An introduction to British Cinema

- Jon Towlson

What is British Cinema?

Kitchen Sink Realism

Costume Drama

Romantic Comedy

Him?

‘Tommy’ (1975, dir. Ken Russell)

‘Mad Poets’ school of British Cinema

Ken Russell

Nicolas Roeg

• Powell and Pressburger

Powell and Pressburger

John Boorman

Michael Reeves

Terry Gilliam

Highly personalised visual style

Myths and adventure

Memory/fantasy/dreams

Dazzling editing

‘Performance’ (1970, dirs. Nicolas Roeg/Donald Cammell)

• What are the themes of the film?

• How are the themes reflected in the visual style?

Part of a British artistic traditioncalled English Romanticism

Turner, Blake (painters)

Keats, Byron, Shelley (Poets)

Elgar - Composer

Romanticism

• Strong emotion

• Englishness in terms of landscape, myths and legends

• Metaphysics – (‘reality goes beyond the physical world’)

Excalibur (1981, dir. John Boorman)

• How might the clip be described as part of the Romantic tradition? Think in terms of:

- Use of landscape

- Use of music

- Use of mythology

Music Video & Advert Directors

• Jonathan Glazer• Chris Cunningham• Tony Kaye

Art House Directors

• Peter Greenaway (The Pillow Book)

• Sally Potter (Orlando)• Terence Davies (Of

Time and The City)

Ridley Scott?