THE BOOK LOOKED SUSPICIOUS. SO I OPENED IT ... 'ART OF NOIR' CELEBRATE'S FILM'S DARK ERA.Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer It was a takedown Takedown 1. The price at which underwriters obtain securities to be offered to the public. 2. The portion of securities that each investment banker will distribute in a secondary or initial pubic offering. Notes: 1. pure and simple. The plan: Collect as many movie posters from the dark American crime movie genre dubbed film noir film noir (French; “dark film”) Film genre that offers dark or fatalistic interpretations of reality. The term is applied to U.S. films of the late 1940s and early '50s that often portrayed a seamy or criminal underworld and cynical characters. and put them together in a splashy splash·y adj. splash·i·er, splash·i·est 1. Making or likely to make splashes. 2. Covered with splashes of color. 3. Showy; ostentatious. See Synonyms at showy. full-color coffee-table book cof·fee-ta·ble book n. An oversize book of elaborate design that may be used for display, as on a coffee table. coffee-table book Noun a large expensive illustrated book Noun 1. . Then move it into bookstores at Christmas, when there's so much dough washing through the streets that dames are passing out dollar bills to ex-cons dolled up as street-corner Santas. But Eddie Muller's ``The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics From the Classic Era of Film Noir'' is the sort of book only a stand-up stand·up or stand-up adj. 1. Standing erect; upright: a standup collar. 2. Taken, done, or used while standing: a standup supper; a standup bar. guy could line up. Its 270 oversize o·ver·size n. 1. A size that is larger than usual. 2. An oversize article or object. adj. o·ver·size also o·ver·sized Larger in size than usual or necessary. Adj. 1. pages are packed with gorgeous reproductions of foreign and domestic posters and lobby cards designed to advertise such American-made gems as ``Double Indemnity'' (1944), ``The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), ``Force of Evil'' (1948), ``Laura'' (1944), ``The Big Sleep'' (1946), ``Night and the City'' (1950) and ``Gun Crazy'' (1950). The lurid poster for ``Nightmare Alley'' (1947) decorates the jacket. ``Film noir disappeared because of the advent of TV, which forced Hollywood studios to try other things to compete,'' Muller said. ``Movies became spectacles. The essence of noir is sparse, claustrophobic and stark - all the elements the studios decided people would no longer pay to see.'' The hard-hitting style, which thrived in the 1940s and 1950s, fed on feelings of alienation and ambiguity. Inspired by the shadowy world of German Expressionism expressionism, term used to describe works of art and literature in which the representation of reality is distorted to communicate an inner vision. The expressionist transforms nature rather than imitates it. , directors such as Robert Siodmak, Fritz Lang and Orson Welles, and writers like Dashiell Hammett Noun 1. Dashiell Hammett - United States writer of hard-boiled detective fiction (1894-1961) Hammett, Samuel Dashiell Hammett , James M. Cain James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labelling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the and Raymond Chandler Noun 1. Raymond Chandler - United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959) Chandler, Raymond Thornton Chandler , crafted compelling stories marked by fear, cynicism and corruption. ``People today miss the theatricality and the honesty of the characters,'' says Muller, who will sign copies of ``The Art of Noir'' at 2 p.m. today at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. ``These films show something you don't see in film and TV today.'' The Bay Area-based Muller, who has penned several other books on the topic, including the guide ``Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir,'' programs the American Cinematheque's annual film noir festival, which runs for two weeks in April. ``We try to show rare items,'' he said. ``And we're starting to see people traveling great distances because they realize it's their only chance to see this stuff on the big screen. I'm working to increase awareness in the hope some of this stuff survives.'' Muller sees the noir influence in such current movies as ``L.A. Confidential'' and ``Memento'' in both style and content. `` 'Memento' is a film noir story with an amnesia theme, and 'L.A. Confidential' is about official corruption,'' he said. ``Those are key elements.'' As for the era when enthusiasts could snap up classic lobby cards for next to nothing in thrift shops, those days are as remote as the Packard. ``We all have a good laugh today about the time when you could buy a one-sheet from 'In a Lonely Place' for 10 bucks,'' Muller said. ``Now you can add several zeros to that number.'' Asked to name his most prized item, Muller laughed: ``A poster from 'Out of the Past.' I've never paid more for anything outside of my house and car in my life.'' The Mystery Bookstore is at 1036-C Broxton Ave., Westwood; (310) 209-0415. ``The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics From the Classic Era of Film By Eddie Muller Illustrated. 270 pages, Overlook Press, $50; www.noircity.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) This German ``Double Indemnity'' poster and a U.S. poster from ``Force of Evil'' are both in ``The Art of Noir.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion