American Noir Film - by M Keith Booker (Hardcover)

About the Book

Publishers Weekly praises this deep dive into classic noir films, noting, "Cinephiles will be enthralled." Booklist calls it a "riveting history of the film noir genre" in a starred review, saying, "This is one of the best, best written, most insightful analyses of film noir, and it demands to be read by fans of film history."

Book Synopsis

A deep dive into classic noir films and how filmmakers today are refreshing and updating the genre for new generations. Publishers Weekly praises the book, noting, "Cinephiles will be enthralled" and Library Journal says it's a "well-written introduction to noir films and how the genre has continued to thrive as times changed."Booklist calls it a "riveting history of the film noir genre" in a starred review, saying, "This is one of the best, best written, most insightful analyses of film noir, and it demands to be read by fans of film history."
In American Noir Film, M. Keith Booker introduces readers to the cult-favorite genre of film noir and discusses the ongoing power and popularity of the genre's key elements and themes in modern films, often considered neo-noir, well into the twenty-first century. Booker covers a wide range of noir favorites, from the early classics The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, to late twentieth-century neo-noir such as Chinatown, and ultimately newer iterations of the genre as seen in such films as Inherent Vice, Promising Young Woman, and Uncut Gems.
American Noir Film contains three separate parts, each exploring crucial categories of noir: the detective film, the lost man film, and femme fatale films. Within each section, Booker discusses the essential classic noir films that embody these themes as well as neo-noir films that invite viewers to analyze how the traditional components of noir have evolved with filmmaking. Finally, each section concludes with twenty-first-century films that evoke noir elements while refreshing the genre and enhancing viewers' appreciation of the originals that inspired them--what Booker terms "revisionary noir." Whether new to noir films, students of the genre, or long-time fans, readers will be sure to learn what makes this genre so special, discover why filmmakers keep coming back to it, and find a new favorite movie to add to their shelves.

Review Quotes

American Noir Film is a lucid and thoughtful introduction to film noir and its neo- and revisionary variants. Throughout, Booker expertly periodizes film noir and its various tropes, supported by careful close readings of key films. This is an essential read for students and experts alike who wish to learn more about film noir.

"From the author of The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema and Postmodern Hollywood (2020), comes this riveting history of the film noir genre. The first wave of the noir film genre began with 1941's The Maltese Falcon and ended with 1958's Touch of Evil; but, as Booker argues persuasively, this was only the beginning of film noir. Later came the neo-noir films (eg., Chinatown, 1974) and the revisionary noirs (Basic Instinct, 1992), which incorporated key elements of the noir tradition but took the themes in new directions. Noir came about in part because some German filmmakers--Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, and others--fled Hitler's Germany and came to the United States; the genre got its name from French film critics, who were searching for something that unified the various films coming out of the U.S. that tackled subjects forbidden by the Production Code through the use of shadow and subtext. The book contains plot summaries, but this is not merely a book full of plot summaries. This is one of the best, best written, most insightful analyses of film noir, and it demands to be read by fans of film history." --Booklist, Starred Review

"This perceptive history from Booker traces film noir's enduring influence on American cinema from its 1940s origins through the present. According to Booker, the genre drew from German expressionism's 'inventive use of light and shadows' to express wartime malaise and disillusionment with the American Dream. Tracing noir's evolution through exegesis of Double Indemnity, Blue Velvet, Inherent Vice, and other films, Booker argues that 1941's The Maltese Falcon aimed to rebut 'saccharine' standard Hollywood fare by depicting life as a 'ruthless dog-eat-dog pursuit of wealth.' The fall of the Motion Picture Production Code in the late '60s produced a wave of 'neo-noir' films (Chinatown and Body Heat principally among them) freed from restrictions on ridiculing the law or showing sympathy with criminals, allowing filmmakers to portray the world as even bleaker and more corrupt than the original noirs had. More recent films create meaning by toying with noir conventions, Booker contends, suggesting that by focusing Gone Girl on a femme fatale who ultimately prevails, director David Fincher implicitly indicts early noirs for their inability to envision a female character's successful challenge to patriarchy. By putting noirs from across film history in conversation, Booker's smart commentary sheds light on how the genre has been retooled and repurposed according to changing attitudes. Cinephiles will be enthralled." --Publishers Weekly

