Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (Revised and Expanded Edition)

Description

TCM host Eddie Muller's Dark City is a film noir lover's bible, taking readers on a tour of the urban landscape of the grim and gritty genre in an authoritative, highly illustrated volume. This narrative history is packed with stories about the stars and makers of both long-recognized classics like The Maltese Falcon and under-the-radar "lost" greats such as Cry Danger. The book highlights more than one hundred films, breaking down plots and offering insider accounts behind-the-scenes of their making. ". . . a righteous, rip-snorting riff on the ultimate cinematic genre-film noir. This book displays a salutary knowledge of the underpinnings of the genre; serves as a fabulous reference book; and most importantly, dishes the real life dirt on the freaks, geeks, commies, nymphos, hopheads, has-beens, red-baiters, and all-purpose fiends who made the genre great." -James Ellroy

Eddie Muller, aka the "Czar of Noir," is the host of TCM's Noir Alley franchise, and the prolific author of novels, biographies, movie histories, plays, and films. He also programs and hosts the "Noir City" film festival series, curates museums, and provides commentary for television, radio, and DVDs. As founder of the Film Noir Foundation, Muller has been instrumental in restoring and preserving more than thirty lost noir classics. He resides in Alameda, CA.

"The author is not only an incisive historian, but also a highly effective entertainer...With its smartly written text and abundance of fabulous photos and poster art, you'll want to keep the handsome "Dark City" on your coffee table, so you can continually thumb through its informative content."--Pop Culture Classics "I can safely place my hand on my heart and say there is no writer/expert on the subject of film noir that I'd rather read than Eddie Muller...And here - once again -- is his magnum opus: the best book written on the subject of film noir and, what's more, re-appearing in a very handsome, lavishly illustrated revised edition... anyone with the slightest interest in the film noir idiom needs this volume on their the bookshelves - it is as simple as that."--Barry Forshaw, Crime Time "This revised and expanded edition is a thoroughly entertaining journey of the genre, with more twists than Mulholland Drive. Leave it to Muller -- author, film historian, and TCM host -- to be your five-star guide. His writing style is fedora-fine, perfectly nuanced and factual to the utmost degree."--EDGE Media "Fans will recognize his signature style here, heavy on the self-conscious, tough-guy slang. But the illustrations, from rare posters to vintage stills, are thrilling. And his portrait of noir itself can't be topped."--NY Daily News "The book is general enough to appeal to people just beginning to learn about what the French dubbed 'dark movies" but detailed enough to teach even the most ardent film fans things they didn't know."--The Virginian-Pilot "With its extensive bibliography, index, lavish photos, and dozens of films ranging from the obscure to the well-known, this title will please newcomers to noir and hard-core fans who can't get enough of Muller's Noir Alley intros and outros."--Library Journal