Alfred Hitchcock was a major figure in the development and flourishing of film noir. His noir films became an inspirational foundation of the neo-noir movement beginning in the 1970s, from Brian de Palma's mash-up homages to Hitchcock originals such as Obsession (1976) and Body Double (1984) to the dark political thrillers of the era that explore the underside of American life, all of which owe a substantial debt to Hitchcock. However, the central role of Hitchcock in the long history of film noir has seldom been acknowledged in work devoted to his career and noir criticism more generally. Instead, there has been a tendency to consider Hitchcock's many dark thrillers and crime melodramas as sui generis, that is, as "e;Hitchcock films"e; that are somehow separate and distinct from industry trends. But this is to take a narrow view of the director's accomplishments that underestimates his substantial contributions to film history. Alfred Hitchc ock and Film Noir will be the first book-length treatment of the impressive corpus of Hitchcock noir films considered as such, as well as of his connection more generally to the emergence and flourishing of this important cinematic trend.

According to many critics, the era of "Film Noir" ended with the 1958 release of Orson Welles' classic Touch of Evil. The style was not dead, but rather had been transformed, and two years later, Alfred Hitchcock ushered in a new era of "Noir" films with the release of his 1960 masterpiece, Psycho. Film scholar Ronald Schwartz examines the most significant representatives of this cinematic style, beginning with Hitchcock's shocker and concluding with Michael Mann's Collateral (2004). Schwartz provides in-depth analyses of over thirty of the best "Neo-Noir" films and explains the qualities and characteristics of the "new noir" style. He also explains how it differs from "Film Noir" of the forties and fifties. As this study reveals, the new style significantly impacted American film after 1960. In this chronological guide, Schwartz examines such landmark films as The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Point Blank (1967), The French Connection (1971), Chinatown (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Body Heat (1981), Blood Simple (1984), Fatal Attraction (1987), The Grifters (1990), Reservoir Dogs (1992), The Usual Suspects (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), Memento (2000), and Mystic River (2003). The book also includes an alphabetical filmography, listing over 650 films that in plot, style, or subject matter reflect the diversity of the genre. This reference work will be a valuable resource for film scholars and fans alike who wish to further explore the ever-evolving aspects of "Neo-Noir" cinema.

More than 700 films from the classic period of film noir (1940 to 1959) are presented in this exhaustive reference book--such films as The Accused, Among the Living, The Asphalt Jungle, Baby Face Nelson, Bait, The Beat Generation, Crossfire, Dark Passage, I Walk Alone, The Las Vegas Story, The Naked City, Strangers on a Train, White Heat, and The Window. For each film, the following information is provided: the title, release date, main performers, screenwriter(s), director(s), type of noir, thematic content, a rating based on the five-star system, and a plot synopsis that does not reveal the ending.

A drifter with no name and no past, driven purely by desire, is convinced by a beautiful woman to murder her husband. A hard-drinking detective down on his luck becomes involved with a gang of criminals in pursuit of a priceless artifact. The stories are at once romantic, pessimistic, filled with anxiety and a sense of alienation, and they define the essence of film noir. Noir emerged as a prominent American film genre in the early 1940s, distinguishable by its use of unusual lighting, sinister plots, mysterious characters, and dark themes. From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Touch of Evil (1958), films from this classic period reflect an atmosphere of corruption and social decay that attracted such accomplished directors as John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Orson Welles. The Philosophy of Film Noir is the first volume to focus exclusively on the philosophical underpinnings of these iconic films. Drawing on the work of diverse thinkers, from the French existentialist Albert Camus to the Frankurt school theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, the volume connects film noir to the philosophical questions of a modern, often nihilistic, world. Opening with an examination of what constitutes noir cinema, the book interprets the philosophical elements consistently present in the films—themes such as moral ambiguity, reason versus passion, and pessimism. The contributors to the volume also argue that the essence and elements of noir have fundamentally influenced movies outside of the traditional noir period. Neo-noir films such as Pulp Fiction (1994), Fight Club (1999), and Memento (2000) have reintroduced the genre to a contemporary audience. As they assess the concepts present in individual films, the contributors also illuminate and explore the philosophical themes that surface in popular culture. A close examination of one of the most significant artistic movements of the twentieth century, The Philosophy of Film Noir reinvigorates an intellectual discussion at the intersection of popular culture and philosophy.

TASCHEN's 100 all-time favorite film noirs and neo-noirs: from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Drive. With an introduction by film director and Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader, this encyclopedia of private eyes, gangsters, psychopaths and femmes fatales includes original poster reproductions, film analyses, and rare stills galore.

A thorough analysis of Alfred Hitchcock's career-long engagement with, and influence on film noir

This first book published on film noir established the genre--a classic, at last in translation.

John Orr looks at the work, influences, legacy and style of perhaps cinema's most famous director, Alfred Hitchcock.

This volume provides a fresh examination of Rear Window from a variety of perspectives.

What is Film Noir? surveys the various theories of film noir, defines film noir, and explains how the genre relates to the style and the period in which noir was created. It also provides a very useful theory of genre and how it relates to film study.