Film noir is ever popular with cinema audiences, film enthusiasts, and scholars of film, and has been so since post‐war French critics began noting a new trend in American film with the release of films such as Double Indemnity (1944) and Murder, My Sweet (1944). The real question is “What is film noir?” and that is a question that critics and others have argued about since the beginning. This British Film Institute (BFI) Screen Guide provides an authoritative source for those who may be called upon to answer that question, or are simply interested in film noir.
The authors, Jim Hillier and Alastair Phillips, are authorities on the subject and are both respected academics from UK universities. In some ways their premise is simple. The book presents a ten‐page overview and invites the reader to study (and view) the detailed entries of 100 Film Noirs and to come up with their own view on “What is film noir?”
The book looks beyond the classical films of the genre (and some say “Is it a genre?”) in order to examine the ways in which film noir continues to have an influence on American and British cinema. However, it does not only consider American productions, but presents a strong international dimension, providing new and revealing insights into film noirs from Germany, France, Japan, India, Mexico, and other countries. The authors explain that, given the history of film noir and the nature of the debates that have circulated about the subject, the bulk of the entries are Hollywood studio – though not necessarily major studio pictures. About two‐thirds of the entries come from the period 1940‐1958, which is generally regarded as the core period of production. Also included are several pre‐1940 European films together with a significant number of post‐1958 films from a broad range of national cultures. Approximately one‐quarter of the entries are non‐US in their origin. Usefully, the authors have taken into account whether the respective films are available on DVD or on regular circulation on terrestrial or cable television, rather than writing about a lot of films that readers would be unable to view. Each entry is headed by, as a standard, title, country of origin, year of release, running time, and director. Each entry is approximately two pages in length and many include a screen shot or film poster, which can be anything from one‐third of a page up to two pages in size. Entries conclude with the director, producer, scriptwriter, director of photography, editor, composer of the score, main cast, and the production company.
The entries include many “old friends” of film noir aficionados, including The Big Sleep (1946), Brighton Rock (1947), Chinatown (1974), I Married a Communist (1949), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Murder, My Sweet (1944), Night and the City (1950). The entries all contain fascinating little insights, such as in Chinatown (1974), in which the reader learns that Robert Towne, the script writer (along with Roman Polanski, who is not credited as a co‐script writer) originally devised Chinatown to be the first part of a trilogy involving Jake Gittes' tangled relationships with the Los Angeles authorities. The second of the trilogy, The Two Jakes, was about the Californian oil industry and was directed by Jack Nicholson and released in 1990. The third, Cloverleaf, about the development of the city's freeway system, has never been made, but elements of the narrative appeared in the animated noir pastiche, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).
The book is almost 300 pages long, but is neatly of (large) pocket size. It is excellently produced, and well laid out. Photographic reproduction is excellent throughout and maintains that high contrast which is a trademark of the genre.
The authors chose “to reflect considerations of these various kinds (of film noir) rather than represent what we think might be the 100 ‘best’ film noirs”, even though, clearly, quite a number of their list includes films that have come to be considered as classics of the genre. Each of the entries in the book tries to identify what is distinctive about a film and relate it to some of the major debates about film noir, whilst, at the same time, trying to provide the reader with some historical context for the film and relate it to the films, whether included as entries in the book or not. The book includes a very comprehensive index, references and further reading. Rather amusingly, there is a list of another 100 film noirs, which the authors had considered but rejected for reasons of space and coverage, and, which, they suggest, readers may consider as subjects for the research.
As has already been indicated, this is an authoritative work, as one might expect with the imprint of the British Film Institute. It is extremely readable in style and is recommended for students of film studies in school, college, or university, as well as for public libraries where it would be eagerly read by lovers of film noir.
