EMI Films and the Limits of British Cinema

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 1-10

3. And Soon the Darkness

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 11-36

4. Elstree Falling

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 37-55

5. Mr Forbes and the Pen-Pushers

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 57-81

6. All the Way Up

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 83-101

7. The Likely Lad

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 103-123

8. Trick or Treat?

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 125-142

9. American Adventure

   • Paul Moody

   Pages 143-160

10. Honky Tonk Filmmaking

    • Paul Moody

    Pages 161-180

11. Memoirs of a Survivor

    • Paul Moody

    Pages 181-203

12. Conclusion

    • Paul Moody

    Pages 205-207

13. Back Matter

    Pages 209-220

    PDF

This book is the first of its kind to trace the development of one of the largest and most important companies in British cinema history, EMI Films. From 1969 to its eventual demise in 1986, EMI would produce many of the key works of seventies and eighties British cinema, ranging from popular family dramas like The Railway Children (Lionel Jeffries, 1970) through to critically acclaimed arthouse successes like Britannia Hospital (Lindsay Anderson, 1982). However, EMI’s role in these productions has been recorded only marginally, as footnotes in general histories of British cinema. The reasons for this critical neglect raise important questions about the processes involved in the creation of cultural canons and the definition of national culture. This book argues that EMI’s amorphous nature as a transnational film company has led to its omission from this history and makes it an ideal subject to explore the ‘limits’ of British cinema.

• Transnational cinema
• Elstree Studios
• 1970s
• national culture
• cinema
• drama
• The Railway Children
• Electrical and Music Industries

“EMI Films and the Limits of British Cinema fills a clear gap in the existing literature on British cinema and offers a compelling analysis of a really tricky period of British film and cultural history. The period is characterised by fragmentation and contradictory currents which are difficult to map; Paul Moody has admirably succeeded in making sense of a complex historical moment, while still conveying the somewhat chaotic nature of the events under examination.” (Robert Shail, Leeds Beckett University, UK)

 

• Brunel University London, London, UK

  Paul Moody

Paul Moody is Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at Brunel University London, UK. 

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