Andrew Higson – författare

The costume drama was one of the important production trends in British cinema during the 1980s and 1990s. Films such as Chariots of Fire, A Room with a View, Howards End, Sense and Sensibility, Elizabeth, and Shakespeare in Love won numerous accolades, received extensive critical acclaim, and achieved considerable box-office success, both in the UK and overseas. Since the late 1980s, there has been much debate about these films, about their politics and their meanings, and about their relationship to the heritage industry. In English Heritage, English Cinema, Andrew Higson moves the debate on heritage cinema in important new directions. First, he demonstrates that there were many more 'British' costume dramas than have usually been taken into account in discussions of heritage cinema, and describes the typical subject matter, themes, and stylistic characteristics of these films. Secondly, he explores the major concerns of the critical debate about heritage cinema, arguing that the ambivalence of the films themselves and the richness of the reception process necessarily produces a range of often incompatible interpretations of the same films. Thirdly, he looks at the way in which the costume drama production trend was funded, marketed, and exhibited, noting in particular the development of crossover appeal, and the involvement of American capital and specialist distribution companies. Finally, he looks in detail at two key films, Howards End and Elizabeth, and at their production, distribution, exhibition, and critical reception. The book is based on extensive empirical research but is written in an accessible and jargon-free style. As well as dealing with a specific production trend, it also raises more general questions about genre, national cinema, the relations between commercial and cultural interests, and the processes of reception and interpretation.

The costume drama was one of the important production trends in British cinema during the 1980s and 1990s. Films such as "Chariots of Fire", "A Room with a View", "Howard's End", "Sense and Sensibility", "Elizabeth", and "Shakespeare in Love" won numerous accolades, received extensive critical acclaim, and achieved considerable box-office success, both in the UK and overseas. Since the late 1980s, there has been much debate about these films, about their politics and their meanings, and about their relationship to the heritage industry. In this text, the author moves the debate on heritage cinema in other directions. First, he demonstrates that there were many more "British" costume dramas than have usually been taken into account in discussions of heritage cinema, and describes the typical subject matter, themes, and stylistic characteristics of these films. Secondly, he explores the major concerns of the critical debate about heritage cinema, arguing that the ambivalence of the films themselves and the richness of the reception process necessarily produces a range of often incompatible interpretations of the same films.

British Cinema: Past and Present responds to the commercial and critical success of British film in the 1990s. Providing a historical perspective to the contemporary resurgence of British cinema, this unique anthology brings together leading international scholars to investigate the rich diversity of British film production, from the early sound period of the 1930s to the present day.The contributors address:* British Cinema Studies and the concept of national cinema* the distribution and reception of British films in the US and Europe* key genres, movements and cycles of British cinema in the 1940s, 50s and 60s* questions of authorship and agency, with case studies of individual studios, stars, producers and directors* trends in British cinema, from propaganda films of the Second World War to the New Wave and the 'Swinging London' films of the Sixties* the representation of marginalised communities in films such as Trainspotting and The Full Monty* the evolution of social realism from Saturday Night, Sunday Morning to Nil By Mouth* changing approaches to Northern Ireland and the Troubles in films like The Long Good Friday and Alan Clarke's Elephant* contemporary 'art' and 'quality' cinema, from heritage drama to the work of Peter Greenaway, Derek Jarman, Terence Davies and Patrick Keiller.

British Cinema: Past and Present responds to the commercial and critical success of British film in the 1990s. Providing a historical perspective to the contemporary resurgence of British cinema, this unique anthology brings together leading international scholars to investigate the rich diversity of British film production, from the early sound period of the 1930s to the present day.The contributors address:* British Cinema Studies and the concept of national cinema* the distribution and reception of British films in the US and Europe* key genres, movements and cycles of British cinema in the 1940s, 50s and 60s* questions of authorship and agency, with case studies of individual studios, stars, producers and directors* trends in British cinema, from propaganda films of the Second World War to the New Wave and the 'Swinging London' films of the Sixties* the representation of marginalised communities in films such as Trainspotting and The Full Monty* the evolution of social realism from Saturday Night, Sunday Morning to Nil By Mouth* changing approaches to Northern Ireland and the Troubles in films like The Long Good Friday and Alan Clarke's Elephant* contemporary 'art' and 'quality' cinema, from heritage drama to the work of Peter Greenaway, Derek Jarman, Terence Davies and Patrick Keiller.

