Pocket Essentials is a fresh new series of film books that are short, snappy, and easy to read. Packed with facts, and backed up by opinion, each book has all the key information you need to know about the world's most celebrated film directors and film genres. What's in a book? As well as an introduction to the subject, each film by a director or each genre is individually analyzed and reviewed. In addition, the director or genre's impact on the film industry is explained, and a handy reference section lists all the far weightier (and more expensive) books on the subject. For movie buffs and students, these are great little entry-level books that build into an essential film library.
Film Noir - The Pocket Essential Guide
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Paul Duncan has written Pocket Essentials on Alfred Hitchcock, Noir Fiction, and Stanley Bergman.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
I was born at a very young age and have grown older ever since. I have passed the time sharing my passions for films, mystery fiction and comics by publishing, editing and writing books and magazines. I spent my teenage years publishing 'Ark: The Comics Magazine' (1980-1990) and writing graphic novels ('Second City', 'Overload', 'Beautiful People'), before graduating to a life of crime.
I co-founded 'Crime Time' magazine (1995-present), and edited 'The Third Degree: Crime Writers In Conversation', as well as writing some mystery short stories. It was during this time that I discovered the fantastic fiction of Gerald Kersh, who I have championed ever since through many articles and short story collections. (He's famous for the novel 'Night and the City', which was turned into a fantastic Film Noir by Jules Dassin in 1950.) One day, I'll even finish Kersh's biography. Promise.
Unemployed and in need of an income, I founded Pocket Essentials in 1999, edited around 50 titles in the series, and wrote eight of them, including 'Martin Scorsese', 'Alfred Hitchcock', 'Film Noir' and 'Noir Fiction'. This brought me to the attention of the illustrious Mr. Benedikt Taschen, who took me under his wing and told me to make film books. Since 2003, I have happily, if not ecstatically, carried out his wishes by editing over 50 film books for TASCHEN, big and small, including the award-winning 'The Ingmar Bergman Archives'. I've even written a couple of them. Yesterday, somebody told me I had the best job in the world, and for the life of me I cannot find anything wrong with that statement.
I co-founded 'Crime Time' magazine (1995-present), and edited 'The Third Degree: Crime Writers In Conversation', as well as writing some mystery short stories. It was during this time that I discovered the fantastic fiction of Gerald Kersh, who I have championed ever since through many articles and short story collections. (He's famous for the novel 'Night and the City', which was turned into a fantastic Film Noir by Jules Dassin in 1950.) One day, I'll even finish Kersh's biography. Promise.
Unemployed and in need of an income, I founded Pocket Essentials in 1999, edited around 50 titles in the series, and wrote eight of them, including 'Martin Scorsese', 'Alfred Hitchcock', 'Film Noir' and 'Noir Fiction'. This brought me to the attention of the illustrious Mr. Benedikt Taschen, who took me under his wing and told me to make film books. Since 2003, I have happily, if not ecstatically, carried out his wishes by editing over 50 film books for TASCHEN, big and small, including the award-winning 'The Ingmar Bergman Archives'. I've even written a couple of them. Yesterday, somebody told me I had the best job in the world, and for the life of me I cannot find anything wrong with that statement.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handy, quick reference to Film Noir,
By
This review is from: Film Noir (Pocket Essentials) (Paperback)
As someone who likes to dabble in film studies and is looking for some guidance into watching films with a more critical eye, this is an excellent, little introduction into Film Noir. The author gives a brief history (we are talking about only a handful of pages) of film noir and follows up by summarizing and analizing seven films that help define the genre. None of this is meant to be comprehensive, but it does serve to give the reader a good feel for the entire film genre. Perhaps the best feature of the book is a 40+ page, annotated listing of Film Noir films--a great feature for any one wanting to watch more Film Noir but not knowing which titles to start with.My only complaint is that the writing is often fragmented and not always thoroughly worked through. It seems to me that there could have been some more editorial guidance in creating the final product.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth buying for extensive list of noir titles,
By "billmacv" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Film Noir (Pocket Essentials) (Paperback)
These brief vademecums, or "idiots'" guides, are generally a waste of time and money. This one, however, provides a valuable consumer resource: an extensive list of films noirs, with minimal information (director, studio, one or two starring actors, year, brief plot summary). It's far more complete a list than is contained (for instance) in the venerable compendium Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, and it helps to identify films of interest that may be coming up on cable movie channels at 4a.m. Plus, it's cheap enough.
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