"This groundbreaking book tells the fascinating story of the very beginnings of film in Britain, from the earliest non-fiction footage of delicate spider webs, rolling waves, bustling streets and parades to fantastical fiction films and magic lantern-style adaptations of books and fairytales that give us a glimpse into the Victorian imagination. Drawing on unique material held in the BFI Archive, Bryony Dixon provides in-depth insights into major filmmakers such as the Lumir̈e Brothers and Mitchell and Kenyon as well as key works like Pelicans at the Zoo (1898) and Kitty Mahone (1900) - a rare example of an early sound film. She traces the invention, business, aesthetics and impact of the brand new medium of film from 1895 to 1901. From 'actual' news footage of the Boer War (shot in Lancashire) to risqu ̌'scn̈es grivoises ' (saucy scenes) including nudity and suggestive scenarios, the films explored in this book challenge any preconceptions we might have about early film, demonstrating its breadth and boldness - as well bringing Victorian people and society vividly to life. The book is richly illustrated and beautifully designed to bring the subject to life."--

In this vivid and accessible new account of the dawn of film in Britain, internationally respected film historian and curator Bryony Dixon introduces us to Britain's first cinematic pioneers – an eclectic mix of chemists, engineers, photography enthusiasts, fairground showmen and magicians – who in a few short years built a vibrant new industry. As she chronicles the emergence of the first embryonic film forms and genres, she reveals often surprising innovations, from cutting-edge science to ingeniously witty tricks and comedies, with filmmakers reflecting existing entertainment forms as well as advancing editing and cinematography in ways that shaped the art of film for many decades after. Dixon offers fresh insights by focusing on the films themselves – many of them only recently available to view – while building on the work of generations of scholars. In the process, Dixon makes a compelling case for the British filmmakers of the era as inventive and creative figures, every bit as influential as their more celebrated contemporaries in France and the US.

A history of the British Mutoscope and Biograph Company, which discusses social and economic aspects of early film history.

Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease. With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?

Lives of over 250 people involved in history of cinema

Better Left Unsaid is in the unseemly position of defending censorship from the central allegations that are traditionally leveled against it. Taking two genres generally presumed to have been stymied by the censor's knife—the Victorian novel and classical Hollywood film—this book reveals the varied ways in which censorship, for all its blustery self-righteousness, can actually be good for sex, politics, feminism, and art. As much as Victorianism is equated with such cultural impulses as repression and prudery, few scholars have explored the Victorian novel as a "censored" commodity—thanks, in large part, to the indirectness and intangibility of England's literary censorship process. This indirection stands in sharp contrast to the explicit, detailed formality of Hollywood's infamous Production Code of 1930. In comparing these two versions of censorship, Nora Gilbert explores the paradoxical effects of prohibitive practices. Rather than being ruined by censorship, Victorian novels and Hays Code films were stirred and stimulated by the very forces meant to restrain them.

This provocative study traces Alfred Hitchcock's long directorial career from Victorianism to postmodernism. Paula Marantz Cohen considers a sampling of Hitchcock's best films—Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho—as well as some of his more uneven ones—Rope, The Wrong Man, Topaz—and makes connections between his evolution as a filmmaker and trends in the larger society. Drawing on a number of methodologies including feminism, psychoanalysis, and family systems, the author provides an insightful look at the paradox of a Victorian-style gentleman who evolved into one of the leading masters of the modern medium of film. Cohen posits that Hitchcock's films are, in part, a masculine response to the domestic, psychological novels that had appealed primarily to women during the Victorian era. His career, she argues, can be seen as an attempt to balance "the two faces of Victorianism": the masculine legacy of law and hierarchy and the feminine legacy of feeling and imagination. Cohen asserts that Hitchcock's films reflect his Victorian legacy and serve as a map for ideological trends. She charts his development from his British period through his classic Hollywood years into his later phase, tracing a conceptual evolution that corresponds to an evolution in cultural identity—one that builds on a Victorian inheritance and ultimately discards it.

Until now, there was no modern history of the pornographic movie available - Black and White and Blue fills that void, with exlusive interviews and confrontational style.

This thesis is a study of the history of Victorian film societies as exemplified, by the Camberwell Film Society, from the 1950s to the 1990s. The study was prompted by the paucity of philosophical and conceptual literature about film societies. As a result, little is known about how and why they were formed. The purpose of this study is to investigate these issues.During the 1950s there was an upsurge of interest in the formation of film societies in the state of Victoria. By the 1990s, the Victorian film society movement had undergone a cyclical pattern of periods of exciting growth followed by episodes of stasis or declining interest. The Camberwell Film Society was selected for the study because it has functioned continuously from its founding in the mid-1950s to the 1990s, emulating these patterns of growth. It remains a viable film society in 2014.Three themes establish the framework for the thesis. These are: the connections between three factors, globalism, localism and film; the contribution of Camberwell's socioeconomic context to the creation of a place conducive to the founding of a film society and, the role of adult, self-directed learning in a community environment, particularly following WW2. Like leitmotivs, these themes recur throughout the study.The study contends that the genesis of film societies lies in the 1890s with the development of machines such as the Kinematograph and Kinetoscope: the former captured moving images, the latter projected these images onto a screen for public viewing. These inventions were the catalysts for the establishment of the film industry which quickly developed into an international entity. Driven by a profit motive, the earliest movies were produced for entertainment purposes. Gradually, diversity of product crept into the film industry, prompting discerning viewers to distinguish between the concepts of film for entertainment/business and film as art. By the early 1920s film groups and ciné-clubs, precursors of film societies, were forming, keen to pursue the notion of cinema as art. Film societies evolved from these early groups. The film society movement grew rapidly in Europe and Britain and, eventually, internationally. These early societies were described as being non-profit, voluntary, community groups in which membership was by subscription. One of the significant and enduring features of film societies is that they notviiionly screen films but they also provide opportunities for engaging with, and studying the films, through post-screening discussion sessions. Another feature is the passionate attachment of core society members to the filmic world. In many cases, the ongoing management and success of a society are attributable to these core members. These features became the characteristics of traditional film societies. The study found that, formed in the mid-1950s, the Camberwell Film Society demonstrates the characteristics of a traditional film society.It is concluded that reasons for the formation of films societies include the production of appropriate filmic product, the existence of a community or group of people who are passionate about film and wish to share this passion with others and, the desire to participate in, and learn more, as part of a filmic educational culture.