British Historical Cinema

Book edited by Claire Monk and Amy Sargeant looking at the representation of British history and the past in British cinema, reappraising debates about period drama, the Empire and the heritage film. Chapters are as follows: Do we Need Another Hero? Ecce Homo and Nelson (1919) by Amy Sargeant; Death or Glory? The Great War in British Cinema by Alan Burton; Secrets and Lies: Black Histories and British Historical Films by Stephen Bourne; 'If the World Does Not Please You, You Can Change It': The History of Mr Polly (1949) and The Card (1952) by Tim O'Sullivan; Cinema. Monarchy and The Making of Heritage: A Queen is Crowned (1953) by James Chapman; Camping on the Borders: History, Identity and Britishness in the 'Carry On' Costume Parodies 1963-74 by Nicholas J Cull; Monkey Feathers. Defending 'Zulu' (1964) by Sheldon Hall; Ireland, the Past and British Cinema: 'Ryan's Daughter' (1970) by Fidelma Farley; Imperial Migrations: Reading the Raj Cinema of the 1980s by T. Muraleedharan; Kenneth Branagh's Henry V: Genre and Interpretation by James Quinn and Jane Kingsley-Smith; The British Heritage Film Debate Revisited by Claire Monk; The Content and The Form: Invoking 'Pastness' in Three recent retro Films (Scandal, Velvet Goldmine and The Cement Garden) by Amy Sargeant; Taking Liberties with the Monarch: The Royal Bio-Pic in the 1990s by Kara McKechnie. Published in Routledge's Popular British Cinema Series.