In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City - Softcover

Imogen Sara Smith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786463058 ISBN 13: 9780786463053

Publisher: McFarland & Co, 2011

Synopsis

Although film noir is traditionally associated with the mean streets of the Dark City, this volume explores the genre from a new angle, focusing on non-urban settings. Through detailed readings of over 100 films set in suburbs, small towns, on the road, in the desert, borderlands and the vast, empty West, the author investigates the alienation expressed by film noir, pinpointing its motivation in the conflict between desires for escape, autonomy and freedom--and fears of loneliness, exile and dissolution. Through such films as Out of the Past, They Live by Night and Touch of Evil, this survey examines how film noir reflected radical changes in the physical and social landscapes of postwar America, defining the genre's contribution to the eternal debate between the values of individualism and community.

About this title

Review:

"The author masterfully sheds light on the 'dark passages' that lead away from the city into the woods, the wilderness and the unconscious of a changing American landscape of the community and of the mind."--popcultureshelf.com; "a useful guide"--Reference & Research Book News.

About the Author:

Imogen Sara Smith has written on topics ranging from photography and painting to the films of Buster Keaton. Currently serving as project manager for the Dance Coalition, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland & Co
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0786463058
• ISBN 13: 9780786463053
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 275