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National Film Studies United Kingdom 100 British Documentaries: BFI Screen Guides Patrick Russell 100 British Documentaries provides an accessible and occasionally provocative introduction to a rich and surprisingly varied tradition, by considering 100 examples from a century's worth of cinema. Patrick Russell's insightful essays on the 100 films place them in context, discuss the ways in which they represent their subject matter, and consider how they portray Britain during a century of great social and political change. Softcover, 270 pp. $26.95. British Film Directors: A Critical Guide Robert Shail British national cinema has produced an exceptional track record of innovative, creative, and internationally recognized filmmakers, among them Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, and David Lean. This tradition continues today with the work of directors as diverse as Neil Jordan, Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh, and Ken Loach. This concise, authoritative volume analyzes critically the work on one hundred British directors - balancing academic rigor with accessibility, British Film Directors provides an indispensable reference source for filmm students at all levels, as well as for the general film enthusiast. Softcover, 246 pp. $43.95. British War Films: 1939-1945 S.P. MacKenzie The cinema was the most popular form of entertainment during the Second World War. Feature films about the forces, such as Target for Tonight, In Which We Serve and The Way Ahead, shaped the British people's perceptions of the conflict. British War Films: 1939-1945 relates how, with service participation, these pictures came to be made and how they were received. Softcover, 244 pp. $30.95. Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany: World War II Cinema Jo Fox In Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany, Jo Fox compares how each country exploited their national cinema for political purposes. Through an investigation of shorts and feature films, the author looks at how both political propaganda films and escapist cinema were critical in maintaining morale, and how this changed throughout the war. While both countries shared certain similarities in their wartime propaganda films -- a harking back to a glorious historic past, for example -- the thematic differences reveal important distinctions between cultures. This book offers new insight into the shifting pattern of morale during World War II and highlights a key moment in propaganda film history. Softcover, 358 pp. $36.95. The Pocket Essential Great British Movies Don Shiach Don Shiach has attempted to encapsulate in this volume the peaks of the British film achievement from the beginning of the sound era to the first decade of the 21st century. The giant figures of the 1930s, Alfred Hitchcock and Alexander Korda, set a standard for the domestic film industry in its attempt to challenge the domination of the Hollywood film. Great British Movies makes a fascinating read, a useful reference book and a must for all fans of British cinema. Softcover, 160 pp. $9.95. Directors in British and Irish Cinema Robert Murphy This unique volume presents a comprehensive reference guide to directors who have worked in the British and Irish film industries between 1895 and 2006. The book is packed with fascinating facts, critical summaries and invaluable contextualising details. It will be an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in film-making in Britain and Ireland. Softcover, 644 pp. $55.95. Cinema and Northern Ireland John Hill John Hill's groundbreaking study is the first book to focus solely on the cinema from and about Northern Ireland. Hill carefully examines the relationship between films and the political tensions within Northern Ireland, identifying the ways in which films have both reinforced and challenged social divisions. He considers the moral and religious controversies that have surrounded cinema in the North and describes the political censorship of films held to be seditious such as Ourselves Alone and The Plough and the Stars. He assesses the role of film-making in Northern Ireland during and after World War II, and considers how Northern Ireland's relationship with Britain and the rest of Ireland figured in feature films such as Odd Man Out as well as in government propaganda films and informational shorts. Both original and authoritative, Cinema and Northern Ireland is destined to become the standard work on the subject. Softcover, 262 pp. $36.95. British Cinema and the Cold War: The State, Propaganda and Consensus Tony Shaw Cinema was one of the Cold War's most powerful instruments of propaganda. Movies blended with literary, theatrical, musical and broadcast representations of the conflict to produce a richly textured Cold War culture. Now in paperback, this timely book fills a significant gap in the international story by uncovering British cinema's contribution to Cold War propaganda and to the development of a popular consensus on Cold War issues. Softcover, 280 pp. $36.95. Tears of Laughter: Comedy-drama in 1990s British Cinema Nigel Mather British cinema underwent a number of exciting transformations during the 1990s and Tears of Laughter identifies the interactions