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The Dark Side Of The Screen: Film Noir (A Da Capo Paperback)
by Foster Hirsch
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Da Capo Press (1983-08-21)
ISBN: 0306802031
EAN: 9780306802034
Dewy Decimal #: 791.430909355
Paperback: 240 pages
Condition: Very Good
Comments: 1981, 8.5 x 11, 229 pages, Paperback, Book is in Very Good Condition - Shows minimal wear/use. Bottom right corner of book shows creases/scuff/etc. Book is completely intact. Inside pages are in Very Good condition with no tears and with no notations (no pencil marks, no underlining, no highlighting, etc.)
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Foster Hirsch’s Dark Side of the Screen is by far the most thorough and entertaining study of the themes, visual motifs, character types, actors, directors, and films in this genre ever published. From Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Robert Aldrich, and Howard Hawkes to Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, and Paul Schrader, the noir themes of dread, paranoia, steamy sex, double-crossing women, and menacing cityscapes have held a fascination. The features that make Burt Lancaster, Joan Crawford, Robert Mitchum, and Humphrey Bogart into noir heroes and heroines are carefully detailed here, as well as those camera angles, lighting effects, and story lines that characterize Fritz Lang, Samuel Fuller, and Orson Welles as noir directors.For the current rediscovery of film noir, this comprehensive history with its list of credits to 112 outstanding films and its many illustrations will be a valuable reference and a source of inspiration for further research.
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Customer Reviews
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One of the 1st Film Noir Books. Still a Solid Introduction.
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-08-08
6 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
First published in 1981, "The Dark Side of the Screen" was among the first books in English on the subject of film noir. Author Foster Hirsch revisits that time before film noir was a fashionable subject in his introduction to this 2001 edition. More than 2 decades after its publication, "The Dark Side of the Screen" is still a solid introduction to film noir history, although it lacks discussion of the neo-noir films that have been made since its publication and has not been influenced by more recent theories. If you are new to classic film noir, this book is not a bad place to start. It is very readable, discusses or mentions over 100 films, and the large format (8.5"x11") allows for over 180 black-and-white photographs. "The Dark Side of the Screen" contains basic information on the film noir movement that you are likely to find in any good introductory text, so it's not intended for those already well-versed in the subject.
In eight chapters, Hirsch follows the film noir movement through its classic period, 1941 to the late 1950s, until its self-conscious revival in the 1970s. "The Dark Side of the Screen" starts out with an overview of typical noir themes and summary of the style's evolution, then takes a step back in time to film noir's sources, obvious and alleged, in American hard-boiled crime literature, German Expressionist art, and Italian Neo-Realist cinema. Hirsch summarizes noir's narrative and visual style before discussing key directors, mainly German émigrés and Americans, and many of the important names among film noir actors, with analysis of the typical film noir acting style. The book concludes with a useful, though occasionally forced, attempt to categorize film noir's basic narrative patterns and central figures and a brief discussion of neo-noir.
Like all historians and theorists, Foster Hirsch has opinions. His assertion that film noir is a "genre" and his presumption that its low-key lighting is "borrowed directly" or "clearly indebted" to German Expressionism become increasingly controversial as time passes. I mention this so that film noir aficionados know where he's coming from and to caution tyros that many ideas about film noir are controversial, so take everything with a grain of salt until you've formed your own opinions. But there is no reason not to start forming them with "The Dark Side of the Screen", which provides a nice overview of the classic film noir movement and lots of good film recommendations.
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Dark Side of the Screen is shining light!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2001-11-06
20 out of 20 customers found this reveiw helpful
Hirsch's brilliant analysis of the antecedents, key period and legacy of noir remains perhaps the finest single work on the subject. Not as funny or entertaining as Eddie Muller's 'Dark City', but a major work that pre-dates many inferior later studies. Especially notable is Hirsch's use of stills, his choice of key scenes (e.g. Panic in the Streets, the Phenix City Story, Scarlet Street) skilfully differentiates between studio shot film noirs and pseudo-documentary/location filmed noirs.Highly recommended for serious lovers of the genre (not room enough here to debate whether film noir is a genre or not!) and ranks, for me, alongside Paul Schrader's legendary 'Notes on Film Noir' essay (1972) as the single most important piece of work on the subject.
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The Best Introduction to Film Noir
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-06-08
26 out of 28 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is the best of several I have read recently on film noir. It strikes the right balance between being thorough and accessible; not nearly as dry and academic as some others. One of the main elements of noir is its distinctive visual style, and this book has dozens of excellent photographic stills, which enable the reader to understand the style in a way that text descriptions could never duplicate. The author does an excellent job of placing noir in its historical context, without assuming the reader has prior knowledge of German Expressionism, hard-boiled fiction or any other influence. The book ends with a list of 120 or so classic noirs; this alone is worth the price of the book. I have seen approximately one-half of the movies on his list and every single one has been excellent. For anyone interested in gazing into "The Crazy Mirror," this is the place to start.
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This book contains an excellent account of noir stylistics
Rating (4)
Date: 1998-11-09
11 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
I found this book to be a concise and relevant exploration of the history, style and themes of film noir. It was immensely helpful as a research source for an essay I did on noir styles and themes. With clear explanations and pictorial examples it bestowed upon me a clear and precise understanding of the genre.
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