A volume of specially-commissioned essays dealing with the attempts to create a pan-European film production movement in the 1920s and 1930s, and the reactions of the American film industry to these plans to rival its hegemony. The book has an impressive array of top scholars from both America and Europe, including Thomas Elsaesser, Kristin Thompson and Ginette Vincendeau, as well as essays by some younger scholars who have recently completed new archival research. It also includes a number of primary documents selected by the contributors to illuminate their arguments and provide a stimulus to further research.This book is a volume in the series Exeter Studies in Film History, and represents a major contribution to cinema scholarship as well as reflecting a strong interest in an area of study currently being developed in university departments and at the British Film Institute.Winner Prix Jean Mitry 2000

This book brings together the study of silent cinema and the study of British cinema, both of which have seen some of the most exciting developments in Film Studies in recent years. The result is a comprehensive survey of one of the most important periods of film history. Most of the acknowledged experts on this period are represented, joined by several new voices. Together they chart the development of cinema in Britain from its beginnings in the 1890s to the conversion to sound in the late 1920s. From these accounts the youthful British cinema emerges as far from innocent. On the contrary, it was a fascinatingly complex field of cultural and industrial practices. The book also includes guides to bibliographical and archival sources and an extensive bibliography.

This book brings together the study of silent cinema and the study of British cinema, both of which have seen some of the most exciting developments in Film Studies in recent years. The result is a comprehensive survey of one of the most important periods of film history. Most of the acknowledged experts on this period are represented, joined by several new voices. Together they chart the development of cinema in Britain from its beginnings in the 1890s to the conversion to sound in the late 1920s. From these accounts the youthful British cinema emerges as far from innocent. On the contrary, it was a fascinatingly complex field of cultural and industrial practices. The book also includes guides to bibliographical and archival sources and an extensive bibliography.

This book offers comparative studies of the production, content, distribution and reception of film and television drama in Europe. The collection brings together scholars from the humanities and social sciences to focus on how new developments are shaped by national and European policies and practices, and on the role of film and television in our everyday lives. The chapters explore key trends in transnational European film and television fiction, addressing issues of co-production and collaboration, and of how cultural products circulate across national borders. The chapters investigate how watching film and television from neighbouring countries can be regarded as a special kind of cultural encounter with the possibility of facilitating reflections on national differences within Europe and negotiations of what characterizes a national or a European identity respectively.

The chapters investigate how watching film and television from neighbouring countries can be regarded as a special kind of cultural encounter with the possibility of facilitating reflections on national differences within Europe and negotiations of what characterizes a national or a European identity respectively.

British cinema has been far richer and more diverse than is generally recognized, as this collection of key writings on British film culture – from the conversion to sound in the late 1920s to the 1990s – testifies. Dissolving Views brings together a number of important and influential essays and the light they throw on 70 or so years of British cinema history makes this volume a vital, provocative and highly informative collection.

In a film business increasingly transnational in its production arrangements and global in its scope, what space is there for culturally English filmmaking? In this groundbreaking book, Andrew Higson demonstrates how a variety of Englishnesses have appeared on screen since 1990, and surveys the genres and production modes that have captured those representations. He looks at the industrial circumstances of the film business in the UK, government film policy and the emergence of the UK Film Council. He examines several contemporary 'English' dramas that embody the transnationalism of contemporary cinema, from 'Notting Hill' to 'The Constant Gardener'. He surveys the array of contemporary fiction that has been re-worked for the big screen, and the pervasive - and successful - Jane Austen adaptation business. Finally, he considers the period's diverse films about the English past, including big-budget, Hollywood-led action-adventure films about medieval heroes, intimate costume dramas of the modern past, such as 'Pride and Prejudice', and films about the very recent past, such as 'This is England'.