James Naremore introduces film noir, highlighting key themes, films, and styles, and exploring why the genre is so difficult to categorize. First associated with Hollywood thrillers of the 1940s and 50s, film noir has become fully international in its nature and appeal, attracting the interest of great directors right up to our present time.
'On Kubrick' provides a critical account of the films of Stanley Kubrick, from his earliest feature to his final posthumous project. It offers a provocative analysis of each of his films, with new information about production histories and cultural contexts
Citizen Kane is arguably the most admired and significant film since the advent of talking pictures. No other film is quite so interesting from both artistic and political points of view. To study it even briefly is to learn a great deal about American history, motion-picture style, and the literary aspects of motion-picture scripts. Rather than presenting a sterile display of critical methodologies, James Naremore has gathered a set of essays that represent the essential writings on the film. It gives the reader a lively set of critical interpretations, together with the necessary production information, historical background, and technical understanding to comprehend the film's larger cultural significance. Selections range from the anecdotal --Peter Bogdanovich's interview with Orson Welles--to the critical, with discussions on the scripts and sound track, and a discussion of what accounts for the film's enduring popularity. Contributors include James Naremore, PeterBogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Robert L. Carringer, François Thomas, Michael Denning, Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen, and Paul Arthur.
An investigation of how cinema transforms stories from other sources, such as literature and history, onto the movie screen