Guide to British Cinema

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Scholarly and popular interest in British cinema has never been stronger, with films ranging from the Merchant Ivory pictures through Notting Hill finding both critical and commercial success in America. This guide to the nation's cinematic output includes entries on major British actors, directors, and films from 1929 through the present day. The volume also highlights both major cycles such as the Gainsborough melodrama, the Ealing comedy, and the British new wave; as well as less well-defined cycles including the vein of dark melodramas that characterized the British cinema from 1945 to 1950. Such figures as Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, and Dirk Bogarde are covered in detail, as well as Christopher Lee, Roy Ward Baker, Ray Winstone, and other long-serving but less well-known artists. The guide pays close attention to films including "The Third Man" and "Brief Encounter" as well as genre pieces such as "Brighton Rock".

Reviews

[A] useful reference tool and recommended for film collections.-College & Research Libraries
[U]seful as an introduction to the country's film history. A handy encyclopedic companion to the numerous narrative histories of British cinema.... Highly recommended for all film collections.-Library Journal
Mayer's addition to Greenwood's "Reference Guides to the World's Cinema" series is a subjective guide to British cinema, 1929-2000. It focuses on the best films, award winners, and on films that were socially or politically significant at the time of their release..... Recommended. Undergraduate and graduate collections on cinema studies.-Choice
"A useful reference tool and recommended for film collections."-College & Research Libraries
"Useful as an introduction to the country's film history. A handy encyclopedic companion to the numerous narrative histories of British cinema.... Highly recommended for all film collections."-Library Journal
"[A] useful reference tool and recommended for film collections."-College & Research Libraries
"[U]seful as an introduction to the country's film history. A handy encyclopedic companion to the numerous narrative histories of British cinema.... Highly recommended for all film collections."-Library Journal
"Mayer's addition to Greenwood's "Reference Guides to the World's Cinema" series is a subjective guide to British cinema, 1929-2000. It focuses on the best films, award winners, and on films that were socially or politically significant at the time of their release..... Recommended. Undergraduate and graduate collections on cinema studies."-Choice

Author Bio

Geoff Mayer is the Chair of the Cinema Studies Department and Deputy Chair of the School of Communication, Arts, and Critical Enquiry at Latrobe University in Melbourne, Australia.