"In this masterful book, Miklitsch explores the narrative and dramatic roles of sound and source music in 1940s film noir. With its emphasis on performance, song texts, and 'points of audition' rather than technical features of melodies and harmonies, this accessible book provides a more effective model for studying sound and music and their relationship to film images than does Gregg Redner's Deleuze and Film Music. Highly recommended."
— Choice
"Robert Miklitsch has convinced me. Sound and music in film noir are every bit as important as the visuals. Siren City drives home this argument with authority and elegance. Highly recommended."
— Krin Gabbard, author of Hotter Than That: The Trumpet, Jazz, and American Culture
"Siren City is the most extensive study of sound in film noir to date. This project is ideal scholarship; it is both groundbreaking work and has a wealth of prior work with which to engage. It is likely to attract readers interested in either film sound or the noir genre in addition to those drawn to their intersection."
— Film Criticism
"Amidst the sounds of echoing high heels, gunfire, and torch songs, Robert Miklitsch discovers the unheard rhythms of film noir. Siren City charts a new path through the genre to reveal how it was shaped equally by its audio aesthetics as by its visual tropes."
— Jay Beck, Carleton College
"Siren City succeeds because of its fine analyses. Miklitsch's work goes a long way in presenting us with equal measures of
variety, accessibility and entertainment."
— Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media