Music in the Shadows

Noir Musical Films

AvSheri Chinen Biesen

Häftad, Engelska, 2014

422 kr

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Beskrivning

Smoke. Shadows. Moody strains of jazz. Welcome to the world of "noir musical" films, where tormented antiheroes and hard-boiled musicians battle obsession and struggle with their music and ill-fated love triangles. Sultry divas dance and sing the blues in shrouded nightclubs. Romantic intrigue clashes with backstage careers. In her pioneering study, Music in the Shadows, film noir expert Sheri Chinen Biesen explores musical films that use film noir style and bluesy strains of jazz to inhabit a disturbing underworld and reveal the dark side of fame and the American Dream. While noir musical films like A Star Is Born include musical performances, their bleak tone and expressionistic aesthetic more closely resemble the visual style of film noir. Their narratives unfold behind a stark noir lens: distorted, erratic angles and imbalanced hand-held shots allow the audience to experience a tortured, disillusioned perspective.While many musicals glamorize the quest for the spotlight in Hollywood's star factory, brooding noir musical films such as Blues in the Night, Gilda, The Red Shoes, West Side Story, and Round Midnight stretch the boundaries of film noir and the musical as film genres collide. Deep shadows, dim lighting, and visual composition evoke moodiness, cynicism, pessimism, and subjective psychological points of view. As in her earlier study of film noir, Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir, Biesen draws on extensive primary research in studio archives to situate her examination within a historical, industrial, and cultural context.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2014-06-26
Mått:152 x 229 x 14 mm
Vikt:318 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:224
Förlag:Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN:9781421408385

Utforska kategorier

Filmmusik, musikaler och teatermusik inom Kultur
Film inom Kultur

Mer om författaren

Sheri Chinen Biesen is an associate professor of radio, television, and film studies at Rowan University and author of Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Recensioner i media

[Biesen's] writing is silky and engaging and will enthrall fans of musicals and film noir... Library Journal Music in the Shadows is an interesting and provocative approach to post-genre film criticism that underscores the interconnectedness of diverse media, and provides both a challenging perspective on the musical genre and a testimonial to the ongoing legacy of noir sensibility. -- Louis J. Kern Key Reporter The book nicely balances in-depth historical research and previous film noir scholarship with fresh ideas and a writing style that is both evocative and concise. The author doesn't force the films into the model of her theory; instead the films guide the theory, a quality often lacking in film writing. Music in the Shadows ultimately succeeds on two levels, both in providing an entertaining and enlightening read, as well as an impetus to watch previously unseen films and rewatch familiar classics with a new perspective. -- Anne M. Hockens Noir City Biesen's relevant study provides new insight and proves a welcome addition to film noir studies. Choice

Innehållsförteckning

List of IllustrationsAcknowledgments1. The Noir Musical2. Preludes to the Noir Musical3. Blues in the Night: The Noir Musical on the Brink of World War II4. Smoky Melodies: Jazz Noir Musical Drama5. Le Rouge et le Noir: From The Red Shoes to A Star Is Born6. Dark Musical Melodrama: From Young at Heart to West Side Story7. The Legacy of the Noir MusicalNotesIndex