<EM>Film noir</EM>''s popularity with cinema audiences, enthusiasts and scholars has remained unabated since post-war French critics began discerning a new trend in American film with the release of such stylish and atmospheric crime features as <EM>Double Indemnity</EM> and <EM>Murder, My Sweet</EM>. Many of Hollywood''s greatest directors such as Fritz Lang and Robert Siodmak are now closely associated with <EM>film noir</EM>''s psychologically acute observations of the darker contours of the American urban landscape. Thanks to evocative cinematography, sharp writing and powerful performances, these films have had an enduring influence on international visual culture.<BR><BR><EM>100 Film Noirs</EM> provides an authoritative overview of <EM>film noir</EM> past and present by examining its core films and themes and providing an accessible introduction to critical debates. The book goes beyond the classical canon to examine the ways in which <EM>noir</EM> continues to have a diverse inf