Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Popular cinema is saturated with images and narratives of empire. With "Projecting Empire", Chapman and Cull have written the first major study of imperialism and cinema for over thirty years. This welcome text maps the history of empire cinema in both Hollywood and Britain through a serious of case studies of popular films including biopics, adventures, literary adaptations, melodramas, comedies and documentaries, from the 1930s and "The Four Feathers" to the present, with "Indiana Jones" and "Three Kings". The authors consider industry-wide trends and place the films in their wider cultural and historical contexts. Using primary sources that include private papers, they look at the presence of particular auteurs in the cinema of Imperialism, including Korda, Lean, Huston and Attenborough, as well as the actors who brought the stories to life, such as Elizabeth Taylor and George Clooney. At a time when imperialism has a new significance in the world, this book will fulfil the needs of students and interested filmgoers alike.

Reviews

""The authors include fascinating information on the influence wielded by British and American political interests in shaping some of the films. This book demonstrates clearly that the symbiosis of cinema and empire is well worth exploring."" --CHOICE ""[A] fascinating and insightful exploration of the empire film...This is film history at its best, produced by scholars with a mastery of these movies, the relevant historical literature, and their sources. The engaging writing makes it accessible to students, while its stimulating analysis makes it relevant to scholars. Its case study approach allows the authors to delve deeply into each film, rather than stringing together a series of superficial observations about all relevant titles in the genre. Its readings of the films, though at times brief, are invariably informed, insightful, and ultimately persuasive."" -- James Burns (Clemson University), Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

Author Bio

James Chapman is Professor of Film at the University of Leicester. His previous books include 'Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films' (second edition, 2007) and 'Past and Present: National Identity and the British Historical Film' (2005). Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communications/USC School of International Relations, University of Southern California. His previous books include 'Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign Against American 'Neutrality' in World War II' (1995) and 'The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-1989' (2008).