Crime films / Thomas Leitch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leitch, Thomas M., author.

Series:

Genres in American cinema.

Genres in American cinema

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crime films--United States--History and criticism.

Crime films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 383 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book surveys the entire range of crime films, including important subgenres such as the gangster film, the private eye film, film noir, as well as the victim film, the erotic thriller, and the crime comedy. Focusing on ten films that span the range of the twentieth century, Thomas Leitch traces the transformation of the three leading figures that are common to all crime films: the criminal, the victim and the avenger. Analyzing how each of the subgenres establishes oppositions among its ritual antagonists, he shows how the distinctions among them become blurred throughout the course of the century. This blurring, Leitch maintains, reflects and fosters a deep social ambivalence towards crime and criminals, while the criminal, victim and avenger characters effectively map the shifting relations between subgenres, such as the erotic thriller and the police film, within the larger genre of crime film that informs them all.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Series-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Illustrations; Acknowledgments; 1 The Problem of the Crime Film; 2 Historical and Cultural Overview; 3 Critical Overview; 4 Fury and the Victim Film; 5 The Godfather and the Gangster Film; 6 Double Indemnity and the Film Noir; 7 Basic Instinct and the Erotic Thriller; 8 Murder on the Orient Express, Blue Velvet, and the Unofficial-Detective Film; 9 Chinatown and the Private-Eye Film; 10 Bullitt and the Police Film; 11 Reversal of Fortune and the Lawyer Film; 12 Fargo and the Crime Comedy

13 Conclusion: What Good Are Crime Films? Notes; Selected Bibliography; Filmography/Videography; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Filmography: p. 341-357.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 331-339) and index.

ISBN:

9780511036286

0511036280

9781107128064

1107128064

9780511040283

0511040288

9780511148538

0511148534

9780511556180

0511556187

9780511606458

0511606451

9780511051517

0511051514

OCLC:

475916547