In the 1930s the gangster film in the United States coincided with a very real and very sensational gangsterism at large in American society. ÊLittle CaesarÊ (1931) ÊThe Public EnemyÊ (1931) and ÊScarfaceÊ (1932) borrowed liberally from the newspapers and books of the era. With the release of just these three motion pictures in barely more than a year''s time Hollywood quintessentially defined the genre. The characters the situations and the icons ä from fast cars and tommy-guns to fancy fedoras and fancier molls ä established the audience expectations associated with the gangster film that remain in force to this day. As with their ÊFilm Noir ReaderÊ series using both reprints of seminal articles and new pieces editors Silver and Ursini have assembled a group of essays that presents an exhaustive overview of this still vital genre. Reprints of work by such well-known film historians as Robin Wood Andrew Sarris Carlos Clarens Paul Schrader and Stuart Kaminsky explore the evolution of the gangster film through the 1970s and ÊThe GodfatherÊ. Parts 2 and 3 comprise two dozen newer articles most of them written expressly for this volume by Ursini and Silver. These case studies and thematic analyses from ÊWhite HeatÊ to the remake of ÊScarfaceÊ to The Sopranos complete the anthology.
The Third and most recent edition of The Vampire Film featuring a new chapter, "The Vampire at the Millennium " was released in October 1996 to coincide with the centennial of Stoker''s novel Dracula. More vampire films have been produced since the First Edition of The Vampire Film appeared in 1974 than in the entire history of motion pictures prior to that year. The first completely revised and updated edition was published in 1993. The Third Edition insures that what began as the first book-length study of the subject in 1974 remains the most comprehensive available.
The earlier Film Noir Readers, which now boast a combined sale of well over 30 000 copies, have all quite deliberately conveyed a sweeping overview of the classic period, demonstrating how broad and inclusive noir movies are. Film Noir Reader 4 moves in a different direction. Its purpose is to identify the key films and motifs of noir and to analyze in depth the prototypical pictures that, while vivid examples of certain cinematic themes, bend and break their molds to find new ways to enthrall and frighten us. Like its predecessors, Film Noir Reader 4 is generously illustrated and features essays by such respected film critics and scholars as Robin Wood, J.P. Telotte, R. Barton Palmer, and Robert Porfirio. All have as their purpose to explain why and how these classic films work; the way screenplay, direction, acting, cinematography, editing and all the other filmmaking crafts blended together to produce work that exemplifies both a particular movement in film history and the innovations that keep the noir style fresh and compelling.
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