Best of Film Noir: Volume 1

The term film noir, French for "black film, "first applied to Hollywood films in 1946 and is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Most of the stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression. Included with the Best of Film Noir Vol. 1, a 3 DVD Collector's set are three classics led by what many consider one of the best with the Red House, along with Frank Sinatra's Suddenly and the absolute Film Noir gem Kansas City Confidential.