Bad Girls of Film Noir review

[Steve-O]

Film noir—that slippery admixture of crime, shadow and mordant cynicism—didn't get its familiar moniker until well after the genre's emergence in 1940s America. But from the outset these movies gripped filmgoers, whose enthusiasm extended beyond such classics as "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Double Indemnity" (1944) and "Out of the Past" (1947). The thrill ultimately transcended American shores, and in England and France films like Carol Reed's "The Third Man" (1949) and Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows" (1958) proved that there was nothing intrinsically American about the genre's dyspeptic ethos. Indeed, Criterion's recent "Nikkatsu Noir" set (named for the Japanese studio that produced the movies) effectively demonstrates that noir isn't even exclusively occidental.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704722304575037631589446308.html?KEYWORDS=dvd+movies

[Davidmk]

Thanks for the Link Steve-o !

[Hart]

Is one volume of Bad Girls of Film Noir better than the other? I'd like to get one for now, just don't want the lesser of two sets.

[Steve-O]

The best film of the bunch is Night Editor -- by far I think. Although the reviewer likes The Glass Wall a lot -- it's also the biggest production with a nice cast. Night Editor is on Vol 2, while The Glass Wall is on Vol 1. The rest are enjoyable but not essential... well Two of a Kind is in my opinion but no one elses...

[Hart]

Thanks, my man. I suppose I'll aim for vol 2 and watch Night Editor first and then aim back at vol 1 later.