Film Noir Production - The Whodunit of the Classic American Mystery Film

David Landau's Film Noir Production: The Whodunit of the Classic American Mystery Film is a book meant for those who like a good story, one the Noir Films always delivered, concentrating on the characters more than anything else. Readers will find in these pages many behind-the-scenes tales of the productions of certain hard-boiled film classics and the prime players involved in their creation, from Darryl Zanuck and Raymond Chandler to John Seitz and Billy Wilder.
This book features:

• A clear understanding of how movies are actually made and all the creative artists that contribute, creating a better appreciation for the many talented artistic collaborators that worked in the Hollywood Studio System and who together created film noir.



• A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a classic film noir movie that typifies the chapter's subject, allowing the reader to view that film in a new light and think about it from a new prospective.



• Appendices of suggested films to screen, film noir books for further reading, and downloadable files containing discussion points and class assignments for each chapter.



• An informative and conversational writing style, making the subject matter easy to digest and fun to read.

This book is an indispensible companion text for anyone studying or interested in film noir, film history, the bygone days of the Hollywood film factories or how movies are actually made.

List of contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Noir Comes to Light (The Maltese Falcon)
Chapter 2: The Noir Hero (Murder My Sweet)
Chapter 3: The Noir Anti-Hero (This Gun for Hire)
Chapter 4: The Femmes of Noir: They Aren't Always Fatale (Double Indemnity)
Chapter 5: Directors and Noir: A Dark Relationship (Laura)
Chapter 6: The Noir Cast (The Big Sleep)
Chapter 7: Noir Themes (Macao)
Chapter 8: Noir Style; Cinematography, Sets, Costumes and Music (The Big Combo)
Chapter 9: Noir Speak: Dialog and Narration (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
Chapter 10: Noir Today, Noir Tomorrow: Noir's Rebirth, Neo Noirs and Noir Influence (House of Games)
Appendix 1: Suggested Noir Films
Appendix 2: Books on Film Noir
Bibliography
Film Glossary
Index

About the author

Graduado de Harvard College y exeditor del diario Harvard Crimson, David Landau escribió y editó varios libros sobre temas cubanos. Ricardo Bofill, quien estableció el movimiento cubano pro derechos humanos, elogió a Landau por su "dedicación, minuciosa y rigurosa, al estudio de la nación y de la sociedad cubana".

Summary

David Landau’s Film Noir Production: The Whodunit of the Classic American Mystery Film is a book meant for those who like a good story, one the Noir Films always delivered, concentrating on the characters more than anything else. Readers will find in these pages many behind-the-scenes tales of the productions of certain hard-boiled film classics and the prime players involved in their creation, from Darryl Zanuck and Raymond Chandler to John Seitz and Billy Wilder.
This book features:

• A clear understanding of how movies are actually made and all the creative artists that contribute, creating a better appreciation for the many talented artistic collaborators that worked in the Hollywood Studio System and who together created film noir.


• A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a classic film noir movie that typifies the chapter’s subject, allowing the reader to view that film in a new light and think about it from a new prospective.


• Appendices of suggested films to screen, film noir books for further reading, and downloadable files containing discussion points and class assignments for each chapter.


• An informative and conversational writing style, making the subject matter easy to digest and fun to read.

This book is an indispensible companion text for anyone studying or interested in film noir, film history, the bygone days of the Hollywood film factories or how movies are actually made.

Additional text

"’The stuff that dreams are made of.’ What Sam Spade said in The Maltese Falcon definitely applies to Film Noir Production. If you truly want to learn how the dark dreams of these films were conceived and written, let alone produced, David Landau’s book is a must read."
–David Carren, screenwriter, Silver Palm Award winner, Writer’s Guild Award nominee
"Film Noir Production is a breezy yet informative look at the content and making of Film Noir. If you weren't a fan of the genre before, you will be after reading this book!"
–Peter Kiwitt, Associate Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, Director member, Director's Guild of America

Report

"'The stuff that dreams are made of.' What Sam Spade said in The Maltese Falcon definitely applies to Film Noir Production. If you truly want to learn how the dark dreams of these films were conceived and written, let alone produced, David Landau's book is a must read."
-David Carren, screenwriter, Silver Palm Award winner, Writer's Guild Award nominee
"Film Noir Production is a breezy yet informative look at the content and making of Film Noir. If you weren't a fan of the genre before, you will be after reading this book!"
-Peter Kiwitt, Associate Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, Director member, Director's Guild of America

Product details

• Authors: David Landau, David (Fairleigh Dickinson University Landau, Dr David Landau
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.11.2016
• EAN: 9781138201484
• ISBN: 978-1-138-20148-4
• No. of pages: 170
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Photography, film, video, TV; Non-fiction book > Music, film, theatre