of comedy and drama that were a fundamental feature of many of the films that were produced during that decade. Nigel Mather explores three specific strands: comedies engaging with issues of class, culture and community in modern Britain; 'ethnic' comedy-dramas exploring complex issues of identity and allegiance in British society; and romantic comedies. Softcover, 211 pp $32.95. Shepperton Studios: A Visual Celebration Morris Bright Shepperton has been the home for maverick and independent film production for nearly seventy-five years. Owned by a succession of famous brothers, the Kordas, the Boultings, the Lees, and the Scotts, some of the most successful films ever produced have been made at the studios. With over 300 stunning images (many previously unpublished) and contributions from directors, actors, producers and those behind the scenes, this fully authorised book represents the first comprehensive illustrated account of Shepperton Studios. Hardcover, 384 pp. $85.00. Visions of England: Class and Culture in Contemporary Cinema Paul Dave Visions of England is a provocative and original exploration of Englishness, in particular English class, in contemporary cinema. Class has been a central part, whether consciously or not, of much of English social analysis and artistic production for over a century. But as a way of interpreting society, class has found itself sidelined in a postmodern world. By looking at a diverse cross-section of films, Visions of England presents a detailed analysis of the changing landscape of English class and culture. Softcover, 205 pp. $39.95. Icons in the Fire Alexander Walker Veteran film critic Alexander Walker gives the inside story of the British film industry from 1984 to the end of the century, and tackles such questions as why a nation that produces actors of the calibre of Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Emma Thompson as well as directors such as Anthony Minghella, Sam Mendes and Stephen Frears, cannot sustain a native film industry. In this final volume of the series which began with Hollywood England and National Heroes, Walker relates the extraordinary events of the last twenty years with judgements based on a lifetime watching films and writing about the people that made them. Softcover, 328 pp. $24.95. National Heroes: British Cinema in the Seventies and Eighties Alexander Walker Following on from Hollywood England, Alexander Walker's much-praised account of British cinema in the Sixties, National Heroes has social change as well as mass entertainment as its focus. From the so-called 'hangover years' of the early Seventies to the 'renaissance era' of the mid-Eighties, it shows the immense variety of human motives and talents underpinning the search for profit and power. Informed by the author's unparalleled knowledge of films and the film industry, this book is an outstanding work, and essential reading for anyone interested in Britain's film history. Softcover, 296 pp. $24.95. Hollywood England Alexander Walker Hollywood England is a book of an era as much as of the cinema, with the screen often reflecting the mood of the 'swinging sixties'. Alexander Walker reveals how, for the first time, British cinema achieved a truly national character, with films such as Billy Liar, Kes, the Beatles musicals and the James Bond films, and talents such as Ken Russell, Bryan Forbes, Michael Caine, and Julie Christie. There was a wealth of new writers, photographers and designers - and yet, ironically, by the end of the decade Hollywood sustained ninety-five per cent of British filmmaking. Including sharp appraisals on the vast variety of American and British film people who make up this new era, Hollywood England is a remarkable work on an extraordinary period in British cinema. Softcover, 493 pp. $24.95. Back to top

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British Cinema: A Critical History Amy Sargeant Although 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 of 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 students and the general reader alike. Softcover, 374 pp. $34.95. Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema Matthew Sweet British cinema has a long, rich history, even though some sophisticates think the British industry has never been anything but a pale shadow of Hollywood. In Shepperton Babylon, Matthew Sweet invites us all to think again. This is the story of scandals, suicides, immolations, contract killings, and much more. In short, this is a Babel of voices from the lost worlds of British cinema. Softcover, 388 pp. $30.00. The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon Edwardian Britain on Film Vanessa Toulmin, Simon Popple & Patrick Russell The discovery of the Peter Worden Mitchell and Kenyon collection has been described as film's equivalent of Tutankhamen's tomb. This treasure trove of 800 films provides an unparalleled social record of everyday life in early twentieth century Britain. Using a variety of contexts -- historical, social, economical, and cinematic -- this anthology of essays provides a vivid assessment of the collection. Softcover, 210 pp. $34.95. Keeping it Real: Irish Film and Television Ruth O'Brien & Harvey Barton This timely collection of essays considers the nature and direction of Irish