Published by BFI-Palgrave, 2012
Ealing Revisited offers a new look at the films and history of Ealing Studios,
best known as the producer of famous film comedies such as The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and The Ladykillers (1955). Yet there is more to
Ealing Studios than those famous comedies, and this book draws together some of
the leading experts on Ealing and British cinema to explore the history of
Britain's best loved film studio.
Tying in with the BFI's major
retrospective of Ealing Studios in November/December 2012, the book presents a
closer look at the known and unknown elements of Ealing, its films and their
sometimes unsung creators. This new approach explores what has gone unexplored,
or unspoken, in popular and academic histories of the studio, and considers the
impact that Ealing has had on British cinema and society from the 1930s to the
present day.
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Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction
Published by Berg, 2011
Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction develops a historical and cultural approach to the genre that moves beyond close readings of iconography and formal conventions. It explores how this increasingly influential genre has been constructed from disparate elements into a hybrid genre. Science Fiction Film goes beyond a textual exploration of these films to place them within a larger network of influences that includes studio politics and promotional discourses. The book also challenges the perceived limits of the genre - it includes a wide range of films, from canonical SF, such as Le voyage dans la lune, Star Wars and Blade Runner, to films that stretch and reshape the definition of the genre. This expansion of generic focus offers an innovative approach for students and fans of science fiction alike.
"Johnston brings a fresh eye to science fiction criticism in this book, drawing attention to some of the exciting and influential films that resonate within the genre and discussing often forgotten elements such as trailers, posters and adverts." (Lincoln Geraghty, University of Portsmouth, UK)
"Johnston's book should take its place as the most sophisticated and original introduction to the genre." (Kevin Heffernan, Southern Methodist University, USA)
Click here to order this book on Amazon.co.uk
Click here to order this book on Amazon.com
Coming Soon: Film Trailers and the Selling of Hollywood Technology
Published by McFarland, 2009.
The audience's first exposure to a new movie is often in the form of a "coming attraction" trailer, and short previews are also a vanguard for emerging technology and visual techniques. This book demonstrates how the trailer has educated audiences in new film technologies such as synchronized sound, widescreen and 3D, tracing the trailer's status as a trailblazer on to new media screens and outlets such as television, the Internet and the iPod. The impact of use of new technologies and the evolution of trailers beyond the big screen is followed into the digital era. Click here to buy this book on Amazon.co.uk
Click here to buy this book on Amazon.com
