British Cinema: A Critical and Interpretive HistoryAlthough new writing and research on British cinema has burgeoned over the last fifteen years, there has been a continued lack of single-authored books providing a coherent overview to this fascinating and elusive national cinema. Amy Sargeant's personal and entertaining history of British cinema aims to fill this gap. With its insightful decade-by-decade analysis, British Cinema is brought alive for a new generation of British cinema students and the general reader alike. Sargeant challenges Rachel Low's premise 'that few of the films made in England during the twenties were any good' by covering subjects as diverse as the art of intertitling, the narrative complexities of Shooting Stars and Brunel's burlesques. Sargeant goes onto examine among other things, the differing acting styles of Dietrich and Donat in the seminal Knight Without Armour to early promotional campaigns in the 1930s, whereas subjects ranging from product endorsement by stars to the character of the suburban wife are covered in the 1940s. The 1950s includes topics such as the effect of post-war government intervention, to Free Cinema and Lindsay Anderson's 'infuriating lapses of rigour', together with a much-needed overview of Michael Balcon's contribution to British cinema. For Sargeant, the 1960s provides an overview of the tentative relationship between film and advertising and the rise of young Turks such as Tony Richardson, Ken Loach, Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. |
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actors adaptation advertising Alan Alec Guinness Alex alongside American Amy Sargeant appears audience Battle BBC TV Betty Betty Balfour Billy Bioscope Britain British Cinema British Film camera Carol Reed cast Chapter Charles Cinema London comedy costume critical Daily Express daughter David death Dirk Bogarde documentary drama Elvey England English father feature film film-makers film's George German girl Graham Greene Greene Hall Harmondsworth Hepworth History industry intertitles J. B. Priestley Jack James John Ken Loach Lady London lover Manchester Mary Maurice Elvey Meanwhile Michael Balcon mother National night Noël Coward novel Paul Penguin performance Peter photographed Picture Post play popular produced radio Richard Rita Robert role Routledge says screen sequence shot Sight and Sound society stage star story studio suggests television tells Theatre theme Tommy TV's University Press wife William woman women World young