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morgcxn's review against another edition
informative
2.0
I wanted more interesting facts and less plot summaries.
caseykoester39's review against another edition
5.0
If you have never read one of Eddie Muller's books, you really need to remedy that error. His prose and sentence construction is among the best I have ever read.
In this new and expanded edition of Dark City, Eddie paints glorious word pictures tying the various Noir-era films together with similar themes, locations or characters. He draws what-if portraits of characters from different films existing side by side in the same universe, which of course they did. It's his sparkling genius at its best. As soon as I read the last sentence, I wanted to close the book and start reading it all over again.
Peppered with incredible real life stories of actual Noir-stained events, this is far more than a book about movies. This is a roadmap of discovery for a bygone era that history buffs and film fans can enjoy.
In this new and expanded edition of Dark City, Eddie paints glorious word pictures tying the various Noir-era films together with similar themes, locations or characters. He draws what-if portraits of characters from different films existing side by side in the same universe, which of course they did. It's his sparkling genius at its best. As soon as I read the last sentence, I wanted to close the book and start reading it all over again.
Peppered with incredible real life stories of actual Noir-stained events, this is far more than a book about movies. This is a roadmap of discovery for a bygone era that history buffs and film fans can enjoy.
realbooks4ever's review
5.0
An outstanding history of Film Noir, DARK CITY is a book I would recommend to all film fans. The whole book is written in a noirish style that compliments the subject. Chapter headings include Sinister Heights, The Precinct, Vixenville, Blind Alley, The Psych Ward and more. The book is printed on sturdy paper and there are photos on every single page. Stills, movie posters, promo shots – tons of photos!
Picking my favorite film descriptions for movies such as DEAD RECKONING and THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, I was able to add at least 20 titles to my Netflix queue. Some movies are not available through that means so I will be hunting them down at other venues.
It was interesting to read the background of the movies, the directors, the studios, and the actors themselves. Not only are the films engrossing, some of the actors’ ironic lives could be made into movies. Take Bobby Driscoll. The 12-yr-old starred in THE WINDOW in 1949 as a boy with a penchant for lying. When he sees a murder no-one believes him. During the movie his character survives a fall in a vacant tenement in Greenwich Village. In real life, Driscoll had a washed out career when, in 1968, he died of a drug overdose – in a vacant tenement in Greenwich Village.
You couldn’t ask for a better, more comprehensive book on Film Noir than this.
Picking my favorite film descriptions for movies such as DEAD RECKONING and THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, I was able to add at least 20 titles to my Netflix queue. Some movies are not available through that means so I will be hunting them down at other venues.
It was interesting to read the background of the movies, the directors, the studios, and the actors themselves. Not only are the films engrossing, some of the actors’ ironic lives could be made into movies. Take Bobby Driscoll. The 12-yr-old starred in THE WINDOW in 1949 as a boy with a penchant for lying. When he sees a murder no-one believes him. During the movie his character survives a fall in a vacant tenement in Greenwich Village. In real life, Driscoll had a washed out career when, in 1968, he died of a drug overdose – in a vacant tenement in Greenwich Village.
You couldn’t ask for a better, more comprehensive book on Film Noir than this.
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