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In a market long dominated by Hollywood, French films are consistently the most widely distributed non-English language works. French cinema, however, appears to undergo a transformation as it reaches Britain, becoming something quite different to that experienced by audiences at home. Drawing on extensive archival research the authors examine in detail the discourses, debates and decisions which have determined the place accorded to French cinema in British film culture. In so doing they provide a fascinating account of this particular instance of transnational cinematic traffic while simultaneously shedding new light on British film history. From the early days of the Film Society, via the advent of the X certificate to the new possibilities of video and DVD, this book reveals the complex and detailed history of the distribution, exhibition, marketing and reception of French cinema in Britain.
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction Chapter 1. The Advent of Sound, A Changing Film Culture (1925-39)
Chapter 2. Cinema Goes to War (1939-1950)
Chapter 3. 'Saucy and Naughty and Witty and Chic': Can French Films Fill the Gap? (1950-1959)
Chapter 4. The French New Wave on British Shores (1959-1970)
Chapter 5. 'A New Low in French Films': Changing Perceptions of French Cinema (1970-1982)
Chapter 6. Video Saved the French Film? (1982-2002)
Conclusion Appendices
Notes on Contributors
Index
About the author
Lucy Mazdon is Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education at the University of Hull. Her publications include
Encore Hollywood: Remaking French Cinema (BFI, 2000),
France on Film: Reflections on Popular French Cinema (Wallflower, 2001), (with Mike Hammond)
The Contemporary Television Series, (EUP, 2005) and (with Catherine Wheatley)
Je t'aime, moi non plus: Franco-British Cinematic Relations (Berghahn Books, 2010).
