The British Film Institute, The Government and Film Culture, 1933-2000

by Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey; Dupin, Christophe

• ISBN13: 9780719079085
• ISBN10: 071907908X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-05-01
• Publisher: MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS

Summary

The British Film Institute (BFI) is one of the UK's oldest and most important government-supported cultural institutions. From a modest start in the 1930s it grew rapidly after the war to encompass every kind of film-related activity from production to archiving to exhibition to education. At the beginning of the twenty-first century its turnover was approaching 30m and it had become a central point of reference for anyone whose interest in film stretched beyond what's on at the local multiplex.There was nothing straightforward about this rise to prominence. It was achieved in the face of government indifference, active obstruction from the film trade, internecine warfare within the organisation and fierce contestation on the part of the BFI's own core public.Based on intensive original research in the BFI's own voluminous archives and elsewhere, this book examines the interplay of external and internal forces that led to the BFI's unique development as a multi-faceted public body. This volume will be a treasure trove for anyone interested in film and the workings of cultural institutions, or more generally in twentieth century British film history.

Author Biography

Geoffrey Nowell-Smith is an Honarary Professorial Fellow in the School of History, Queen Mary, University of London.

Christophe Dupin is a Research Assistant, School of History, Queen Mary, University of London.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations * Foreword by Sir Denis Forman Editors' * Introduction * Foundation and early years - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith * Post-War Renaissance - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith * 'Je t'aime – moi non plus': Ernest Lindgren and Henri Langlois - Christophe Dupin * The BFI and Film Exhibition, 1933-1970 - Christophe Dupin * The Vanguard of film Appreciation: the Film Society movement and film Culture, 1945-1965 - Richard MacDonald * From the 1964 Labour government to the 1970 BFI Crisis - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith * The view from the regions - Melanie Selfe * Paddy Whannel and BFI Education - Terry Bolas * The 1970s - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith * The Smith years - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith * The BFI and film production: half a century of innovative independent film- making - Christophe Dupin * The BFI and television - Richard Paterson * The Sight and Sound story - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith * A public showcase for the BFI: the Museum of the Moving Image - Lorraine Blakemore * Towards the Millennium - Geoffrey Nowell-Smith Epilogue 2011 Bibliography