James Ursini

The behind-the-scenes story of the quintessential film noir and cult classic, Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity-its true crime origins and crucial impact on film history-is told for the first time in this riveting narrative published for the film's 80th anniversary.From real crime to serial to novel to movie, the history of Double Indemnity is as complex and exciting as the plot of any to hit the screen during film noir's classic period. Born of a true crime that inspired reporter and would-be crime writer James M. Cain's novella, Hollywood quickly bid on the rights but throughout the 1930s a strict code of censorship made certain that no studio could green-light a murder melodrama based on real events. Then World War II loosened some strictures, and director-writer Billy Wilder-before his prime as director of sparkling comedies-could hire hardboiled novelist Raymond Chandler and revamp the story enough to pass the censors.Overcoming strong resistance, Wilder then lined up a star cast led by the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck in her unforgettable turn as the ultimate femme fetale, alongside Fred MacMurray, cast against type as her partner in crime, and Edward G. Robinson as a bloodhound claims adjuster. With these skilled actors set against a low-key look, Wilder's final film became one of the earliest studio noirs to gain critical and commercial success (nominated for 7 Oscars!), to influence the entire noir movement, and to impact filmmakers and audiences to this day.Authors Alain Silver and James Ursini tell the complete history of Double Indemnity in their latest and most provocative work on film noir: From the Moment They Met It Was Murder.

From Alain Silver and James Ursini, authors of The Noir Style and Film Noir Graphics and editors of the seven-volume Film Noir Reader series, comes Film Noir Fatal Women -- their latest exploration of the key elements that define Americas only homegrown film movement. 400 illustrations reveal the graphic and sensory core of the classic noir Femme Fatale, the visual icon and dramatic persona that underlies countless doomed narratives of the genre. From torch singers to gun molls, secretaries to sociopaths, black widows to B-girls, both blondes and brunettes, abused and empowered -- they all haunt these vivid pages.

Whether it’s Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, or The Big Sleep, roam a screen world of dark and brooding elegance with this essential handbook to Film Noir. From private eyes and perfect crimes to corrupt cops and doomed affairs, editors Paul Duncan and Jürgen Müller examine noir’s key themes and their most representative movies from 1940 to 1960. Copiously illustrated with film stills as well as original posters, this book offers page after page of noir’s masterful visual compositions while exploring the narrative paradigms of this cryptic, compelling, and evolving genre. If that weren’t enough to tickle your cinematic appetite, the volume concludes with TASCHEN’s top 50 pick of noir classics. Brimming with the enigmatic dames, desperate gangsters, and psycho killers that continue to cast a long and captivating shadow over cinema, this is a must-have handbook for noir aficionados and amateurs alike.

Whether it’s Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, or The Big Sleep, roam a screen world of dark and brooding elegance with this essential handbook to Film Noir. From private eyes and perfect crimes to corrupt cops and doomed affairs, editors Paul Duncan and Jürgen Müller examine noir’s key themes and their most representative movies from 1940 to 1960. Copiously illustrated with film stills as well as original posters, this book offers page after page of noir’s masterful visual compositions while exploring the narrative paradigms of this cryptic, compelling, and evolving genre. If that weren’t enough to tickle your cinematic appetite, the volume concludes with TASCHEN’s top 50 pick of noir classics. Brimming with the enigmatic dames, desperate gangsters, and psycho killers that continue to cast a long and captivating shadow over cinema, this is a must-have handbook for noir aficionados and amateurs alike.

Explore the dark and brooding elegance of Film Noir with this essential handbook to the genre, exploring key noir themes and their most representative movies. Copiously illustrated with film stills as well as original posters, the book also lists TASCHENâ??s top 50 noir classics. A must for amateurs and aficionados alike.

This stunningly illustrated volume traces the history of obsessive love and erotic fixation in the cinema. It explores how seminal films such as "The Blue Angel" (1930), "Peter Ibbetson" (1935), and "Phantom of the Opera" (1943) set a precedent for films to follow."Cinema of Obsession" is divided into several sections that examine the themes of obsessive love and fixation from different perspectives - including the illicit love affair, male control, and love-on-the-run - by closely examining films such as "Last Tango in Paris" (1972), "Vertigo" (1958), and "Wild at Heart" (1990). The final section rounds of the book by concentrating on the female perspective of obsessive love through such works as "The Piano" (1993), "Fatal Attraction" (1987), and "Vanilla Sky" (2001).

"The Modern Amazon" is organised into chapters that group women warriors into sub-genres, e.g., classic Amazons like "Xena" and the women of the Conan films; superheroes and their arch enemies such as "Wonder Woman", "Batgirl", and "Catwoman"; revenge films such as the "Kill Bill" movies; Sexploitation and Blaxploitation films such as "Coffy" and "Ilsa"; Hong Kong cinema and warriors such as Angela Mao, Cynthia Rothrock, and Zhang Ziyi; Sci-fi warriors from "Star Trek", "Blade Runner", and "Star Wars"; supersleuths and spies like the "Avengers" and "Charlie's Angels"; and, Gothic warriors such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Kate Beckinsale in "Underworld" and "Van Helsing" - and much more.

A guide to noir films and their California settings, illustrating how the films use LA's diverse cityscape and architecture to convey a unique vision of urban corruption and existential fatalism. Dozens of noir and neo-noir films are featured, including classics such as Crimson Kimono, Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, Sunset Boulevard and Touch of Evil. Recent films like Mulholland Drive and Pulp Fiction have also made the list. More than 150 photographs, many of which appear for the first time, further illustrate the rich and constantly changing City of Angels.

This bountiful anthology combines all the key early writings on film noir with many newer essays, including some published here for the first time. The collection is assembled by the editors of the Third Edition of Film Noir: An Enclyclopedic Reference to the American Style, now regarded as the standard work on the subject.