series of commentaries written by others working in this 10-year period about the films Vieira included in this curious book. His treatments of the films included are organized into five chapters following a timeline headlined by words often associated with films of this genre, including Shadowed (covering films from 1941–1943), Cynical (1944–1945), Alienated (1946–1947), Obsessed (1948–1949), and Doomed (1950). The number of films highlighted in these chapters is as follows: Shadowed (7), Cynical (12), Alienated (30), Obsessed (25), and Doomed (8), for a total of 82. Clearly, the apogee of this cinematic arc was reached just past the midpoint of the ten-year period, i.e., 1946–1947. The last chapter of the book is rather prophetically entitled “Doomed,” when this cinematic cycle reached its denouement. Each of the film treatments begins with a title page on which the studio of release and the premier date is given, in addition to a list of the producer, director, source, cinematographer, and principal stars. A one-sentence plot description is provided. The bulk of each chapter deals with a production quote, some reviews, letter(s) from regional theater owners, and artist(s) comments that the author gathered up through his research. Perhaps the most curious part of this compendium of commentary is the information from the theatre owner where the film had a showing. For example, one theater owner from Dewey, Oklahoma wrote in the Motion Picture Herald about The Maltese Falcon that “The picture is too long and talky. Its title is meaningless. Bogart is miscast. My patrons tell me they like him best as a crook.” In the context of the fame this film has garnered in the ensuing 8 decades since those words were written, it is interesting to read the take on the film from a person who was trying to make money for his theater business from its exhibition. I wonder what this owner would have had to say about Casablanca. Each film treatment is provided with luminous black and white photos, with very few presented in color. Interestingly enough, the 82 films covered in the book start with Citizen Kane (1941) and end with Sunset Boulevard (1950). I would not place either of these films on my list of films noir, but they are both on my list of the best movies ever made. If asked to pick a favorite film among those dealt with in the book from each of the years covered, I would list the following: The Maltese Falcon (1941); This Gun for Hire (1942); The Seventh Victim (1943); Double Indemnity (1944); Mildred Pierce (945); The Big Sleep (1946); Out of the Past (1947); Key Largo (1948); White Heat (1949); and Sunset Boulevard (1950). The actors I would think most closely associated with this genre would have to include Dana Andrews, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, John Garfield, Alan Ladd, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Dick Powell. The actresses I would list would be Mary Astor, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, Jane Greer, Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Tierney, Audrey Totter, Claire Trevor, and Lana Turner. Fortunately, for readers of this book that might be interested to chase up these films for viewing, I suggest they check out Turner Classic Movies, especially the Noir Alley presentations hosted by Eddie Muller, who wrote the foreword for this book. I found this book interesting to read, even though its format is not what one might expect. I recommend the book most highly for those people with a serious interest in the genre of film noir. Others with a more casual interest in cinema might find the format of this book a bit offputting.

Reviewer: 60gram
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: ... takes you into the world of some of the best classic movies
Review: Into the Dark is a lush book about Film Noir which takes you into the world of some of the best classic movies. These films have become timeless. Likely the first I saw as a child was the "Spiral Staircase" which scared the wits out of me, but I loved it. This book will take you back to some of the best, like "Gilda", besides the insights and comments of the time, the b&w photos of Rita Hayworth are incredible. "The Blue Bahlia' is also featured, "Mildred Pierce", "Leave Her to Heaven", "Citizen Kane", "Laura" and so many more. The photos alone are worth the price, then the insight from press reports of the era and a recap of the movie all flesh out these movies which held up spellbound. Fun read.

Reviewer: Homer Winslow
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: good book, cheap binding
Review: good photos, long list of films, CHEAP FLIMSY BINDING - started disintegrating on the first reading

Reviewer: NOIRDOWELL
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: "Into the Dark" shines a bright light on our favorite Films Noir
Review: Love the book! Love the layout and especially the remarks by small town movie houses when they critique a film as mediocre only to be proven wrong years later by a cadre of cineastes and films noir fans that cherish the same films these yokels had denigrated. Could have been more even with the full page photos...some of the men like Sterling Hayden, Lawrence Tierney and George Macready among others were only shown in small photos whereas the noir women were better represented with full page stills and portraits, which on the whole were fantastic. Viera hit a homer with this one to be sure...I'd like to see a Volume 2 dedicated to the "Killer B" noirs from Poverty Row given the same treatment...perhaps using Arthur Lyons' book "Death on the Cheap" The Lost B Movies of Film Noir" as a guide.

Reviewer: warren
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: curious? buy it!
Review: I liked it all. why a film was made or why it was not. who was to play so-and-so and who actually did....and why. the trends of the times changed films, roles, directors and studios. this was all wonderfully written with lots of extras regarding the nation's small town theaters and what would or would not play; comments by critics, directors and stars of the films. when I say this book is full of it....it's a good thing.

Reviewer: Lin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Terrific book - pleasantly surpised!
Review: Some books on Film Noir are some photos with someone's interpretation of the whole genre, and VERY DULL. This book is like a pictorial dictionary on many of these films which are, as I said, in alphabetical order, with photos, what the film is about, and some background on the actors and the making of the film. I love this book, and it made me realize how many film noir movies I've yet to see.

Reviewer: Pappa Dont Preach
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Wonderful photography and excellent quality paper in the book. The only negative is that it is a bit light in interesting content against each film at the expense of the photos.