British film

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book explores British cinema in relation to its social political and cultural contexts. Each chapter deals with a specific topic and includes close readings of key films from different historical periods. Topics include realism, expressionism, popular cinema, film and theater, sexuality and gender, comedy, class and ideology, heritage film, and diasporic cinema. Demonstrating the richness and variety of a national cinema that has traditionally struggled to define itself between the paradigms of Hollywood popular film and European art cinema, British Film also addresses the problematic concept of 'national character' as it has been applied in studies of national cinemas and cultures, and the increasing pressure on all of these ideas in the age of globalization. Designed for the general reader, this volume is suitable for use as a textbook, providing comprehensive coverage of British cinema and detailed discussion of specific films that can be used in tandem with screenings.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 1 The national health: Great Britain/deep England
• 2 The magic box: what is British cinema?
• 3 The common touch: the art of being realistic
• 4 The mirror crack'd: British expressionism
• 5 Millions like us: British cinema as popular cinema
• 6 The stars look down: acting British
• 7 No sex please - we're British: sex, gender, and the national character
• 8 Carry on regardless: The British sense of humor
• 9 Sexy beasts: British monsters
• 10 The ruling class: ideology and the school movie
• 11 The long memory: history and heritage
• 12 I'm British but ...: Empire and after

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Leach took on a difficult task in discussing the whole of British cinema in one short volume, and he falls far short of the mark. Though he researched widely and provides an extensive bibliography, he fails to give any adequate idea of what "British" cinema is. Major failings fall into four categories. First, his conceptualization fails to transcend the old, tired categories of style (realism/expressionism) and genre studies. In a book that claims to discuss cinema's role in reflecting and shaping national character, why not give the reader, say, a sustained treatment of depictions of the family or attitudes toward governmental authority? Second, he is inconsistent, e.g., in the use of actor names: if it is somehow significant that Emma Williams acts in Notting Hill, is it not significant that Jamie Bell plays the title role in Billy Elliott? Third, imbalances abound: his plot summary of Madonna of the Seven Moons is longer than the (dismissive) treatment of the entire works of Leigh and Loach. Fourth and most important, he commits massive and inconceivable omissions: where are Welsh cinema, Scottish cinema since 1950, and mainstream gay cinema? Where are Boyle, Ramsay, Winterbottom, Meadows, Kotting, Kwietnowski, Pawlowski, and Keillor? And Leach should know the difference between a pan and a tilt. ^BSumming Up: Not recommended. W. A. Vincent Michigan State University