British Film Guides – serie

"'Black Narcissus", now heralded as a masterpiece, is a landmark film in the influential canon of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. With the centenary of Powell's birth in 2005 this timely book - the first dedicated exclusively to the film - draws on archival documents, original set drawings and stills to demonstrate its remarkable achievements, both as a production and as a vehicle for ideas. Looking at the film's enduring images of both place and gender, Sarah Street also examines "Black Narcissus" as a masterly technical accomplishment - with cinematographer Jack Cardiff's experiments in Technicolor just one of its many advances - as well as a meditation on the end of empire. Looking too at the film's controversial reception by international critics and censors, and its subsequent impact on experimental filmmakers, Street explores issues of technique, style, performance and interpretation to reveal the continued relevance of "Black Narcissus" today.

Hammer Horror's "Dracula" was released in 1958 to a mixture of shock, outrage and praise. Yet this version of the Dracula tale, directed by Terence Fisher, was a milestone both for British cinema and for the horror genre. It made an international star of Christopher Lee and confirmed Hammer Films as one of the world's leading purveyors of cinematic terror. Peter Hutchings reveals how Hammer's newly eroticized version of "Dracula" differs from its previous incarnations. He explores the film's symbolism and narrative structure, as well as its potent sexuality and controversial take on gender. Aimed at students of film and fans of the horror genre, this lively guide reveals the legacy which Hammer's "Dracula" has left to cinema.

Dubbed 'the Citizen Kane of juke-box movies', voted among the top 100 British films of all time, accorded a high-profile release on DVD, A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles' film debut of 1964, has proven to be that rare event - an exploitation 'quickie' that has firmly entered the cultural canon. A Hard Day's Night was shot, edited and distributed in a matter of weeks early in 1964 to cash in on a passing local fad. Yet by the time of its release the Beatles had conquered America, and their film debut was instantly recognised as a major movie phenomenon. Placing the film in its social context, Stephen Glynn relates it to other examples of the genre, discusses its frantic making and its euphoric critical and popular reception. He analyses the film in depth, highlighting the 'revolt' in its depiction of youth, class and sexuality, and the style in director Richard Lester's Pop Art visual correlation to the myth-making soundtrack of Beatlemania. Essential reading for students of film, fans of popular music and the fab four and those interested in the Sixties, Glynn's guide also explores the legacy of A Hard Day's Night from the Monkees through to MTV and beyond.

Lindsay Anderson's 1968 masterpiece, "If...", deals fundamentally - and controversially - with England and quintessential 'Englishness'. Coming six years after Anderson's double Oscar-nominated debut feature, "This Sporting Life", "If..." was the first film ever with a British setting and cast to win the Palme d'Or for Best Film at Cannes. The fruit of Anderson's first-hand studies of the Czech, Polish and Indian New Waves led by Milos Forman, Andrzej Wajda and, most famously, Satyajit Ray, it prophesied - and then mirrored - an international outbreak of youthful rebellion. An authority on Lindsay Anderson and his films, Sutton here draws on massive quantities of original material: Anderson's private archive, which illuminates the film's autobiographical elements; the original script "Crusaders"; the sequel on which he was working at the time of his death; interviews with key members of cast and crew including lead Malcolm McDowell, all are here explored to unravel the mysteries of a film which continues to delight, enrage and inspire.

Described by Stuart Hall as 'one of the most riveting and important films produced by a black writer in recent years', My Beautiful Laundrette was a significant production for its director Stephen Frears and its writer Hanif Kureshi. Omar, member of a Pakistani family 'getting ahead' in 1980s Thatcher's Britain is charged to make over a rundown launderette, and in the process falls in love with the brooding Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis in career-making form). Christine Geraghty interrogates My Beautiful Laundrette as a crossover film: between television and cinema, realism and fantasy, and as an independent film targeting a popular audience. She deftly shows how it has remained an important and watchable film in the 1990s and early 2000s and her exploration of the film itself is a remarkable, original and entertaining achievement.

On the night of 14-15 April 1912 during her maiden voyage "Titanic" struck an iceberg and sank, losing most of her passengers and crew. Of the five epic films interpreting this tragic event, the docu-drama "A Night to Remember" (1958) is often regarded as the definitive version. This text examines the film's place in the continuing generation of "Titanic" mythology. He analyses the film, unravels its production history and reception, and compares it with the other "Titanic" films, notably James Cameron's recent blockbuster "Titanic".

Alexander Mackendrick's first feature film "Whisky Galore!" (1949), based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie, pits the crafty islanders of Todday against the Customs and Excise men trying to halt their illegal consumption of whisky. His film "The Maggie", the adventures of a decrepit River Clyde cargo boat, was released in 1953. Both films offer distinctive representations of Scotland and the Scots, a theme that Colin McArthur pursues in this lively guide to the two films. He explores the wider context of a Britain experiencing and emerging from post-war austerity, as well as the role of Ealing Studios, for which Mackendrick made both films. McArthur examines the tastes and perceptions of reviewers and audiences, both British and American, at the time of the films' release, as well as changed contemporary perspectives. He pays particular attention to the career of Alexander Mackendrick and offers the controversial argument that while their representations of "Scottishness" may be suspect, the films themselves are of great artistic integrity and accomplishment.

