Britain

The first volume of the Directory of World Cinema: Britain provided an overview of British cinema from its earliest days to the present. In this, the second volume, the contributors focus on specific periods and trace the evolutions of individual genres and directors.

A complementary edition rather than an update of its predecessor, the book offers essays on war and family films, as well as on LGBT cinema and representations of disability in British films. Contributors consider established British directors such as Ken Loach and Danny Boyle as well as newcomer Ben Wheatley, who directed the fabulously strange A Field in England. This volume also shines the spotlight on the British Film Institute and its role in funding, preservation, and education in relation to British cinema.

A must read for any fan of film, the history of the United Kingdom, or international artistic traditions, Directory of World Cinema: Britain 2 will find an appreciative audience both within and outside academia.

Neil Mitchell is a freelance writer, editor, and critic with an interest in all aspects of cinema. He is the editor of World Film Locations: London.