Historical Dictionary of Film Noir

The film noir genre began in the United States just after World War II. Its original classification, although officially coined decades later, was that of dark films following violent plots and sinister themes usually depicting gangsters and detectives shot in black and white. The genre has since evolved into a massive cinematic phenomenon known as "neo-noir" containing a variety of sub-genres and hailing from countries all over the world. Spicer (Cultural History at the U. of the West of England in Bristol) presents this highly useful dictionary of the genre which includes a chronology list, filmography, bibliography, and more. This complete reference covers everything film noir and is very desirable to anyone interested in cinema. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)