film and television, and also explores the contributions of other media including radio and the internet to contemporary Irish culture. It includes topics such as the first Irish-language soap opera, the new Irish gangsters, Irish identity post-September 11, images of Belfast in recent Irish film, female punishment in Irish history and culture, and print and radio coverage of the 'Roy Keane' affair as a proving ground for new Irish masculinity. Softcover, 210 pp. $34.50. British Film Jim Leach This book explores British cinema in relation to its social, political, and cultural contexts. Each chapter deals with a specific topic -- including realism, expressionism, popular cinema, film and theatre, sexuality and gender, comedy, class and ideology, heritage film, and diasporic cinema -- and features close readings of key films from different historical periods. Softcover, 289 pp. $37.95. British Film Editors Roy Perkins & Martin Stollery The contributions of film editors have long been overlooked or simply not understood. In British Film Editors, the craftmen and craftswomen convey, in their own words, the nature of their elusive art. By focusing exclusively on film editing, this book offers an alternative history of cinema, both highly readable and thoroughly fascinating. Softcover, 248 pp. $41.95. Irish National Cinema Ruth Barton From the international success of Jordan and Sheridan, to the smaller productions of the new generation of Irish filmmakers, the recent flowering of Irish cinema can be seen as a symbol of the nation's emergence into the mainstream global economy. In Barton's discussion of contemporary Irish filmmaking, she reflects on questions of nationalism, gender, and the representation of the Troubles and of Irish history, as well as cinema's response to the legacy of the 'Celtic Tiger'. Softcover, 214 pp. $35.95. Story and Character: Interviews with British Screenwriters Alastair Owen Praised by dramatist David Hare as "the most purely likeable book about cinema that I have ever read," Story and Character is the first-ever anthology of interviews with British screenwriters. Lively and funny, challenging and revealing, this series of exclusive interviews with the unsung heroes of contemporary British cinema provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at the movie business. Softcover, 310 pp. $31.95. Reframing British Cinema 1918-1928: Between Restraint and Passion Christine Gledhill This is a major new study of British Cinema's formative years. Between 1918-1928 British film was poised between a Victorian past and a future marked out as American. Examining a cinema inextricably intertwined with notions of theatricality, pictorialism and storytelling, in which high cultural, middlebrow and popular intersect, this book re-evaluates the little known but interesting and often startling films of the 1920s. Softcover, 214 pp. $41.95. Contemporary Irish Cinema James MacKillop The various essays in Contemporary Irish Cinema take a variety of approaches to the study of Irish films and filmmakers. The authors probe cinema's rewriting of Irish history, the influence of the writings of Martin Heidegger, and the attitudes towards the institutional church in films such as Michael Collins, In the Name of the Father, Pigs, Playboys, and several others. Softcover, 290 pp. $37.95. Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema Andrew Spicer A broad and lively account of masculinity in British Cinema from the Second World War to the present day. Hardcover, 252 pp. $62.95.   The Encyclopedia of British Film Brian McFarlane Comprehensive, authoritative and consistently entertaining, this is an essential reference work for all who work in, write about or simply enjoy watching British film. Inside you'll find nearly 6,000 entries: a veritable who's who of actors, directors, composers, cinematographers, writers, producers and all of the other creative personnel involved in British filmmaking. Softcover, 774 pp. $52.95. British Social Realism Samantha Lay Samantha Lay examines the movements, moments and cycles of British social realist texts through a detailed consideration of practice, politics, form, style, and content. Films discussed include: Listen To Britain, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Letter to Brezhnev, Nil By Mouth, and many others. Softcover, 134 pp. $30.50. The Undercut Reader: Critical Writings on Artists' Film and Video Nina Danino/Michael Maziere This Reader is a collection of writing and visual works from Undercut, the only UK magazine dedicated to artists' film and video from 1980 to 1990, combined with newly-commissioned articles by leading critics in the field. Undercut critically explored the aesthetics and politics of film and video practices within the context of visual arts and independent cinema. Softcover 277 pp. $41.95. British National Cinema Sarah Street This book provides an accessible and thorough exploration of the fascinating development of British cinema. It examines genres such as Ealing comedies, Hammer horror and Merchant-Ivory period pieces. B&W illustrations. $29.99. Back to top

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Last modified July 15, 2003 . Please note that all prices are in Canadian dollars. All prices are subject to change without notice.