British Genres : : Cinema and Society, 1930-1960 / / Marcia Landy.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton Legacy Lib. eBook Package 1980-1999
• VerfasserIn: Landy, Marcia,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2014]; ©1991
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Edition: Course Book
• Language: English
• Series: Princeton Legacy Library ; 1205
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (592 p.)

In this unprecedented survey of British cinema from the 1930s to the New Wave of the 1960s, Marcia Landy explores how cinematic representation and social history converge. Landy focuses on the genre film, a product of British mass culture often dismissed by critics as "unrealistic," showing that in England such cinema subtly dramatized unresolved cultural conflicts and was, in fact, more popular than critics have claimed. Her discussion covers hundreds of works--including historical films, films of empire, war films, melodrama, comedy, science-fiction, horror, and social problem films--and reveals their relation to changing attitudes toward class, race, national identity, sexuality, and gender. Landy begins by describing the status and value of genre theory, then provides a history of British film production that illuminates the politics and personalities connected with the major studios. In vivid accounts of the films within each genre, she analyzes styles, codes, and conventions to show how the films negotiate history, fantasy, and lived experience. Throughout Landy creates a dynamic sense of genre and of how the genres shape, not merely reflect, cultural conflicts.Originally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Author's Note -- Introduction -- CHAPTER ONE. British Cinema History -- CHAPTER TWO. The Historical Film -- CHAPTER THREE. Empire, War, and Espionage Films -- CHAPTER FOUR. The War Film in War and Peace -- CHAPTER FIVE. The Woman's Film -- CHAPTER SIX. Tragic Melodramas -- CHAPTER SEVEN. Family Melodramas -- CHAPTER EIGHT. Film Comedies -- CHAPTER NINE. Horror and Science Fiction -- CHAPTER TEN. The Social Problem Film -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Filmography -- Bibliography -- Index