Recommended reading - More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts (1998):

More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts

By James Naremore.

First published 1998.
Published by University of California Press.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0520254023
ISBN-13: 978-0520254022

Description:

"Film noir" evokes memories of stylish, cynical, black-and-white movies from the 1940s and '50s―melodramas about private eyes, femmes fatales, criminal gangs, and lovers on the run. James Naremore's prize-winning book discusses these pictures, but also shows that the central term is more complex and paradoxical than we realize. It treats noir as a term in criticism, as an expression of artistic modernism, as a symptom of Hollywood censorship and politics, as a market strategy, as an evolving style, and as an idea that circulates through all the media. This new and expanded edition of More Than Night contains an additional chapter on film noir in the twenty-first century.

On this day in music history - I Want Magic!: American Opera Arias, by Renée Fleming and James Levine (1998):

I Want Magic!: American Opera Arias

Album by Renée Fleming and James Levine,

released September 15, 1998.

Track list:

Wuthering Heights: I Have Dreamt; The Ballad of Baby Doe: The Letter Song; The Medium: Monica’s Waltz; Porgy and Bess: Summertime - Renee Fleming/New York Voices/Teddy Swarrer; Porgy and Bess: My Man’s Gone Now - Renee Fleming/New York Voices/Teddy Swarrer; Candide: Glitter and Be Gay; Susannah: Ain’t It a Pretty Night; Susannah: The Trees on the Mountains; The Rake’s Progress: No Word from Tom... I Go, I Go to Him; Vanessa: He Has Come, He Has Come; A Streetcar Named Desire: I Want Magic!

On this day in music history - La Belle Époque: The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn, by Susan Graham (1998):

La Belle Époque: The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn

Album by Susan Graham,

released September 15, 1998.

Track list:

À Chloris; Le Rossignol des lilas; L’Énamourée; Trois Jours de vendange; Études Latines: “Lydé”; Études Latines: “Tyndaris”; Études Latines: “Phyllis”; Les Fontaines; L’Automne; Infidélité; Dans la nuit; D’une prison; Quand la nuit n’est pas étoilée; Fumée; Le Printemps; Je me souviens; Quand je fus pris au pavillon; Paysage; Fêtes galantes; Nocturne; Mai; L’Heure exquise; Offrande; Si mes vers avaient des ailes.

On this day in music history - Where Blue Begins, by Deborah Coleman (1998):

Where Blue Begins

Album by Deborah Coleman,

released September 15, 1998.

Track list:

Love Moves Me; Goodbye Misery; Hain’t It Funny; Travelin’ South; The Dream; Walk Your Walk; They Raided the Joint; Do You Want My Love; On the Hunt; Beside Myself; Nobody to Blame.

On this day in movie history - Phoenix (1998):

Phoenix

directed by Danny Cannon,

written by Eddie Richey,

was released in the United States on September 4, 1998.
Music by Graeme Revell.

Cast:

Ray Liotta, Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven, Royce D. Applegate, Xander Berkeley, Tamara Clatterbuck, Vanessa Munday, Al Sapienza, Yvette Cruise, John Henry Whitaker, Glenn Morshower, Brittany Murphy, George Murdock, Kathryn Joosten, Giancarlo Esposito, Ernest M. Garcia, David Dunard, Earl Carroll, Anjelica Huston, Sandra Taylor, George Aguilar, Frank Clem, Tom Noonan, Kari Wuhrer, Maria Stanton, Murphy Dunne, Sibel Ergener, Giovanni Ribisi, Dig Wayne, Simi Mehta, Annie Fitzgerald, Peter Spellos, Gordon Jennison Noice, Carmen Filpi, Margaret Chavez, L. Christian Mixon.

On this day in movie history - Saving Private Ryan (1998):

Saving Private Ryan

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Robert Rodat,

was released in the United States on July 24, 1998.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Harrison Young, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Harve Presnell, Bryan Cranston, David Wohl, Nathan Fillion, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Hurst, Max Martini, Leland Orser, Joerg Stadler, Dylan Bruno, Demetri Goritsas, Rolf Saxon, Corey Johnson, John Sharian, Glenn Wrage, Stéphane Cornicard, Dale Dye, Amanda Boxer, Kathleen Byron, Andrew Scott, Erich Redman.

Recommended reading - The Big Book of Noir (1998):

The Big Book of Noir

Published 1998.

Edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server, Martin H. Greenberg.

