Ep 15: NOIR CITY Hollywood, Book Vs Film Adaptations, and A Touch Of Mancini, with Brian Light

NOIR CITY Hollywood showrunner Brian Light joins us to discuss the festival's 20th edition, as well as some of his articles for the NOIR CITY e-magazine. We start with some behind-the-scenes details of how the festival is organized, and we delve into some of this year's screenings: James Ellroy appearing with LA Confidential to receive the FNF's "Modern Noir Master" award; a triple bill from director Joseph Losey; and a pair of 1950s rarities, The Turning Point and The Scarlet Hour, in newly restored presentations courtesy of Paramount Pictures (1:50). Brian's numerous "Book vs Film" articles for NOIR CITY include "La Chienne vs Scarlet Street," a comparison of the 1920s French novel with two film versions, Jean Renoir's French adaptation and Fritz Lang's noir classic Scarlet Street. Brian details how hard it was to track down an English translation of the novel, as well as the differences between the two films in their overall tone and endings (17:30). "Scoring Evil: The Henry Mancini Touch" dives into one of classic noir's best soundtracks. We discuss Orson Welles' unique concept for scoring the 1958 film Touch Of Evil, plus Henry Mancini assembling top jazz musicians to record his ground-breaking compositions. Naturally, we spin several great themes from the soundtrack along the way (35:30). Schedule and tickets for NOIR CITY Hollywood: http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/noir-city-hollywood-the-20th-annual-los-angeles-festival-of-film-noir "Book vs Film: La Chienne vs Scarlet Street" from NOIR CITY #17: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_17.html Also available to read at: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html "Scoring Evil: The Henry Mancini Touch" from NOIR CITY #15: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_15.html Please send us any feedback you have on our show to [email protected], and rate/review us on iTunes. Music: Themes from The Damned Don't Cry (by Daniele Amfitheatrof), The Scarlet Hour (Leith Stevens), and Scarlet Street (H.J. Salter). Themes from Touch Of Evil, by Henry Mancini: Main Title, Strollin' Blues, Something For Susan, Background to Murder, Tana's Theme.