"This is a neatly structured and superbly argued study of film noir from the 1940s to the present day. Booker develops a trajectory that leads from classic noir films like The Maltese Falcon to neo-noir efforts like Chinatown to what he calls "revisionary noir," movies (like Inherent Vice and Uncut Gems) that push the genre's tropes to their limits in critical and transformative ways. The book offers consistently illuminating discussions of a wide range of topics, from the gender politics of noir to the way the genre engages with historical events and contexts, and Booker has a magisterial command of the relevant primary and secondary texts. American Noir Film is highly recommended to anyone interested in the development of this important and complex cinematic artform." --Rob Latham, LA Review of Books

"M. Keith Booker's new book, American Noir Film, offers a fascinating and beguiling trip into the dark heart of American noir. Impressive in both its breadth and depth, it shines a light on some of the most remarkable films that have emerged from Hollywood since the 1940s, all the way up until the present day. It is a book to be savored and one not to be missed." --Terence McSweeney, Solent University Southampton

"American Noir Film is a lucid and thoughtful introduction to film noir and its neo- and revisionary variants. Throughout, Booker expertly periodizes film noir and its various tropes, supported by careful close readings of key films. This is an essential read for students and experts alike who wish to learn more about film noir." --Zoran Samardzija, Columbia College Chicago

"Film noir is probably the most beloved of old Hollywood genres. In this deep and probing book, M. Keith Booker looks not only at the classics of the genre, but also at the ways its urgent themes of violence and decay, and its bracingly negative vision of American life, continue to be explored and transformed in film today." --Steven Shaviro, emeritus professor of English, Wayne State University

"Booker has given us one of the most complete introductions to American film noir available. A tour of the genre's history in three categories, American Noir Film offers both initiates and aficionados sharp overviews of exemplary Hollywood noirs, from the classics to the most neo of the neo-noirs." --Zachary Tavlin, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

"While expertly deploying examples and case studies that span roughly one hundred years, M. Keith Booker maps out the importance of film noir within American culture and the history of cinema. Booker's novel "revisionary noir" designation productively extends the purview of film noir into the twenty-first century and illuminates how filmmakers continue to use and adapt such aesthetics, narratives, and themes. For scholars, students, casual viewers, and newcomers alike, this expansive study of film noir is an engaging and compelling read." --Adam Ochonicky, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

This is a neatly structured and superbly argued study of film noir from the 1940s to the present day. Booker develops a trajectory that leads from classic noir films like The Maltese Falcon to neo-noir efforts like Chinatown to what he calls ldquo;revisionary noir, rdquo; movies (like Inherent Vice and Uncut Gems) that push the genrersquo;s tropes to their limits in critical and transformative ways. The book offers consistently illuminating discussions of a wide range of topics, from the gender politics of noir to the way the genre engages with historical events and contexts, and Booker has a magisterial command of the relevant primary and secondary texts. American Noir Film is highly recommended to anyone interested in the development of this important and complex cinematic artform.

While expertly deploying examples and case studies that span roughly one hundred years, M. Keith Booker maps out the importance of film noir within American culture and the history of cinema. Bookerrsquo;s novel ldquo;revisionary noirrdquo; designation productively extends the purview of film noir into the twenty-first century and illuminates how filmmakers continue to use and adapt such aesthetics, narratives, and themes. For scholars, students, casual viewers, and newcomers alike, this expansive study of film noir is an engaging and compelling read.

About the Author

M. Keith Booker is the author or editor of over sixty books including Mad Men: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), Tony Soprano's America: Gangsters, Guns, and Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), Star Trek: A Cultural History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), and The Coen Brothers' America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). He is professor of English at the University of Arkansas.