The Film Noir Encyclopedia

I have bought this book since I was given it by a professor in that place between high school an life. It was used in a Noir class. Since then I have went thru several and a hard cover or two. It is the BEST source of information on this subject. PERIOD. If you are into this genre or want to learn about it. This is the best book.

I collect noir films and I absolutely love the book. Physically, it's a well made book, top notch. Content wise it is loaded with A-Z reviews of classic and neo-noir movies. 5 Stars all the way around.

I bought this as a gift for someone who loves film noir. They said they love this book and there is quite a bit of information they didn’t know before. Highly recommend.

I have a copy of "Film Noir":An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (3d Ed), which I like very much. The Film Noir :The Encyclopedia (the new book) has identical summaries, reviews, etc. What is the relationship of these two books? Silver and Ward are listed on both volumes as editors. Is the new book simply a new (4th) edition of the older volume? I truly love them both.

I received my copy of the FNE 4th Edition last week. I was anxious to see what had been changed since the 1993 publication of the 3rd edition. They do seem to have addressed the plot synopses errors from previous edtions.When I study the FNE 4th titles, they have now included some sci-fi titles - not sure how noir they really are: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951), INVADERS FROM MARS (1953), THEM! (1954) + INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) which was listed by Keaney (Film Noir Guide, 2003) & Selby (Dark City: The Film Noir, 2004). They have also added a number of westerns which had previously only been listed by Keaney: THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943), JOHNNY GUITAR (19540, RANCHO NOTORIOUS (1952), BLOOD ON THE MOON (1948) [also listed by Selby], DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950) [also listed by Selby], NAKED SPUR (1954) [also listed by Duncan] (Film Noir: Films of Trust & Betrayal, 2003), RAMROD (1947) [also listed by Duncan]. Westerns not previously listed by the referenced sources are: DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) & I SHOT JESSE JAMES 1949). They also added the Ida Lupino directed film THE BIGAMIST (1953) to their list.I don't have any real problem with these new titles, but I was very surprised at some that they dropped, such as MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944), THE TATTOOED STRANGER (1950), BLACK TUESDAY (1954) & THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962). Well - maybe I do have a problem - don't understand dropping a film like MINISTRY OF FEAR and then adding some very marginal titles instead.

Thorough and entertaining. This book also includes a number of posters of the era and pictures of the celebrities. It is a good history and, if you are a fan of this era, you will enjoy it.

Bought as Christmas gift for my husband and he loves it. He is into classic movies, cars and music so was a perfect gift full of information.

Perhaps one of the most comprehensive and valuable resources for serious students of Film Noir.

Quality book, superb guide through the ocean of noir movies. But why "Don't bother to knock" (1952) is missing?

Great reference volume for those interested in rounding out their knowledge of film noir. Treats each film of the canon, and some that are marginally or even debatably noir, individually and in encyclopedic fashion, which makes it a good bedtime read.(I'm currently working through five to ten entries per night, and get up in the morning confident that I know more about noir than when I went to bed the night before.) Beautifully illustrated with stills from the relevant films, posed studio shots and even movie posters (in b&w). Written by multiple contributors but overall the writing is of a high standard, and overall it's an excellent book.

Le livre à avoir lorsqu'on a fait le tour de ceux de Patrick Brion. Le bouquin est divisé en deux parties : période classique puis période moderne. Le goût de l'auteur est proche de celui de Brion.

Whenever I acquire a new film, or there is one on the TV I reach for this book. It's well written, informative, and handy to have. It isn't exhaustive, as ever it is entirely US based, so films like The Third Man are missing from it's pages. That in itself is not the end of the world, just a slight annoyance. If, like me, you are a fan of the film noir genre then this book will open up new avenues to explore and new films to search out.

Such a fascinating and valuable asset of a book for anyone who enjoys the dark world of film noir.I am constantly referring to it in my quest to broaden my knowledge of this wonderful genre.Whenever I need information on a dvd or I discover an obscure classic film noir is about to be shown on tv, at some ungodly hour,this book never lets me down.A superb book which I cannot recommend highly enough.