TamTam Books News Saturday, October 25, 2003: I have just started rampaging through the subject of ‘Boris Vian’ when I came upon an interesting book by James Naremore called "More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts" (ISBN 0520212940; University of California Press) where he wrote, and I quote: "The end of World War II in Paris gave rise to what might be called a noir sensibility: but this sensibility was expressed through many things besides cinema, and if I had to choose a representative artist of the period, it would not be a filmmaker. Instead I would pick the somewhat Rimbaud-like personality Boris Vian." Naremore goes on and tells the tale of Vian and his importance in ‘noir’ history and how he feels that he was one of the main figures of that literary and cinematic movement. Mostly through his translation of hardboiled crime novels as well as (of course) "I Spit on Your Graves." He writes "The themes and motifs of Vian’s life and works- indigo moods, smoky jazz clubs, American fiction, and romantic isolation – resemble those in movies of his day, and his scandalous novel foregrounds two issues that seem relevant to film noir: sexual violence and racial blackness or otherness." Fascinating book! Tosh // 2:45 PM ______________________ Comments: Post a Comment
I have just started rampaging through the subject of ‘Boris Vian’ when I came upon an interesting book by James Naremore called "More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts" (ISBN 0520212940; University of California Press) where he wrote, and I quote: "The end of World War II in Paris gave rise to what might be called a noir sensibility: but this sensibility was expressed through many things besides cinema, and if I had to choose a representative artist of the period, it would not be a filmmaker. Instead I would pick the somewhat Rimbaud-like personality Boris Vian." Naremore goes on and tells the tale of Vian and his importance in ‘noir’ history and how he feels that he was one of the main figures of that literary and cinematic movement. Mostly through his translation of hardboiled crime novels as well as (of course) "I Spit on Your Graves." He writes "The themes and motifs of Vian’s life and works- indigo moods, smoky jazz clubs, American fiction, and romantic isolation – resemble those in movies of his day, and his scandalous novel foregrounds two issues that seem relevant to film noir: sexual violence and racial blackness or otherness." Fascinating book! Tosh // 2:45 PM
