5284947
9781905816019
British filmmakers knew from the earliest days of the cinema that the British countryside was one of their greatest assets. Following a pictorial and pastoral tradition they reinforced the mythology of the British rural idyll in a way peculiarly suited to the moving image. Other traditions may have inspired them to explore the seamier side of British life in the towns and cities. This collective study offers an original treatment of the relationship between pre-1930s cinema and landscape. The book provides a detailed investigation into the national cinema before the sound era. Topics covered include: the 'violent realism' of Edwardian cinema, urban and rural landscapes in film publicity, pictorialism in Hepworth's features and 'actualities', encounters between urban and rural in British film, the popular genre of the racing drama, British cinema's encounters with foreign landscapes, the politicisation of public space in Labour films, and commentaries on built environment in early films. Book jacket.Dixon, Bryony is the author of 'Picture Perfect Landscape, Place And Travel in British Cinema Before 1930', published 2007 under ISBN 9781905816019 and ISBN 1905816014.
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