Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir / Edition 1

Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir / Edition 1

by Sheri Chinen Biesen
ISBN-10:
0801882184
ISBN-13:
9780801882180
Pub. Date:
11/11/2005
Publisher:
Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN-10:
0801882184
ISBN-13:
9780801882180
Pub. Date:
11/11/2005
Publisher:
Johns Hopkins University Press
Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir / Edition 1

Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir / Edition 1

by Sheri Chinen Biesen
$28.0 Current price is , Original price is $28.0. You
$28.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores
$15.43 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM

    Temporarily Out of Stock Online

    Please check back later for updated availability.

    • Condition: Good
    Note: Access code and/or supplemental material are not guaranteed to be included with used textbook.

Overview

Challenging conventional scholarship placing the origins of film noir in postwar Hollywood, Sheri Chinen Biesen finds the genre's roots firmly planted in the political, social, and material conditions of Hollywood during the war. After Pearl Harbor, America and Hollywood experienced a sharp cultural transformation that made horror, shock, and violence not only palatable but preferable. Hard times necessitated cheaper sets, fewer lights, and fresh talent; censors as well as the movie-going public showed a new tolerance for sex and violence; and female producers experienced newfound prominence in the industry.

Biesen brings prodigious archival research, accessible prose, and imaginative insights to both well-known films noir of the wartime period--The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Double Indemnity--and others often overlooked or underrated--Scarlet Street, Ministry of Fear, Phantom Lady, and Stranger on the Third Floor.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780801882180
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 11/11/2005
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Sheri Chinen Biesen is an associate professor of radio, television, and film studies at Rowan University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. The Elements of Noir Come Together
Chapter 3. Hollywood in the Aftermath of Pearl Harbor
Chapter 4. Censorship, Hard-Boiled Fiction, and Hollywood's "Red Meat" Crime Cycle
Chapter 5. Rosie the Riveter Goes to Hollywood
Chapter 6. Hyphenates and Hard-Boiled Crime
Chapter 7. Black Film, Red Meat
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This volume stands out as one of the best and perhaps the single most essential book in English on film noir. Biesen reveals an untold part of the movement with originality, sophistication, and vitality. Her work will become a foundation for subsequent interpretation of film noir, as well as an ideal text in film, history, and cultural studies courses.
—Brian Taves, film historian, author of The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies

Brian Taves

This volume stands out as one of the best and perhaps the single most essential book in English on film noir. Biesen reveals an untold part of the movement with originality, sophistication, and vitality. Her work will become a foundation for subsequent interpretation of film noir, as well as an ideal text in film, history, and cultural studies courses.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews