Billy Liar

Any books on British Documentary Filmmakers besides Jennings?

theuofc

One of my favourite pastimes is reading film books, anything from film biographies to those on the studios themselves. Two of several books on studios that I'd like to recommend today are:

1. Patricia Warren's "British Film Studios: an Illustrated History," (London: Batsford, 1995). I've mentioned this book before primarily because it's so helpful. It has some fine old photos of stars and studios, but for me its real allure is the authoritative text on the first 100 years of British studios. Warren also covers Warner's at Teddington, MGM at Elstree, 20th CFox at Wembley, and Shepherd's Bush, et al. A wonderful read as well as a reference work. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

2. George Perry gives a fascinating look at Ealing Studios in his "Forever Ealing" (London: Pavilion Books, 1981), beginning with "Life Before Balcon" (Ealing's chief Sir Michael) and concluding fittingly with "The End of Ealing." Quite well written, most interesting, with wonderful old photos. You will come away with a greater understanding of Ealing and British cinema during Ealing's time. Peter Ustinov's droll, erudite foreword is a plus. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Enjoy,

Barbara

julian_craster

From Julian

'The Encyclopedia of British Film : Second Edition' (Paperback) with many updates and new articles is now available in the USA,
so postage is much cheaper (and may be free....) for US readers.....

Currently at position # 1,315,926 in the US sales chart !


The Encyclopedia of British Film : Second Edition (Paperback)
by Brian McFarlane
See:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0413775267/
Price: US $22.05 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
You Save: $12.95 (37%)
Usually ships within 24 hours. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Paperback: 800 pages
Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd;
2nd Rev&Up edition (April 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0413775267
Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds.
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,315,926 in Books

Reviewer: A reader

Until now, British film fans have always had to make do with rather slim pickings in the big international reference books on cinema, the likes of Halliwell and Thomson, where British performers and filmmakers are often given short shrift, and that is when they are granted inclusion: more often than not they are completely ignored. But here, with Brian McFarlane's impressively weighty Encyclopedia, we have the very first major reference text devoted entirely to a national cinema that may be frequently maligned (and no more so than on its home territory) but which has actually made a significant contribution to world cinema. Aided by an impressive list of contributors McFarlane has drawn up a staggeringly large list of all the movers and shakers in British cinema from its nineteenth century origins to the present day, giving equal attention to those behind the scenes as to those in front of the camera. There's clearly an attempt to avoid auteurist bias by giving equal room to writers, composers, casting directors, cinematographers, producers, costume designers, continuity personnel and editors alongside the directors. This desire to give credit to those often neglected in film history continues in the entries on actors. Searching for stars, we can find neat summaries of the careers and personas of all the best-known British ones, from Betty Balfour and Ivor Novello to Kate Winslet and Ewan McGregor; but perhaps more importantly, there's a wealth of material on the unsung heroes of British cinema, the battalions of obscure character actors who have helped to give British films their specific dramatic texture. One of the delights of the material on the half-forgotten faces that populate British films is how it frequently goes beyond the strictly biographical and sparks into life with a few beautifully chosen adjectives, a telling little anecdote or a quotation of one of the actor's typical lines of dialogue. Like all good reference books, you go to it to look up one thing and find yourself still browsing through it an hour later. One gets the sense of a real person with a distinctive voice behind the monumental enterprise, and that voice is undoubtedly McFarlane's. One of the most useful aspects of the book, alongside the entries on important individuals and organizations, is the inclusion of short essays on general topics such as (to pick a few at random) sex and sexuality, rural life, Europeans in British film, crime films, black representation, and travel and transport. These provide an ideal springboard for further study and they also act as a powerful reminder of the diversity of a film culture too often labelled dull, over-literary and emotionally frozen. There's ample evidence here that there's much more to British cinema than its buttoned-up reputation might suggest.

julian_craster

'British Stars and Stardom' book : by Bruce Babington
(Manchester UP UK)

Another recommended book for those seeking more about
selected British film stars, including Anton Walbrook, Margaret
Lookwood, and about 15 others.


Julian

theuofc

Thanks for this, Julian. It's about time that MacFarlane's fine reference work is available in the States. Paying to ship an 800 page book from the UK kept a lot of buyers from taking the plunge. MacFarlane, along with his excellent contributors, make for a good read as well a working reference text. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img]

Thanks,

Barbara

Ken.

Of the 28 British silent film players [by this I mean that they only appeared in silents] listed in the 'A' index of Scott Palmer's 'British Film Actors' Credits, 1895-1987, only 4 are listed in the first edition of the encylopedia.

Which is sad, because some, such as Teddy Arundell, appeared in almost as many films as Gerald Ames, who is listed, and they are all an important part of British Cinema History.

Of course if they appear in the new edition, I may well eat something or other.

Ken.

&quot;Pic-nicking Mr Pernel?..Pic-nicking Miss Dandridge?

Billy Liar

Just got through Kevin Macdonald's superb Emeric Pressburger: The Life & Death of a Screenwriter.

Also picked up a little bargain from ebay, Twenty Years of British Cinema 1925-1945, loads of info on documentary cinema. Published in 1946, 99p you can't go wrong!

Just bought Cinema & State by Margaret Dickinson & Sarah Street, looks good.

Steve Crook

Lovely isn't it. Kevin (Emeric's grandson and an Oscar winner in his own right) wrote it partly to counter the auteur theorists who just couldn't understand how two people could be the authors of so many wonderful films. Also, to a certain extent, to discover the grandfather who he never really got to know very well while Emeric was still alive. Kevin and Andrew would just occasionally go to visit, or have visits from, this lovely old gentleman who spoke with a strange accent. They were only about 20 when Emeric died and they never knew much about his films. So it's nice that they've both finished up being successful film-makers.

Kevin also did a documentary about his trip to Hungary, Berlin & Paris, following his grandfather's footsteps as he moved around Europe before he settled in England. That documentary is on the DVD of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp from L'Institut Lumière.

Steve

DB7

John Grierson's. Can't recall the title.

theuofc

Could it be "Grierson on Documentary," his collection of writings with Forsyth Hardy's intro? I've looked at the revised, longer edn.

Steve C.: Speaking of Grierson, have you read "John Grierson's Scotland"? Does it have anything on the MP or PnP films?

Thanks,

Barbara

Steve Crook

No, I haven't. I'll look out for it.
Powell was outwardly dismissive of the "documentary movement" because he knew that they dramatised their films and set up situations as much as he did.

For things like Man of Aran (1934), Flaherty got them to do the fishing like their grandfathers used to do - which they'd given up ages ago - just because it looked more picturesque.

But he admired their basic skills as film-makers (and especially as editors given the amount of material they often shot). He just objected to the "Holier than thou" attitude of the documentary purists claiming that documentary was the only pure form of cinema. The trouble was that a lot of the critics went along with that attitude claiming that it was the only British form of film-making. That's another reason why the critics often didn't like P&P films. They were too full of strange things like emotion.

See Grierson on Powell
Powell pointedly gives a minor character in The Red Ensign (1934) the name of Grierson and has him described as 'the best riveter in the yard.'

Steve

penfold

There's a biography of Jill Craigie; haven't read it myself...and a hard to find one by Rachel Low called 'Films of Comment and Persuasion of the 1930's' which includes advertising films never otherwise covered...and being by Low will be impeccably researched...and very thorough.

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

Billy Liar

That's the one, picked it up recently along with Paul Rotha's Documentary Diary. Thanks for the other titles will keep 'em peeled!