"'Black Narcissus", now heralded as a masterpiece, is a landmark film in the influential canon of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. With the centenary of Powell's birth in 2005 this timely book - the first dedicated exclusively to the film - draws on archival documents, original set drawings and stills to demonstrate its remarkable achievements, both as a production and as a vehicle for ideas. Looking at the film's enduring images of both place and gender, Sarah Street also examines "Black Narcissus" as a masterly technical accomplishment - with cinematographer Jack Cardiff's experiments in Technicolor just one of its many advances - as well as a meditation on the end of empire. Looking too at the film's controversial reception by international critics and censors, and its subsequent impact on experimental filmmakers, Street explores issues of technique, style, performance and interpretation to reveal the continued relevance of "Black Narcissus" today.

Described by Stuart Hall as 'one of the most riveting and important films produced by a black writer in recent years', My Beautiful Laundrette was a significant production for its director Stephen Frears and its writer Hanif Kureshi. Omar, member of a Pakistani family 'getting ahead' in 1980s Thatcher's Britain is charged to make over a rundown launderette, and in the process falls in love with the brooding Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis in career-making form). Christine Geraghty interrogates My Beautiful Laundrette as a crossover film: between television and cinema, realism and fantasy, and as an independent film targeting a popular audience. She deftly shows how it has remained an important and watchable film in the 1990s and early 2000s and her exploration of the film itself is a remarkable, original and entertaining achievement.

Dubbed 'the Citizen Kane of juke-box movies', voted among the top 100 British films of all time, accorded a high-profile release on DVD, A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles' film debut of 1964, has proven to be that rare event - an exploitation 'quickie' that has firmly entered the cultural canon. A Hard Day's Night was shot, edited and distributed in a matter of weeks early in 1964 to cash in on a passing local fad. Yet by the time of its release the Beatles had conquered America, and their film debut was instantly recognised as a major movie phenomenon. Placing the film in its social context, Stephen Glynn relates it to other examples of the genre, discusses its frantic making and its euphoric critical and popular reception. He analyses the film in depth, highlighting the 'revolt' in its depiction of youth, class and sexuality, and the style in director Richard Lester's Pop Art visual correlation to the myth-making soundtrack of Beatlemania. Essential reading for students of film, fans of popular music and the fab four and those interested in the Sixties, Glynn's guide also explores the legacy of A Hard Day's Night from the Monkees through to MTV and beyond.

Lindsay Anderson's 1968 masterpiece, "If...", deals fundamentally - and controversially - with England and quintessential 'Englishness'. Coming six years after Anderson's double Oscar-nominated debut feature, "This Sporting Life", "If..." was the first film ever with a British setting and cast to win the Palme d'Or for Best Film at Cannes. The fruit of Anderson's first-hand studies of the Czech, Polish and Indian New Waves led by Milos Forman, Andrzej Wajda and, most famously, Satyajit Ray, it prophesied - and then mirrored - an international outbreak of youthful rebellion. An authority on Lindsay Anderson and his films, Sutton here draws on massive quantities of original material: Anderson's private archive, which illuminates the film's autobiographical elements; the original script "Crusaders"; the sequel on which he was working at the time of his death; interviews with key members of cast and crew including lead Malcolm McDowell, all are here explored to unravel the mysteries of a film which continues to delight, enrage and inspire.

The British Film Guides are a fresh departure for the Cinema and Society series, each telling the story of an important British film, presented and priced for a readership spanning scholars, students and general film enthusiasts. These compact guides, based on new and original research, present each film's historical and cinematic context within its decade, genre and director's body of work; details of its production history; a full analysis of the film itself; and a survey of critical response to the film up to the present. Combining humour and thrills in equal measure, The 39 Steps (1935) is one of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces. The film established Hitchcock's reputation internationally as 'the master of suspense'. It also inspired two remakes, in 1959 and again in 1978. Mark Glancy's fresh reassessment of the film examines the work of screenwriter Charles Bennett and precedents set in Hitchcock's earlier films. It follows the intriguing circumstances of its production and presents an original and close analysis of the film itself. It also explores the film's critical and cinematic legacies. This is a revealing and highly readable new account of a landmark British film.

On the night of 14-15 April 1912 during her maiden voyage "Titanic" struck an iceberg and sank, losing most of her passengers and crew. Of the five epic films interpreting this tragic event, the docu-drama "A Night to Remember" (1958) is often regarded as the definitive version. This text examines the film's place in the continuing generation of "Titanic" mythology. He analyses the film, unravels its production history and reception, and compares it with the other "Titanic" films, notably James Cameron's recent blockbuster "Titanic".

Alexander Korda's masterpiece "The Private Life of Henry VIII" was arguably the most important British film of the pre-war period and a phenomenal, critical and box-office success. Greg Walker's accessible and thoroughly researched book examines the film itself, its makers and its place in the cinematic and cultural history of the period. He examines Korda's subtle treatment of national and "international" identity, his representation of British history, use of modern stereotypes, and discusses the representation of gender and sexuality in the film, including that of Henry's wives and Laughton's award-winning central performance.