Autobiography Of British Cinema (Methuen Film) [Paperback]

Brian McFarlane (Author)

Book Description

Series: Methuen Film | Publication Date: August 25, 1997

An Autobiography of British Cinema tell the story of British film by those who made it.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A professor of literature and film history, McFarlane gives some attention to internationally famous British-born actors and directors, but the bulk of his book consists of scores of substantive, often recent interviews with mostly unknown actors and technicians responsible for creating a distinctive British cinema. Included are gothic film icon Peter Cushing, cameramen-directors Freddie Francis and Jack Clayton, actor-writer-director Bryan Forbes, character actor Michael Hordern, and composer John Addison. We are also reintroduced to Phyllis Calvert, Ian Carmichael, Michael Craig, Margaret Lockwood, Virginia McKenna, Dinah Sheridan, Richard Todd, and Bill Travers. Director Ronald Neame reveals that such performers remain familiar because "on American television they just didn't have enough material and among the cheap, easy material they could lay their hands on were old British films." Julie Christie summarizes the past in the foreword, and English Patient director Anthony Minghella fields queries about the future of U.K. film in the afterword. Recommended and necessary for comprehensive cinema collections.?Kim R. Holston, Am. Inst. for Char. Prop. Casualty Underwriters, Malvern, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Brian McFarlane is Professor of film history at Monash University in Australia. He has written extensively on film, including books for the BFI and an Autobiography of British Film published by Methuen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd (August 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041370520X
• ISBN-13: 978-0413705204
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,783,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Interviews, February 4, 2002

By 

William Hare (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Autobiography Of British Cinema (Methuen Film) (Paperback)

This is a handy and entertaining guide to the British cinema with scores of interviews on the greats in all basic categories, from performers to directors to producers to writers to cinematographers. The brief interviews cover main points of the individuals' careers. McFarlane also provides chronological lists of films pertaining to his subjects.

It is great to read the insights of film figures of the stature of Moira Shearer, the dazzling redhead who wowed moviegoers in "The Red Shoes" as well as an interview of director John Schlesinger, who was such a profound influence on British and world cinema with timely works such as "Sunday, Bloody Sunday!" and "Billy Liar." The book also includes a foreword by Julie Christie, who notched a Best Actress Oscar starring in another of Schlesinger's timely sixties' social rebellion films, "Darling," which also starred Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey. Ken Annakin's interview relates how he became involved in film directing as a protege of Sir Carol Reed, and includes his perspectives on Walt Disney and Darryl F. Zanuck, for which he turned out enduring films such as "The Swiss Family Robinson" and "The Longest Day." Oscar-winning cinematographer Guy Green tells about working with David Lean in "Oliver Twist" and "Great Expectations," the latter of which earned him his Academy Award.

A nice feature of this book is that the reader can easily approach the subject matter without regard to sequence, covering the individuals interviewed in order of interest. Just open to the table of contents and look up your favorites.