ISBN-10: 0786705744

ISBN-13: 978-0786705740

Description:

THE BIG BOOK OF NOIR

Noir is big. It was born in the hard-boiled detective story of Depression-era America. It flourished in the black-and-white B movies of the forties and fifties. And it’s been ingeniously reinvented in the film and fiction of the nineties.

Etched on our cultural memory by writers like Raymond Chandler, directors like Alfred Hitchcock, screen stars like Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Graham, noir is big.

Noir is big, so The Big Book of Noir jam-packs its pages with articles, interviews, excerpts, opinion, and gossip that chronicle its history and explore noir in all its forms: movies, detective stories, television and radio shows, comic books, and graphic novels.

The Big Book of Noir pays homage to the big names in noir – John Huston, Fritz Lang, Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Donald E. Westlake – as well as less familiar figures like Phil Karlson, Peter Rabe, Charles Williams, Harry Whittington, and Gil Brewer. It also includes two rare pieces: Stephen King writing about Jim Thompson in one and in the other Dulcy Brainard writing about Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, and Wendi Lee.

The evidence is in. The Big Book of Noir amasses fascinating and informative exhibits that amply illustrate one of America’s most significant cultural contributions.

Because noir is big.

On this day in movie history - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998):

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

directed by Terry Gilliam,

written by Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni, Alex Cox and Tod Davies,

based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson,

was released in the United States on May 22, 1998.
Music by Ray Cooper.

Cast:

Johnny Depp, Benicio del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey, Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Katherine Helmond, Michael Jeter, Craig Bierko, Lyle Lovett, Flea, Larry Cedar, Tim Thomerson, Richard Riehle, Richard Portnow, Steve Schirripa, Larry Brandenburg, Jennifer Elise Cox, Kim Flowers, Tane McClure, Christopher Meloni, Harry Dean Stanton, Troy Evans, Debbie Reynolds, Jenette Goldstein, Verne Troyer, Gregory Itzin, Laraine Newman, Penn Jillette, Hunter S. Thompson.

On this day in music history - Land of Forever, by 2002 (1998):

Land of Forever

Album by 2002,

released May 19, 1998.

Track list:

Summer of 300 Years; Sea of Dreams; Land of Forever; Realms of Splendor; The Calling; Dance with a Princess; Feast of Immortals; Falling Through Time; Heavenly Cities; Oceansky.

On this day in movie history - Deep Impact (1998):

Deep Impact

directed by Mimi Leder,

written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin,

was released in the United States on May 8, 1998.
Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Maximilian Schell, James Cromwell, Ron Eldard, Jon Favreau, Laura Innes, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Leelee Sobieski, Blair Underwood, Dougray Scott, Gary Werntz, Bruce Weitz, Betsy Brantley, O'Neal Compton, Rya Kihlstedt, Aleksandr Baluev, Caitlin Fein, Amanda Fein, Joe Urla, Una Damon, Mark Moses, Derek de Lint, Charles Dumas, Suzy Nakamura, Alimi Ballard, Charles Martin Smith, Katie Hagan, Denise Crosby, Frank Whiteman, Jason Dohring, Jasmine Harrison, Rahi Azizi, Hannah Leder, Tucker Smallwood, Merrin Dungey, Kimberly Huie, William Fair, Francis X. McCarthy, Ellen Bry, Lisa Ann Grant, Leslie Dilley, Concetta Tomei, Mike O'Malley, Kurtwood Smith, Gerry Griffin, Charlie Hartsock, Jennifer Jostyn, Don Handfield, Jason Frasca, Cynthia Ettinger, Benjamin Stralka, Stephanie Patton, Michael Winters, John Ducey, Christopher Darga, Joshua Colwell, Cornelius Lewis, Kevin LaRosa.

On this day in movie history - Black Dog (1998):

Black Dog

directed by Kevin Hooks,

written by William Mickelberry and Dan Vining,

was released in the United States on May 1, 1998.
Music by George S. Clinton.
Song: Drivin' My Life Away by Rhett Akins.

Cast:

Patrick Swayze, Meat Loaf, Randy Travis, Gabriel Casseus, Graham Beckel, Brenda Strong, Rusty De Wees, Cyril O'Reilly, Erin Broderick, Charles S. Dutton, Stephen Tobolowsky, Lorraine Toussaint, Hester Hargett, Stuart Greer, Whitt Brantley, Gene Hartline, Bo Keister, André B. Walker.