"The publication of this new edition of Kaplan's anthology of essays, first issued in 1978 and updated in 1980 (CH, Apr'81), is a welcome event. The addition of six articles that augment and deepen the collection's examination of the noir genre from feminist and poststructural critical perspectives makes this volume an indispensable scholarly tool, the most important assemblage on film noir since Joan Copjec's Shades of Noir (1993). Although film scholarship has evolved exponentially in the 20 years since Kaplan's edition was initially released, the original eight essays remain landmark contributions--illuminating approaches to an understanding of the gender tensions shaping and complicating much of US culture in the postwar decades. Several of the new inclusions probe issues of representation and spectatorship beyond the heterosexual divide. Collectively, the added pieces address generational differences between classic and neo-noir cinema and demonstrate the versatility and persistent vitality of the noir mode. Kaplan's introduction to the new edition provides useful historical and critical context, and the supplementary bibliography is a starting point for anyone wanting to investigate the genre. A must for all academic libraries." (Choice, July 1999)