Dark city the lost world of film noir

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (Revised and Expanded Edition)










From Turner Classic Movies and "Czar of Noir" Eddie Muller, this revised and expanded edition of the classic book on film noir will be a must-have for the cult movie genre's dedicated fans.


TCM host Eddie Muller's
Dark City
is a film noir lover's bible, taking readers on a tour of the urban landscape of the grim and gritty genre in an authoritative, highly illustrated volume.


This narrative history is packed with stories about the stars and makers of both long-recognized classics like
The Maltese Falcon
and under-the-radar "lost" greats such as
Cry Danger
. The book highlights more than one hundred films, breaking down plots and offering insider accounts behind-the-scenes of their making.

". . . a righteous, rip-snorting riff on the ultimate cinematic genre-film noir. This book displays a salutary knowledge of the underpinnings of the genre; serves as a fabulous reference book; and most importantly, dishes the real life dirt on the freaks, geeks, commies, nymphos, hopheads, has-beens, red-baiters, and all-purpose fiends who made the genre great."
-James Ellroy

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DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR

May 1998, Trade Paperback, St. Martin's Griffin


Dark City
is unique among film books. It entwines classic silver screen fictions with intriguing factual back-stories about the people who created the moody and mysterious world of film noir. The truth is often bleaker—and more cruelly humorous—than the darkest cinematic concoctions. The author dispenses with the staid formalism of most film writing, relating this slice of cinema history with the headlong thrust of crime fiction, peppered with the hardboiled argot of the period.

Between the big-screen shakedowns and seductions emerges a real-life swirl of labor racketeers, corrupt moguls, "parlor pinks," and femmes fatale.
Dark City
presents post-WWII Hollywood as ground zero in the explosion of artistic, political, and cultural cynicism that engulfs us today. And it manages to be funny at the same time. The book is lavishly illustrated with more than 200 black and white photos, and a color insert featuring classic film noir movie posters.


Dark City
was nominated for the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America as "Best Critical/Biographical Work of


Book Review: Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Eddie Muller





Author Eddie Muller, founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation and host of TCM’s
Noir Alley,
once again serves as a tour guide for
Dark City
, a job he had previously done in 1998. Having not read the previous version, all I know is this Revised and Expanded Edition has added 64 pages, and as his Author’s Note states, “allows [him] to include in this historical excursion movies once feared lost forever, gems such as
Woman on the Run, Too Late for Tears, The Guilty, Trapped
, and
The Man Who Cheated Himself
.” In his Afterword, Muller reveals “the Film Noir Foundation has restored and preserved more than thirty films,” including those aforementioned “gems”.

Rather than a chronological history through the many titles that fall under the “film noir” umbrella, made in and outside Hollywood studios, Muller has organized the book into thematic chapters, from criminally corrupt characters in “Sinister Heights” to “The Precinct” which finds local and federal law enforcement involved and not always as the good guys. Other character types getting their own

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir




Fans of film noir are certainly in luck this summer! Eddie Muller, TCM’s “Czar of Noir,” has released a revised and expanded edition of
Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir
with plenty of new information and photographs for readers to enjoy.

Film noir is celebrated for its pessimistic tone, harsh atmosphere, and its ability to make female artists shine. While there are numerous noir films that immediately come to mind as classics exemplary of the filmmaking style, there are many more lesser-discussed films noir that are yet to enjoy the spotlight.

Muller’s
Dark City
offers a thorough overview of a varied selection of films noir, from the staples to the hidden gems. His book delves into each film with a thoughtful discussion of its context, production, as well as on- and off-screen talents involved. Readers can learn about what made each particular film special, in addition to the challenges faced along the way during production.

Moreover, Muller also offers intriguing glimpses into the personal and professional lives of various stars who appeared in noir, including the likes of femme fatales like Rit