Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir [Anglais] [Broché]

"Dark City" is a journey through the world of classic film noir, from World War II to 1960, guided by pop culture critic Eddie Muller. This isn't a book of film theory, but a guided tour of this deliciously cynical genre that was the unique product of a disintegrating studio system, volatile politics, and simultaneous post-war disillusionment and hubris. "Dark City" is Muller's attempt to make these films vivid and irresistible for a new audience. In this, he succeeds. Throughout the book, he refers to "Dark City" as if it were a place to which we might travel to take in the stark scenery and odd inhabitants. By the time I finished this book, I felt as if it is. -A peculiar place born of circumstances long past, that is gloriously preserved in movies.

"Dark City" is divided into eleven chapters, each addressing a sub-genre of film noir. Truthfully, there would be a lot of overlap if you wanted to be strictly accurate in categorizing noirs. But "Dark City"'s organization is a very effective method of introducing the reader to these films by pointing out common themes. Notice that the chapter titles name figurative places located within Dark City: "Welcome to Dark City" is about crime dramas, "The Precinct" about films that feature law enforcement officers, "Hate Street" about murderous suburbanites, "Shamus Flats" about private detective films, "Vixenville" about femmes fatales, in "Blind Alley" the events of life are beyond human control, "The Psych Ward" features films that took place in V.A. hospitals, "Knockover Square" is about heist flicks, "Loser's Lane"'s characters are sociopaths, "Thieves' Highway" introduces us to noirs that make use of the nation's new interstate highway system. Each chapter describes 30-40 films, in varying degrees of detail. Some film descriptions are so thorough as to be spoilers, so be warned. Muller doesn't approach every chapter the same way. "Shamus Flats", for example, discusses the novelists on whose hard-boiled fiction much film noir was based: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Mickey Spillane. "Hate Street" talks about some of the actresses who made names for themselves in this sub-genre: Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck. There is also a "Poster Gallery" that showcases 8 pages of classic noir poster art. And Muller's "Afterward" is perceptive and interesting. Muller places the demise of classic film noir in 1960, with the culture-shattering debut of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", instead of the traditional 1958, with "A Touch of Evil". I think this makes a lot of sense, and Muller presents a strong case for "Psycho" being classic noir's demise.

"Dark City" is aimed at the casual fan and noir buff, not the film student. It's very readable, lacks any real discussion of theory, and gives us just enough context to understand where the films' writers and directors were coming from, without more analysis than they might have given themselves. Muller's love for these films is infectious. Reader's are certain to discover some lost cinematic treasures in the pages of "Dark City", which they will thoroughly enjoy. Definitely recommended to fans of classic noir who are not yet connoisseurs.

Lord knows film noir books are a dime a gross, but Eddie Muller's Dark City is one of the more entertaining and necessary to come out in many a year. Muller sucessfully walks a tightrope here between the overly academic, theory-mongering, insufferably highbrow type of book, and the shallow, campy, or nostalgia-drenched types at the other end of the spectrum, and he barely stumbles. Though he steadfastly refuses to take himself too seriously, his underlying devotion to the genre is evident throughout. Along with plenty of behind-the-scenes gossip he doesn't fail to provide solid descriptions and opinions of the movies in question, from such classics as The Maltese Falcon and Kiss of Death to semi-obscure gems like T-Men. As a film critic he has a "feet-on-the-ground" integrity and hits the bull's eye on most of the films he mentions (meaning I usually agree with him). He's particularly good on the caper-film subgenre. Asphalt Jungle, Crime Wave, and Kubrick's The Killing all get their rightful due, as does the career of Sterling Hayden. Indeed, one of the delights of Dark City is the engrossing profiles of various actors and actresses who made their mark on the genre, including Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Widmark, John Garfield, and the redoubtable Robert Ryan. Muller has a sharp eye for character actors as well.

The structure of the book is tongue-in-cheek; equating the entire nebulous noir genre with a metaphorical city (the 'dark city' of the title), he breaks down the various themes and subgenres into chapters with place-name titles, such as "Shamus Flats" for the detective movie, "Knockover Square" for the caper film, and so on. If this sounds groan-inducing, don't worry. He handles it well and turns it into great fun, mainly because there's substance in each chapter as well as kidding around. Muller in fact provides a valuable service in tracing the literary roots of much film noir to pre-war pulp fiction such as the 20's magazine Black Mask, and his profile of Cornell Woolrich is most welcome. Woolrich was a fount of paranoid pulp stories, and more of his tales were adapted to the big screen than anyone else's, yet he is far lesser known than Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, who are also discussed. Also, there are enough sumptuous black and white stills here to make the book a joy just to flip through. Too many film books don't have enough photos, but that's not a problem here, and the text gives full recognition of the essential role that cinematographers played in the impact of the movies. Film noir was very much a cinematographer's genre, after all, even if they didn't have much of a budget.

There's always some favorite that's left out of even the finest film book, and I looked in vain for a mention of Alexander Mackendrick's caustic The Sweet Smell of Success, perhaps the last great noir, but this is a minor quibble. Any book that deals so well with films such as Force of Evil, Out of the Past, and scores of others is allowed one or two oversights. If you're a longtime fan of film noir or a new convert, Eddie Muller's Dark City is well worth your time.

This book is the next best thing to watching a film noir. Though not as comprehensive as Silver's Encylopedia of film noir, Dark City encapsulates the spirit of film noir like no other book out there. The visuals and layout meld nicely with the informative and well organized writing. If you want to truly understand the canon of film noir and not get bogged down by academic ponderings - this is the book for you.