1st Edition

The Hidden Cinema British Film Censorship in Action 1913-1972

By James C. Robertson Copyright 1993
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    212 Pages
    by Routledge

    How does film censorship work in Britain? Jim Robertson's new paperback edition of The Hidden Cinema argues that censorship has had a far greater influence on British film history than is often apparent, creating the `hidden cinema' of the title. Robertson charts the role of the British Board of Film Censors, established in 1913, and the histories of a variety of noteworthy films including Battleship Potemkin and No Orchids for Miss Blandish and revealing how censorship continues to exert a marked influence on many important films - like the controversial A Clockwork Orange - some of which have now vanished from British screens altogether. This edition includes a brand new section on Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris, immediately engulfed in censorship wrangles on its release in 1972.

    Introduction 1 The silents, 1913–1929 2 The early talkies, 1930–1939 3 The Second World War and its aftermath, 1940–1950 4 The later talkies, 1950–1975 5 Conclusion

    Biography

    Dr James C Robertson

    `This volume in the excellent `Cinema and Society' series edited by Jeffrey Richards ... is interesting throughout [and] thoroughly researched.' - Film Review

    `... immensely entertaining, eye opening social history, achieving a nice balance between the prudish and the prurient.' - Philip French, The Observer