Books and articles on film from Philip Gillett

Welcome

These are my published works on film. I like to overturn orthodoxies, particularly in my latest book. I also feel that too much theoretical writing on film is unreadable. What do you think? You can add your comments in the guestbook below

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Movie Greats: A Critical Study of Classic Cinema

Why are some films regarded as classics, worthy of entry into the canon of film history? Which sorts of films make the cut and why? Movie Greats questions how cinema is ranked and, in doing so, uncovers a history of critical conflict, with different aesthetic positions battling for dominance.

The films examined range across the history of cinema: The Battleship Potemkin, The 39 Steps, Modern Times, Citizen Kane, It's a Wonderful Life, Black Narcissus, The Night of the Hunter, Lawrence of Arabia, 8 1/2, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Godfather, Raging Bull, The Piano and Kill Bill: Vol. 1.

Each chapter opens with a brief summary of the film's plot and goes on to discuss the historical context, the key individuals who made the film, and initial and subsequent popular and critical responses.

Students studying the history of film, canon formation or film aesthetics will find this book relevant, provocative and absorbing.

Contains bibliography, index and further reading list

Berg Publishers, 2008, 240pp

paperback ISBN

9781845206536

£16.99

Errata

Buy it here

Other Editions ISBN
9781845206529 9781847884619

The British Working Class in Postwar Film

Using a sociological model,The British Working Class in Postwar Filmlooks at how working-class people are portrayed in British feature films from the decade after World War II. Original statistical data is used to assess the popularity of the films with audiences. With an interdisciplinary approach and the avoidance of jargon, this book seeks to broaden the approach to film studies. Readers are introduced to the skills of other disciplines, while sociologists and historians are encouraged to consider the value of film evidence in their own fields.

Manchester University Press, 2003

230 pages, paperback ISBN 0719062586, £15.99

Other Editions ISBN

hardback 9780719062582

Buy it here (paperback and hardback editions)

The Cinema of Britain and Ireland