B. F. Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719069086
- eISBN:
- 9781781701218
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719069086.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This book offers an opportunity to reconsider the films of the British New Wave in the light of forty years of heated debate. By eschewing the usual tendency to view films such as A Kind of Loving ...
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This book offers an opportunity to reconsider the films of the British New Wave in the light of forty years of heated debate. By eschewing the usual tendency to view films such as A Kind of Loving and The Entertainer collectively and include them in broader debates about class, gender and ideology, it presents a new look at this famous cycle of British films. Refuting the long-standing view that films such as Billy Liar and Look Back in Anger are flawed and therefore indicative of an under-achieving national cinema, the book also challenges the widely held belief in the continued importance of the relationship between the British New Wave and questions of realism. Drawing upon existing sources and returning to unchallenged assumptions about British cinema, this book allows the reader to return to the films and consider them anew. In order to achieve this, the book also offers a practical demonstration of the activity of film interpretation. This is essential, because the usual tendency is to consider such a process unnecessary when it comes to writing about British films. The book demonstrates that close readings of films need not be reserved for films from other cinemas.Less
This book offers an opportunity to reconsider the films of the British New Wave in the light of forty years of heated debate. By eschewing the usual tendency to view films such as A Kind of Loving and The Entertainer collectively and include them in broader debates about class, gender and ideology, it presents a new look at this famous cycle of British films. Refuting the long-standing view that films such as Billy Liar and Look Back in Anger are flawed and therefore indicative of an under-achieving national cinema, the book also challenges the widely held belief in the continued importance of the relationship between the British New Wave and questions of realism. Drawing upon existing sources and returning to unchallenged assumptions about British cinema, this book allows the reader to return to the films and consider them anew. In order to achieve this, the book also offers a practical demonstration of the activity of film interpretation. This is essential, because the usual tendency is to consider such a process unnecessary when it comes to writing about British films. The book demonstrates that close readings of films need not be reserved for films from other cinemas.
B. F. Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719069086
- eISBN:
- 9781781701218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719069086.003.0020
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter provides a detailed reading of John Schlesinger's 1963 film Billy Liar. It aims to demonstrate that a British film such as this sustains the kind of detailed aesthetic discussion that is ...
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This chapter provides a detailed reading of John Schlesinger's 1963 film Billy Liar. It aims to demonstrate that a British film such as this sustains the kind of detailed aesthetic discussion that is usually reserved for films from other modes of cinema. Towards the end of Billy Liar, Billy Fisher, the liar of the title, having previously arranged to go to London with his friend Liz, is faced with the possibility that he might finally have to go. The time for talking has now finished and Billy needs to act but it becomes increasingly clear that he cannot go through with his plan. The spaces and places of Billy Liar are vital and a fully integrated component in this film's specific examination of the sometimes contradictory and often problematic relationship between one man and the world in which he lives.Less
This chapter provides a detailed reading of John Schlesinger's 1963 film Billy Liar. It aims to demonstrate that a British film such as this sustains the kind of detailed aesthetic discussion that is usually reserved for films from other modes of cinema. Towards the end of Billy Liar, Billy Fisher, the liar of the title, having previously arranged to go to London with his friend Liz, is faced with the possibility that he might finally have to go. The time for talking has now finished and Billy needs to act but it becomes increasingly clear that he cannot go through with his plan. The spaces and places of Billy Liar are vital and a fully integrated component in this film's specific examination of the sometimes contradictory and often problematic relationship between one man and the world in which he lives.
