With a goal to look “closely into the many shades and faces that make up the usual and unusual suspects of neo-noir,” and “to illuminate and enrich an expanding range of global noirs” (2), Eshter C.M. Yau with co-editor – and Film International Contributing Editor – Tony Williams present their edited collection Hong […]
Versatile Journeyman – Edmond O’Brien: Everyman of Film Noir by Derek Sculthorpe
October 2, 2019
Tony Williams
A Book Review Essay by Tony Williams. This book is the latest production of prolific archivist Derek Sculthorpe. If not, “The Man with the Golden Gun”, this independent film researcher is “The Man with the Golden Keyboard” whose busy fingers discover formerly obscure entries in the most obscure newspaper clippings […]
A True Cinematic Challenge – Moseby Confidential: Arthur Penn’s Night Moves and the Rise of Neo-Noir by Matthew Asprey Gear
June 27, 2019
Tony Williams
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Moseby Confidential: Night Moves and the Rise of Neo-Noir (Jorvik Press, 2019) is an interesting monograph of a hybrid nature. Written by Matthew Asprey Gear, author of the distinctive study At The End of the Street in the Shadow: Orson Welles and the City (Wallflower Press, […]
Journeywoman – Claire Trevor: The Life and Films of the Queen of Noir by Derek Sculthorpe
January 19, 2019
Tony Williams
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Yorkshire resident Derek Sculthorpe is an archivist who has also written plays, short stories, and articles as well as other books on Hollywood stars, such as Brian Donlevy and Van Heflin. This well-researched book reveals how important the contributions of independent critics are as […]
Noir from the States to the Ilses: The Stranger and Appointment with Crime from Olive Films
By Tony Williams. 1946 was an “annus mirabilis” (“amazing year” for those who never studied Latin) for American, British film noir, and many of its international counterparts. Both appearing a year after the end of World War Two, The Stranger and Appointment with Crime were generic achievements in their own right […]
Oneiric Noir: The Chase (1946) from Kino Lorber
By Tony Williams. Based on Cornell Woolrich’s 1944 novel The Black Path of Fear, The Chase (1946) has long required a remastered DVD version though bootleg versions previously available may have added to its reputation as a darker shade of noir appropriately associated with its creative source. It was directed […]
For Jean-Luc Godard: 1930-2022
By Christopher Sharrett. One of the great innovators of the cinema…the supreme artist and intellectual engaged with his era.” When I first encountered Godard decades ago, I thought he might be better off writing essays rather than making films, since he seemed interested in making philosophical points about the image […]
Checking the Master, Film by Film: Hitchcock and the Censors
A Book Review Essay by Matthew Sorrento. Some criticisms noted, John Billheimer’s book is still very helpful for teaching history of regulation/censorship and their effects on authorship….” Hitchcock continues to compete with Welles as the “Shakespeare” of film studies in the sense that he’s the most analyzed in the medium, […]
Post-War Malaise in the Rural US: Spring Night, Summer Night (1967)
By Tony Williams. I can’t help but reflect that noir and neorealism, contemporary film movements, may exactly be opposite sides of the same coin. (Isn’t Open City a noir, and The Sound of Fury an alternate version of The Bicycle Thief?) The key traits that they have in common are […]
British Cinema Talks – and Screams!: Hitchcock’s Blackmail (1929) and Murder (1929)
Murder! By Tony Williams. Kino Lorber has continued to fill the gap left by other boutiques by providing both classic and popular films with informative audio-commentaries and features unlike its once prestigious competitor. Despite technological developments that have resulted in far better viewing copies than occurred when the films were […]