Romantics and Modernists in British Cinema

In a fresh and invigorating look at British cinema that considers film as an art form among other arts, John Orr takes a critical look at the intriguing relationship between romanticism and modernism in British cinema.

John Orr takes a critical look at the intriguing relationship between romanticism and modernism that has been neglected in the study of UK cinema and downplayed in the development of Western cinema. The book covers a broad selection of films, film-makers and debates but also brings a fresh perspective to how scholars might understand and the major traditions that have shaped British cinema history.Covering the period between 1929 and the present this book examines directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Carol Reed, Nicholas Roeg, Terence Davies and Bill Douglas and discusses two genres vital to British cinema - the fugitive film and the trauma film - which bridge the gap between romantic and modern forms. The author also assesses the powerful impact of major expatriate directors like Joseph Losey, Michelangelo Antonioni, Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick and Jerzy Skolimowski on modernism in the 1960s and 1970s. After critical readings of key films, the conclusion analyses the persistence of romantic and modernist forms in the 21st century in two recent prize-winning features, Control and Hunger.