Customer Reviews

The Art of Noir: THE POSTERS & GRAPHICS FROM THE CLASSICAL ERA OF FILM NOIR

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
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A superb showing of 338 color film noir posters in a marvellous (oversize) book. None of the posters are angled or overlap each other and they all have credit and comment captions, all this thanks to book designer Bernard Schleifer who handles this rather garish material in a restrained way, though he did make a mistake with the ridiculously small page numbers. Author Eddie Muller writes just enough to back up the posters without making the book too text heavy and he has come up with some neat ideas, like using posters from other countries, grouping posters according to the director or actor or writer and a chapter that I thought fascinating, `Noir Around The World: Exploring how artists in other cultures rendered a peculiarly American style'.

Look through the book and you'll see how tacky so many of the American illustrations look, whereas the artists used in Europe seem technically better (is this a cultural thing?) and in many cases the poster design is more competent, the Spanish version of Dragnet (1954) on page sixty-three is really graphic yet uses all the usual ingredients, painting of the star, smaller illustrations (in this case the New York skyline and a couple of gangsters) bold type for the title yet turn over the page and a huge American version hits you and it looks a mess in comparison. However, all these posters capture the spirit of this American movie genre and the book looks so stunning that I don't think the subject could be covered better.

The perfect companion to `The Art of Noir' is `The Noir Style' by Alain Silver and James Ursini (and also beautifully designed by Mr Schleifer) it uses dozens of film stills to explain just what was so special about these movies. I found it fascinating to see the black and white photos the artists used to create the poster art. Both books should be in your `noir' collection.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

A feast for the eyes! Gorgeous NOIR poster repros and interesting factoids highlight this weighty tome. Fans will swoon, and the casual viewer will have his/her interest tweaked. As a NOIR poster/lobby card collector, this book is an essential library addition, because I need to occasionally check out pictures of posters I'll sadly never be able to afford(!)

Film noir is a fascinating field with a deserved faithful and ever widening audience. Eddie Muller scored impressively with "Dark City Dames," a study of the women of film noir with intimate portraits of such notables as Jane Greer, Marie Windsor and Ann Savage.

Muller returns to a familiar theme here and achieves mightily in two respects, with glossy pictures which practically jump off the page at you, giving one a feel for time and place, as well as being a part of the scene, along with a text providing valuable information on the memorable films being showcased.

San Franciscan Muller is one of the genuine authorities of the genre. He has a real feel for the world of darkness beset by flashing neon lights, smoke-filled bars, detectives in trench coats, and dangerous women.

This man started owning noir with his "Dark City - The Lost Art of Noir," and he is the best possible advocate/interpreter for our era.

This is just a fabulous book, with sensational art. And I look forward to each new book of his, be it fiction or non-fiction.

I have long been a fan of Eddie's work on film noir as well as his fiction. No movie buff should be without a copy of "Dark City." His new book on film noir posters, "The Art of Noir," has not disappointed.

"The Art of Noir" is as comprehensive as it is beautiful. This oversized coffee table book gives reader an up-close and lush look at the artwork of classic film noir posters. The book includes posters, lobby cards, and non-tradtional posters (6 sheets, 3 sheets, etc.)as well as both American and international posters. Eddie's commentary offers wonderful insight into the genre and this art.

I highly recommend this book!

"The Art of Noir" is a big, beautiful book of 338 posters and lobby cards for crime films 1940-1960, plus a handful of later films. All the film noir greats are here, from A-list films to Poverty Row, though not every film represented is strictly "noir". "The Art of Noir" is 14 1/4" x 10 1/8" -too big even for oversized book shelves- but the results are stunning: Hundreds of full-page posters in bold, eye-popping color, along with a handful of 2-page spreads and some 2-to-a-page layouts. I could not overstate how great these posters look, and author Eddie Muller has made them more fascinating with informative captions and short essays. Each poster is captioned with the film's title, year, and studio, the size of the original poster, a brief analysis of the poster's style, and a little about the film.

The posters are divided into six chapters, each with an introduction by Muller. Chapter 1 introduces us to the distinctive styles of different Hollywood studios. Chapter 2 takes us on a tour of film noir poster art around the world, with examples and explanations of how artists abroad altered or redesigned the posters for their markets. Chapter 3 focuses on thematic and iconographic elements in the posters. The icons are guns, racy women, and automobiles. The themes include bad cops, private eyes, and femmes fatales, among others. Chapter 4 showcases posters that feature the prominent stars of film noir, 9 actors and 9 actresses, with an introductory essay for each. The art of Chapter 6 is organized by writer -not only the famed Hammett, Chandler, and Cain, but also prominent noir screenwriters. Chapter 6 features the films of prominent noir directors and cinematographer John Alton.

American and international posters are featured throughout the book. I had not seen foreign film noir posters before, and scrutinizing the posters and comparing the styles turned out to be a source of nearly endless fascination. Foreign artists departed from the bold color and lurid poses of American posters but created art from their own culture's perspective that is no less striking. "The Art of Noir" will absorb fans of film noir or poster art for hours. I am reviewing the hardback edition of the book, so I cannot comment on the reproduction quality in the paperback edition. But the color and sharpness in the hardback are excellent, on slick, white paper. This is Eddie Muller's best book yet.

As an admirer of Muller's earlier books on Film Noir, I looked forward to this new effort. I was not disappointed; this is a fabulous book. The posters and graphics depicted are as lively and lurid as you'd expect. But Muller's analysis and way with words makes it fun to read as well as look at. If you have any interest in film noir, you MUST get this book. Superb.

A beautiful book! A must have for any noir fan from an authority on film noir.

This book is a must for all film lovers. It contains the most complete collection of film noir posters anywhere. And since the book is "cofee-table" size, the posters are big enough that you can appreciate even the smallest details. The text is also very interesting, giving a short but insightful review of each film. Get this book now!!!!

This is a beautifully illustrated homage to the breathtaking, original artwork done for film posters advertising "film noir" genre movies.