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A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir
The Essential Reference Guide
by John Grant
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Book Presentation:
Featuring rumpled PIs, shyster lawyers, corrupt politicians, double-crossers, femmes fatales, and, of course, losers who find themselves down on their luck yet again, film noir is a perennially popular cinematic genre. This extensive encyclopedia describes movies from noir's earliest days – and even before, looking at some of noir's ancestors in US and European cinema – as well as noir's more recent offshoots, from neonoirs to erotic thrillers. Entries are arranged alphabetically, covering movies from all over the world – from every continent save Antarctica – with briefer details provided for several hundred additional movies within those entries. A copious appendix contains filmographies of prominent directors, actors, and writers.
With coverage of blockbusters and program fillers from Going Straight (US 1916) to Broken City (US 2013) via Nora Inu (Japan 1949), O Anthropos tou Trainou (Greece 1958), El Less Wal Kilab (Egypt 1962), Reportaje a la Muerte (Peru 1993), Zift (Bulgaria 2008), and thousands more, A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir is an engrossing and essential reference work that should be on the shelves of every cinephile.
About the Author:
John Grant (Hewitt, NJ) is the Scottish-born author of some 60 books, including Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters, Masters of Animation, and a number of movie pocket references. He was coeditor with John Clute of The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, for which he wrote the movie entries; he also wrote the cinema section of David Pringle's The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. He has received the Hugo Award (twice'), 'the World Fantasy Award, and a number of others.
Press Reviews:
Grant, a ridiculously prolific writer and critic, serves up pithy capsule overviews of, yes, more than 3,500 films, from the certified noir classics ( Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, Out of the Past) to lesser-known pulps, neo-noirs and foreign titles. The hard-boiled P.I., the femme fatale, the ominous shadows angling menacingly across back-alley walls, the corruption, the lust, the losers . . . all here, with generous spreads of black-and-white and color art, too. --Philadelphia Inquirer
Though your typical movie fan is going to have a good feel for what makes a flick film noir, the definition can be slippery if you try to pin it down. It has a definite feel, but is at the same time imprecise in its boundaries. In his encyclopedia of the genre, author Grant solves this problem by simply stating, ''you know what it is when you see it.'' It's a blast to read this book. Though it's easy to skim for particular periods and countries, I found it most rewarding to read in big chunks. Combing through in this way led to some great discoveries. I've now got a viewing list that will keep me busy for a long time. A helpful appendix in the back also groups films by actor, author and director. Reading the introduction is vital to understanding the language and concepts of noir used throughout the encyclopedia. Grant does an excellent job concisely describing important elements like fate, the dangerous femme, double crosses and the quicksand effect. He also explains god gaming, when a ''protagonist believes a false version of reality,'' which is in essence the key to the unease that characterizes noir. I can back up that subtitle, this is an essential reference for any fan of noir or crime movies. --Classic Movies blog
''John Grant's A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir will please newcomers and obsessives with the attention to detail and gorgeous photographs.'' --Campus Circle
See the publisher website: Applause Books
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