Finding the best noire books suitable for your needs isnt easy. With hundreds of choices can distract you. Knowing whats bad and whats good can be something of a minefield. In this article, weve done the hard work for you.
Reviews
1. Film Noir
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Film NoirDescription
Into the NightAll you need to know about Film Noir
Whether its 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 Jrgen Mller examine noirs 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 noirs masterful visual compositions while exploring the narrative paradigms of this cryptic, compelling, and evolving genre. If that werent enough to tickle your cinematic appetite, the volume concludes with TASCHENs 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.
Crime has never looked so good.
The Times, London
2. L.A. Noire: Prima Official Guide
Description
Full Coverage OF L.A. Noire: Celebrating the launch of an enhanced L.A. Noire for a new generation with this indispensable guide providing analysis and strategy for the latest versions, including:
New Collectibles and Their Locations
Updated Achievements & Trophies
Brand New Control Schemes, Including VR and Nintendo Switch, with Touch & Gesture Commands
The Complete Experience: Collected in one place for the very first time, we provide in-depth coverage of L.A. Noire in its entirety, including every additional case and all new collectibles!
The VR Case Files: Each of the seven select cases featured in L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is revealed in full detail, with gameplay tips and strategies to take on the role of Cole Phelps in virtual reality.
Every Mission: A complete walkthrough to rising through the ranks and solving every case with a perfect score. Well guide you from Patrol, through the Traffic, Homicide, and Vice desks, all the way to the storys thrilling climax.
City Maps: Find everything youre looking for. We identify locations for all Landmarks and Collectibles, as well as critical mission waypoints.
Vehicle Showroom: Stats for all vehicles and where to find them, including the hidden cars you will not discover on your own!
Discover New Items and Abilities: Find out how to get your hands on every new Detective Suit and where to find every Golden Vinyl and Novel Cover.
Detective Training: This is your essential resource to collecting evidence, interrogating suspects, and using intuition to uncover the truth. Plus: coverage of all Street Crimes, Outfits, and everything you need for 100% Completion!
Free eGuide Included: Mobile-friendly eGuide for strategy on the go, all optimized for a second-screen experience.
3. San Francisco Noir
Description
Following in the footsteps of classic films like The Maltese Falcon and The Lady from Shanghai, veteran photographer Fred Lyon creates images of San Francisco in high contrast with a sense of mystery. In this latest offering from the photographer of San Francisco: Portrait of a City 19401960, Lyon presents a darker tone, exploring the hidden corners of his native city. Images taken in the foggy night are illuminated only by neon signs, classic car headlights, apartment windows, or streetlights. Sharply dressed couples stroll out for evening shows, drivers travel down steep hills, and sailors work through the night at the old Fisherman's Wharf. Stylistically, many of the photographs are experimental the noir tone is enhanced by double exposures, elements of collage, and blurred motion. These strikingly evocative duotone images expose a view of San Francisco as only Fred Lyon could capture.4. Berlin Noir: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem
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Great product!Description
Now in one volumethe first three novels in Philip KerrsNew York Times bestsellinghistorical mystery series starring hard-boiled detective Bernie Gunther...A Chandleresque knight errant caught in insane historical surroundings. Bernie walks down streets so mean that nobody can stay alive and remain truly clean.John Powers,Fresh Air(NPR)
Ex-policeman Bernie Gunther thought he'd seen everything on the streets of 1930s Berlin. But then he went freelance, and each case he tackled sucked him further into the grisly excesses of Nazi subculture. And even after the war, amidst the decayed, imperial splendour of Vienna, Bernie uncovered a legacy that made the wartime atrocities look lily-white in comparison...
This collection includes:
MARCH VIOLETS
THE PALE CRIMINAL
A GERMAN REQUIEM
5. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
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Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat NoirDescription
Marinette is the sweetest girl in Paris. With a big crush on a boy at school, a big dream of becoming a fashion designer, and a big problem with being totally awkward, she's just your average teenage girl, right? Did we mention she's also the crime fighting superhero, Ladybug?Becoming Ladybug is a complicated process! First, Marinette needs a "Kwami," which is a tiny magical assistant (hers is named Tikki). She also needs a "Miraculous," which is a magical accessory (hers is a pair of earrings). Tikki uses the Miraculous to transform Marinette. But her Ladybug super powers only work for a limited time!
When Hawk Moth uses his mind-controlling, moth-like creatures called akuma to turn people into baddies, it's up to Ladybug to capture them and save the day! Well, she gets a little help from her superhero friend, Cat Noir but she insists she doesn't need him. If only she knew Cat Noir's true identity her crush, Adrien! Will Ladybug and Cat Noir be able to balance their double lives and keep Paris safe?
Will they ever find out each other's true identity, or who's behind Hawk Moth's mask? Until then there's a whole city of baddies to defeat SPOTS ON, CLAWS OUT!
6. Future Noir Revised & Updated Edition: The Making of Blade Runner
Description
Rediscover the groundbreaking magic of Blade Runner with this revised and updated edition of the classic guide to Ridley Scotts transformative filmand published in anticipation of its sequel, Blade Runner 2049, premiering October 2017 and starring Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, and Harrison Ford.
Ridley Scotts 1992 "Directors Cut" confirmed the international film cognoscentis judgment: Blade Runner, based on Philip K. Dicks brilliant and troubling science fiction masterpiece Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is the most visually dense, thematically challenging, and influential science fiction film ever made. Future Noir offers a deeper understanding of this cult phenomenon that is storytelling and visual filmmaking at its best.
In this intensive, intimate and anything-but-glamorous behind-the-scenes account, film insider and cinephile Paul M. Sammon explores how Ridley Scott purposefully used his creative genius to transform the work of science fictions most uncompromising author into a critical sensation, a commercial success, and a cult classic that would reinvent the genre. Sammon reveals how the making of the original Blade Runner was a seven-year odyssey that would test the stamina and the imagination of writers, producers, special effects wizards, and the most innovative art directors and set designers in the industry at the time it was made. This revised and expanded edition of Future Noir includes:
- An overview of Blade Runners impact on moviemaking and its acknowledged significance in popular culture since the books original publication
- An exploration of the history of Blade Runner: The Final Cut and its theatrical release in 2007
- An up-close look at its long-awaited sequel Blade Runner 2049
- A 2007 interview with Harrison Ford now available to American readers
- Exclusive interviews with Rutger Hauer and Sean Young
A fascinating look at the ever-shifting interface between commerce and art, illustrated with production photos and stills, Future Noir provides an eye-opening and enduring look at modern moviemaking, the business of Hollywood, and one of the greatest films of all time.