Noir – Christopher Moore

Noir – Christopher Moore
William Morrow
Hardcover (library), 339 pages
ISBN 9780062433978

Okay, so maybe I’m breaking the rules here. Christopher Moore’s latest novel Noir isn’t about classic movies, but it’s set in a universe that classic movie lovers (especially those with an inclination for film noir and/or hardboiled fiction) will know and love. Consider the opening line from the first chapter:

“She had the kind of legs that kept her butt from resting on her shoes – – a size-eight dame in a size-six dress and every mug in the joint was rooting for the two sizes to make a break for it…”

I Know, I Swore I Was Finished with School…

And then comes this: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will launch an online course next month (in conjunction with Ball State University, IN) called Into Darkness: Investigating Film Noir. The nine-week course, taught by Richard L. Edwards, PhD., and Shannon Clute, is absolutely free. You can read more about the course here.

Movies Watched in April 2015

I knew it would be impossible to top last month’s explosion of films (including the Annapolis Film Festival), so it’s no real surprise that April was a bit light. But hopefully you’ll find something here to strike your interest.

Film Noir Blu-rays in May 2015

Other than a couple of reissues, May looks to be a pretty light month for film noir Blu-ray releases, but there are a few interesting neo-noir/noir-related films. If you know of any noir releases I’ve missed, please let me know!

Gun Crazy: The Origins of American Outlaw Cinema (2015) Eddie Muller

Gun Crazy: The Origin of American Outlaw Cinema (2015) Eddie Muller
Black Pool Productions
Trade paperback, 192 pages
ISBN 9780692260265
$25.00

The Saturday Evening Post may just possibly be the unlikeliest place to give birth to one of the all-time classics of film noir, but that’s where Eddie Muller’s Gun Crazy: The Origin of American Outlaw Cinema begins.

Catching Up

Things are going absolutely crazy around here, and I know I haven’t posted much from the movie world lately, but there’s much on the way. First, many thanks to Now Voyaging: Journeys Through Life and Classic Film for nominating me for a Liebster Award! I look forward to participating in that process soon.

Second, here are a few upcoming items to look for in the near (and far) future:

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (1998) Eddie Muller

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (1998) Eddie Muller
St. Martin’s Griffin
Trade Paperback, 206 pages
ISBN 0312180764
$29.99

Just say the name Eddie Muller and you’ve got my undivided attention. I think my first contact with Muller’s name was from listening to one of his DVD commentaries (which you can find here). Later I learned that he has written several books (fiction and non-fiction) on noir, so I sought out Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir and was not disappointed in the least.

Dark City stands both as a great introduction to film noir and an excellent resource for those who are already noir fans. Muller’s writing style recalls the hard-boiled prose style of Cain, Hammett, Chandler and many others, which makes the book all the more enjoyable, but the main selling points are Muller’s knowledge of noir and how he conveys it.

Novelist James Ellroy didn’t call Muller “The Czar of Noir” for nothing. Muller knows this stuff inside and out, backwards, sideways, through a strainer, meat grinder, you name it. Rather than presenting us with a long, boring history of noir, Muller jumps right in, giving readers the essential aspects of noir in chapters such as “The Precinct,” “Shamus Flats,” “Vixenville,” “Blind Alley,” “The Psych Ward,” and more. Each chapter includes what makes each theme important to noir and discusses films which represent those themes.

Yet knowing about the films means little without an examination of the times and conditions under which they were made and this is where Muller outdoes himself. Dark City is a study of American culture and life in the 1940s and 50s as well as a look at it’s noir offerings. Frequent excursions about the stars, directors, writers, and cinematographers aren’t really excursions at all, but rather essential information in helping us understand what makes film noir. And the photos? Stunning. Very highly recommended.

5/5

I’m following this book with another from Muller, which I hope to start today, the recently released Gun Crazy: The Origin of American Outlaw Cinema. This book is not available on Amazon, but you can order it exclusively from Black Pool Productions.

(Photos: Eddie Muller)

Film Noir Blu-rays in April 2015

If I’ve missed any, please let me know, but it looks like April is a pretty slim month for new film noir and noir-related releases on Blu-ray.

Film Noir and Easter – Seriously?

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post called “Why I Love Film Noir,” focusing on some of the spiritual elements of why I adore noir. On my “About” page, I talk about how I often examine films and graphic novels from a Christian viewpoint. Today, Easter Sunday, I want to delve a bit deeper into this holiday, Christianity, and film noir, topics that may seem unrelated, but contain more connections than you might think.

Movies Watched in March 2015 Part II

I know a lot of people watch many more movies than I do, but in March, I averaged a movie a day every day, mainly due to being sick for a week and attending the Annapolis Film Festival (but not at the same time!). This post will not include any of the festival films, which I plan to review and post individually. “Movies Watched in March 2015 Part I” can be viewed here.