Crime Films

Abstract

This book surveys the entire range of crime films, including important subgenres such as the gangster film, the private eye film, film noir, as well as the victim film, the erotic thriller, and the crime comedy. Focusing on ten films that span the range of the twentieth century, Thomas Leitch traces the transformation of the three leading figures that are common to all crime films: the criminal, the victim and the avenger. Analyzing how each of the subgenres establishes oppositions among its ritual antagonists, he shows how the distinctions among them become blurred throughout the course of the century. This blurring, Leitch maintains, reflects and fosters a deep social ambivalence towards crime and criminals, while the criminal, victim and avenger characters effectively map the shifting relations between subgenres, such as the erotic thriller and the police film, within the larger genre of crime film that informs them all.

American gangster: "Black Godfather" as a socio-cultural contradiction

“…Sniman sve do kraja 50ih godina u crno-beloj tehnici, gangsterski film je posedovao karakteristike "cinema reality" s jakim akcentom na moralnim dilemama i konfrontacijama koje je opisivao. 27 Žanr je razvio i svoju posebnu ikonografiju, kopirajući životni stil velikih kriminalnih bosova -skupa odela, dobra kola, lepe žene, noćni klubovi, "lavirint mračnih ulica i betonskih kanjona" u kojima gangster neprikosnoveno vlada, i slično (v. Reaburn 1988, Shadoian 2003, Strinati 2000, Leitch 2002, Mitchell 2003. 27 Zanimljivo je zapažanje Džeka Šadojana da je snimanje gangsterskog filma u kolor tehnici razvodnilo oštrinu konflikata i moralnih dilema koje su raniji crno-beli filmovi posedovali (Shadoian 2003, 242).…”

“…Nedoumice uglavnom izaziva činjenica da se kriminalne i uopšte nezakonite aktivnosti, kao i istrage o njima, nalaze i u drugim poznatim žanrovi-ma poput vesterna, SF filmova, horora, komedije i slično. Sasvim je, međutim, izvesno da je već decenijama, od početka zvučnog filma, ovaj "žanr koji nije žanr" (Leitch 2002, 2) najomiljeniji kod publike koja ga dobro prepoznaje, uživa u njemu i ne zamara se time šta čini njegovu bit. To je problem koji više muči naučne i stručne krugove od kojih neki, čak, smatraju da kriminalistički žanr zapravo ne postoji, to je prosto -drama, ili pre "kišobran koncept" koji obuhvata čitav niz drugih žanrova (Langman and Finn, 1995, ix).…”

“…O kriminalističkom žanru i njegovim podžanrovima videti više npr. u: Reaburn 1988; Langman and Finn 1995;Neale 2000;Leitch 2002, Mitchell 2003 neobičnog gangstera. Poznato je, kažu, da Denzel Vošington ne voli gangsterski film i da bi odigrao ulogu Frenka Lukasa uporno je tražio "dopadanje", ono "nešto" što bi ga privuklo liku, ono što je nazvao "the arc of character".…”

Kulturowy wymiar amerykańskiego kina policyjnego Cultural Dimension of American Cop Cinema

“…Skutkowało to osiągnięciem określonego "rozwoju" (achievement of "progress"). Mit pogranicza jest więc sprzęgnię-ty z mitem zwiastującym sukces i poczuciem moralnej wyższości 21 . Slotkin podkreśla sposób postrzegania przemocy: "Co jest specyficznie »ame-rykańskie« dla naszej historii to niekoniecznie ilość lub rodzaj przemocy, ale mityczne znaczenie, jakie przywiązaliśmy do rodzaju przemocy, jakiej doświadczyliśmy, formy symbolicznej przemocy, jaką sobie wyobrażamy i polityczne użycia, jakie przykładamy do tego symbolizmu" 22 .…”

From object to encounter: Aesthetic politics and visual criminology

“…Subsequent scholarship has developed an interest in representation for its own sake, sometimes in order to understand the attractions of criminality (Goldstein, 1999;Katz, 1988;Leitch, 2002) and at other times to analyse recurrent narratives, genres and forms of representation (Yar, 2010;Young, 2010a). Much of this work has been carried out under the heading of cultural criminology, but many argue that the need for a sophisticated understanding of the centrality of the image to crime has become increasingly urgent for criminology generally, 'given the ascendant position of the image/visual in contemporary culture' (Hayward, 2010: 9).…”