Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This volume stands out as one of the best and perhaps the single most essential book in English on film noir. Biesen reveals an untold part of the movement with originality, sophistication, and vitality. Her work will become a foundation for subsequent interpretation of film noir, as well as an ideal text in film, history, and cultural studies courses."--Brian Taves, film historian, author of The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies
Book Description
Challenging conventional scholarship placing the origins of film noir in postwar Hollywood, Sheri Chinen Biesen finds the genre's roots firmly planted in the political, social, and material conditions of Hollywood during the war. After Pearl Harbor, America and Hollywood experienced a sharp cultural transformation that made horror, shock, and violence not only palatable but preferable. Hard times necessitated cheaper sets, fewer lights, and fresh talent; censors as well as the movie-going public showed a new tolerance for sex and violence; and female producers experienced newfound prominence in the industry.
Biesen brings prodigious archival research, accessible prose, and imaginative insights to both well-known films noir of the wartime period -- The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Double Indemnity -- and others often overlooked or underrated -- Scarlet Street, Ministry of Fear, Phantom Lady, and Stranger on the Third Floor.
Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir
Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir,Sheri Chinen Biesen,The Johns Hopkins University Press,0801882184,Film & Video - General,Film & Video - History & Criticism,Film noir,History and criticism,Motion pictures and the war,Performing Arts,Performing Arts/Dance,Pop Arts / Pop Culture,Theater - General,United States,World War, 1939-1945,Performing Arts / Theater / General
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