Provides a fresh perspective on British fantasy film Combines a methodological approach of textual analysis, critical discourse and production histories to expand current knowledge and appreciation of British fantasy film Promotes new avenues for film studies by investigating a comprehensive range of British film titles previously disputed or overlooked in existing academic scholarship Informs a more general understanding which is focused on contemporary fantasy but contributes to a broader, historical assessment of the fantastic within British cinema In the period since 2001, cinema has witnessed a notable influx in fantasy film. Many constitute adaptations from British fantasy literature, often created and produced in the UK, and showcase domestic talent both in front and behind the screen. This includes massive box office hits such as the Harry Potter series (2001 – 2011) through to smaller scale and independent endeavours like Nanny McPhee (2005), MirrorMask (2005) and Franklyn (2008). However, such films have received minimal critical attention as British fantasy films. The reasons for this absence are manifold; leaving many films contested, ignored and omitted from established canons. This book re-addresses prevailing scholarship on the fantasy genre, national film production and representation on screen, providing readers with a revised appraisal of the contemporary film landscape. It delivers a fresh perspective across a broad range of films which all embrace the fantastic within British cinema.

This book is the first of its kind to trace the development of one of the largest and most important companies in British cinema history, EMI Films. From 1969 to its eventual demise in 1986, EMI would produce many of the key works of seventies and eighties British cinema, ranging from popular family dramas like The Railway Children (Lionel Jeffries, 1970) through to critically acclaimed arthouse successes like Britannia Hospital (Lindsay Anderson, 1982). However, EMI’s role in these productions has been recorded only marginally, as footnotes in general histories of British cinema. The reasons for this critical neglect raise important questions about the processes involved in the creation of cultural canons and the definition of national culture. This book argues that EMI’s amorphous nature as a transnational film company has led to its omission from this history and makes it an ideal subject to explore the ‘limits’ of British cinema.

"Challenging assumptions around Sixties stardom, the book focuses on creative collaboration and the contribution of production personnel beyond the director, and discusses how cultural change is reflected in both film style and cinematic themes."--Publisher description.

British Horror Cinema investigates a wealth of horror filmmaking in Britain, from early chillers like The Ghoul and Dark Eyes of London to acknowledged classics such as Peeping Tom and The Wicker Man. Contributors explore the contexts in which British horror films have been censored and classified, judged by their critics and consumed by their fans. Uncovering neglected modern classics like Deathline, and addressing issues such as the representation of family and women, they consider the Britishness of British horror and examine sub-genres such as the psycho-thriller and witchcraftmovies, the work of the Amicus studio, and key filmmakers including Peter Walker. Chapters include: the 'Psycho Thriller' the British censors and horror cinema femininity and horror film fandom witchcraft and the occult in British horror Horrific films and 1930s British Cinema Peter Walker and Gothic revisionism. Also featuring a comprehensive filmography and interviews with key directors Clive Barker and Doug Bradley, this is one resource film studies students should not be without.

British films of the 1960s are undervalued. Their search for realism has often been dismissed as drabness and their more frivolous efforts can now appear just empty-headed. Robert Murphy's Sixties British Cinema is the first study to challenge this view. He shows that the realist tradition of the late 50s and early 60s was anything but dreary and depressing, and gave birth to a clutch of films remarkable for their confidence and vitality: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Kind of Loving, and A Taste of Honey are only the better known titles. Sixties British Cinema revalues key genres of the period - horror, crime and comedy - and takes a fresh look at the 'swinging London' films, finding disturbing undertones that reflect the cultural changes of the decade. Now that our cinematic past is constantly recycled on television, Murphy's informative, engaging and perceptive review of these films and their cultural and industrial context offers an invaluable guide to this neglected era of British cinema.

This book examines the relationship that exists between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Animation has played a key role in defining our collective expectations and experiences of fantasy cinema, just as fantasy storytelling has often served as inspiration for our most popular animated film and television. Bringing together contributions from world-renowned film and media scholars, Fantasy/Animation considers the various historical, theoretical, and cultural ramifications of the animated fantasy film. This collection provides a range of chapters on subjects including Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli, filmmakers such as Ralph Bakshi and James Cameron, and on film and television franchises such as Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon (2010–) and HBO’s Game of Thrones (2011–).

BRITISH TRASH CINEMA is the first overview of the wilder shores of British exploitation and cult paracinema from the 1950s onwards. From obscure horror, science fiction and sexploitation, to art-house camp, Hammer's prehistoric fantasies and the worst British films ever made, author I.Q. Hunter draws on rare archival material and new primary research to take us through the weird and wonderful world of British trash cinema. Beginning by outlining the definitions of trash films and their place in British film history, Hunter explores topics including: Hammer's overlooked fantasy films, the emergence of the sexploitation film in the 1950s and 60s, the sex industry in the 1970s, Ken Russell's high camp Gothic and erotic adaptations since the 1980s, gross-out comedies, revenge films, and contemporary straight-to-DVD horror and erotica.

Science-fiction, fantasy and horror movies cover a broad canvas including Frankenstein and Tod Slaughter, Dracula and Donald Duck, moon men and mad doctors, gorillas and crazy scientists, talking mules and helpful angels. Other categories covered in this book include Alien Encounters, Lost Worlds, Space Travel, Monsters, Creepy Old Houses, Phantom Killers, Mystery Thrillers, Animated Cartoons, and Horror Spoofs such as "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein."

British rural landscapes on film offers insights into how rural areas in Britain have been represented on film, from the silent era, through both world wars, and on into the twenty-first century. It is the first book to exclusively deal with representations of the British countryside on film. The contributors demonstrate that the countryside has provided Britain (and its constituent nations and regions) with a dense range of spaces in which cultural identities have been (and continue to be) worked through. British rural landscapes on film demonstrates that British cinema provides numerous examples of how national identity and the identity of the countryside have been partly constructed through filmic representation, and how British rural films can allow us to further understand the relationship between the cultural identities of specific areas of Britain and the landscapes they inhabit.