Dispatches From Noir

Once upon a time, I dreamed of being an author. I thought I would write a great noir novel. That never happened, but I still admire the spare, descriptive prose and retro sensibilities of the hard-boiled detective.

I also see people every day. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what Chandler, Hammett, Leonard, Cain or even Fleming might have to say about them. So I take a stab at it. Here is the rogue's gallery of the novels and stories I never wrote. Meet the villains, bystanders, toughs and low-lifes that would populate them.

This is also a journal of my own journeys through the wonderful world of hardboiled/noir crime fiction. I review books and movies, and I’m happy to answer crime fiction questions and give recommendations. I'm also starting to think I might just be able to write some fiction of my own. I don't know how that will turn out. I do know that anything that appears on this page is just a dispatch from the great land of Noir.

Tweet Tweet CFL Reviews Q&A Any Questions? Let's See What Ya Got

As I’ve said before, Blade Runner is sci-fi. But the film’s film noir influences are prominent. So I’m kicking back and enjoying the movie this weekend.

And I would be remiss if I discussed Blade Runner without addressing the debate. What do you say, geeky tumblchums? Is Deckard a replicant?

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intheseaofthesky asked: Opinions on Blade Runner being classified as Neo-Noir before SciFi?

I think the noir elements of Blade Runner are stylistic, but ultimately not determinative. It’s a science fiction film. If we classify it as neo-noir first, then it is in the same genre as The Manchurian Candidate, Chinatown, Drive and Reservoir Dogs. Such a category would be so broad as to mean virtually nothing.

Granted, film noir was a rather broad category as well. But there was a set of stylistic characteristics that defined him noir. Ultimately, I think film noir is a style rather than a genre—and is something different than noir as a literary genre. Crime films deriving from hardboiled or noir influences after 1958 might have some claim to being classified as neo-noir without any other genre attached (e.g., perhaps Chinatown). The Manchurian Candidate is a political thriller first, in the style of film noir. Blade Runner is a science fiction film, in the style of film noir.

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