Dreams and Dead Ends: The American Gangster Film [Paperback]

Jack Shadoian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0195142926 | ISBN-13: 978-0195142921 | Edition: 2

Dreams and Dead Ends provides a compelling history of the twentieth-century American gangster film. Beginning with Little Caesar (1930) and ending with Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead (1995), Jack Shadoian adroitly analyzes twenty notable examples of the crime film genre. Moving chronologically through nearly seven decades, this volume offers illuminating readings of a select group of the classic films--including The Public Enemy, D.O.A., Bonnie and Clyde, and The Godfather--that best define and represent each period in the development of the American crime film. Richly illustrated with more than seventy film stills, Dreams and Dead Ends details the evolution of the genre through insightful and precise considerations of cinematography, characterization, and narrative style. This updated edition includes new readings of three additional movies--Once Upon a Time in America, Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, and Criss Cross--and brings this clear and lively discussion of the history of the gangster film to the end of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the previous edition: "Dreams and Dead Ends is quite a remarkable book. One would expect a formal, academic theorist to discuss the great and near-great American gangster movies in terms much duller than the films themselves. Not here, for Mr. Shadoian's essays are aggressive, readable, and often profound. He has a fine, firm grasp of photography, composition, editing, direction, acting, and screenwriting. His cultural and sociological observations are brilliant. He traces the development of gangster films from Little Caesar to Point Blank with sure-footed finesse, and ends up by admitting that, as the latest cycle has only just begun, predictions regarding its course would be presumptuous and foolish. Recommended."--Media Review Digest

"Shadoian's expansive coverage of the sociopolitical and cultural background of the films and their interrelated styles and themes is extremely cogent. The chosen films are familiar to anyone interested in this popular genre, but the films have seldom been written about as incisively. Shadoian communicates a thorough understanding of film noir, that often quixotically misdefined entity so crucial to movies of the 1940s and 1950s, and for quality alone, his book is one of the best (if not the best) ever written on the subject." --Library Journal

"A provocative and probing analysis of the gangster-crime film as a visual literature with unique perceptions of American social and urban problems. Dreams and Dead Ends is a seminal work for the structuring of film criticism around genres.... The most analytical, current, and comprehensive work on the genre."--Choice

"The unusual depth and detail provided in the examination of each film provides rich material for reader thought and reaction. Arrangement of the study is logical and natural with justification provided for the author's selections. The volume is a model of genre study that helps to advance the art of film criticism. Highly recommended."--Cinema Booklist

About the Author

Jack Shadoian is Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (January 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195142926
• ISBN-13: 978-0195142921
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the quintessential film noir text., August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreams and Dead Ends: The American Gangster/Crime Film (Paperback)

An incredibly intelligent book. Jack Shadoian knows his field with astonishing depth and bredth. Using his characteristically witty and well-turned style, Shadoian illuminates the historical and social milieu from which these famous films sprouted. I recommend Dreams and Dead Ends as de rigeur for any film scholar.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Top of the world, Ma!' The ultimate gangster/film noir book, January 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreams and Dead Ends: The American Gangster Film (Paperback)

This is the essential gangster movie, film noir text.
Scholars and enthusiasts of the film world have been waiting for
this reissue for ages, and finally, it's here.
Shadoian's comprehensive knowledge of film
history and his academic acumen are elegantly
showcased by his witty, well-turned writing,
making this text indispensable in the classroom,
in the personal library and on the coffee table. A
must for anyone with a even passing interest in
the femme fatale, the disenchanted ..., the
moody canted shadows and rain-slicked streets
steeped in shadows and blood. Keep this book handy by
the TV/VCR/DVD player.

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential gangster-noir collection for serious gangsters only, December 28, 2010

By 

Smrz "smrz" (Massachusetts,USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dreams and Dead Ends: The American Gangster Film (Paperback)

The author hits the mark on bridging the gap between Gangster-noir-neo-noir films. He knows the genre extremely well. Very informative,enjoyable, and educational. He has an excellent sense of perspective and conveys this in his chapters. My only fault that I would mention is that he has such an expansive knowledge of the english language that I frequently found myself looking up words from my dictionary. Now really, is that his fault or mine? Overall 5 stars!!!