Shane Meadows

"e;From his breakthrough short films in the early 1990s and feature debut TwentyFourSeven (1997) through to the BAFTA-winning This Is England (2007) and hit television spin-off, director Shane Meadows has emerged as one of the most distinctive and influential voices in contemporary British cinema. Danny Perkins, CEO of StudioCanal UK, credits Meadows as the key figure in British film's contemporary renaissance, with This Is England "e;"e;doing more than any other [film] to change British audiences' attitudes"e;"e; to home-grown cinema. This book will explore the full range of Meadows' work, from its origins in local D.I.Y. media through to international festival acclaim. Over the course of its 15 chapters, it will present a comprehensive analysis of Meadows' oeuvre to date, situating it in the context of British cinema history as well as wider cultural changes from the nineties to now. "e;

This concise, authoritative volume analyses critically the work of 100 British directors, from the innovators of the silent period to contemporary auteurs.

The guide encompasses the careers of over 350 directors from the last 20 years. A must for any film studies library, it is a unique reference to the changing dynamics of these cinemas.

With films as diverse as Bhaji on the Beach, The Dam Busters, Trainspotting, The Draughtsman's Contract, Prick Up Your Ears, Ratcatcher, This Is England and Atonement, British cinema has produced wide-ranging notions of British culture, identity and nationhood. British National Cinema is a comprehensive introduction to the British film industry within an economic, political and social context. British National Cinema analyzes the politics of film and establishes the difficult context within which British producers and directors have worked. Sarah Street questions why British film-making, production and distribution have always been subject to government apathy and financial stringency. In a comparison of Britain and Hollywood, the author asks to what extent was there a 'star system' in Britain and what was its real historical and social function. An examination of genres associated with British film, such as Ealing comedies, Hammer horror, 'heritage' films and hybrid forms, confirms the eclectic nature of British cinema. In a final evaluation of British film, she examines the existence of 'other cinemas': film-making which challenges the traditional concept of cinema and operates outside mainstream structures in order to deconstruct and replace classical styles and conventions. Illustrated with over thirty stills from classic British films, British National Cinema provides an accessible and comprehensive exploration of the fascinating development of British cinema.

The tradition of British realism has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, where films by directors such as Duane Hopkins, Joanna Hogg, Andrea Arnold, Shane Meadows and Clio Barnard have suggested a markedly poetic turn. This new realism rejects the instrumentalism and didacticism of filmmakers like Ken Loach in favour of lyrical and often ambiguous encounters with place, where the physical processes of lived experience interacts with the rhythms of everyday life. Taking these 5 filmmakers as case studies, this book seeks to explore in depth this new tradition of British cinema - and in the process, it reignites debates over realism that have concerned scholars for decades.

This collection is a wide-ranging exploration of contemporary British television drama and its representations of social class. Through early studio-set plays, soap operas and period drama, the volume demonstrates how class provides a bridge across multiple genres and traditions of television drama. The authors trace this thematic emphasis into the present day, offering fascinating new insights into the national conversation around class and identity in Britain today. The chapters engage with a range of topics including authorial explorations of Stephen Poliakoff and Jimmy McGovern, case studies of television performers Maxine Peake and Jimmy Nail, and discussions of the sitcom genre and animation form. This book offers new perspectives on popular British television shows such as Goodnight Sweetheart and Footballers’ Wives, and analysis of more recent series such as Peaky Blinders and This is England.

Chris Rojek explores the myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes of the British.

Global Auteurs employs auteur theory to examine the work of three contemporary and innovative directors: Pedro Almodóvar, Lars von Trier, and Michael Winterbottom. With extensive background information on the global film industry, and on auteur theory and its implications for ideological critique, this book's insightful case studies examine both ideologies the filmmakers re-circulate and ideologies that they confront in textual form. The discussion of Pedro Almodóvar devotes particular attention to mass mediation, the family, and gender in the corpus of his films, while Lars von Trier's corpus is interpreted as driven by a motif that characterizes all of his films: the «failed idealist». Michael Winterbottom's body of work presents a genre-diverse, post-MTV style concerned with «outsiders» and taboo, representation and truth, and human rights. Global Auteurs' sophisticated approach to decoding film is suitable for graduate and undergraduate courses on film, global mass media, and contemporary Europe.