L.A. noir : the city as character / Alain Silver & James Ursini ; additional photography, Elizabeth Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Silver, Alain, 1947-

Contributor:

Ursini, James.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Film noir--United States--History and criticism.

Film noir.

United States.

Los Angeles (Calif.)--In motion pictures.

Los Angeles (Calif.).

Physical Description:

173 pages : illustrations ; 22 x 28 cm

Other Title:

Los Angeles noir

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : Santa Monica Press, [2005]

Summary:

Los Angeles has always been as much a star in film noir as any actor, be it Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner or Jack Nicholson. In L.A. Noir: The City as Character renowned film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini explore the world of noir cinema in the context of Los Angeles. The book features dozens of noir and neo-noir landmark films from Double Indemnity, Criss Cross, Sunset Boulevard, Gun Crazy, The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly, and Touch of Evil in the classic period (1940-1960) to such neo-noir notables as Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, Mulholland Drive, and Pulp Fiction. L.A. Noir illustrates how these noir films use L.A.'s diverse geography and architecture to convey a unique vision of urban corruption and existential fatalism while chronicling the ever-changing cityscape of this noir character-Los Angeles.

Contents:

1 Hollywood: The Dream Is Born 16

2 The Westside and the Coast: Where the Dream Runs Out of Steam 56

3 Downtown Los Angeles: The Dream vs. the Nightmare 88

4 The 'Burbs: The Dream Re-Created? 138.

Notes:

Filmography: pages 158-171.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 156-157).

ISBN:

1595800069

OCLC:

58976126