Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Anyone who has loved British films will want to read this book. In choosing twenty films, many of them classics of their kind - think of Brief Encounter, The third man, Genevieve - as well as some less well-known titles, the author communicates his enthusiasm for the sheer range of British cinema as well as a keenly critical interest in what has made these films stay in the mind often after many decades and many viewings. Not that it is just a nostalgic wallow: it comes nearer to the present day with titles such as Last Orders and In the Loop and it is intended to provoke discussion as much as recollection. Though it is rigorous in conducting its 'guided tour' of these films, it does so in ways that make it accessible to anyone with a passion for cinema. You don't have to be a specialist to enjoy the tour.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of figures (p. ix)
• Acknowledgments (p. xiii)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• 1 Ladies on a train: Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938) (p. 7)
• 2 Shaw's Cinderella on screen: Pygmalion (1938) (p. 22)
• 3 Pulling together for The Way Ahead (1944) (p. 34)
• 4 The long-lasting Brief Encounter (1945) (p. 47)
• 5 Two from the Comfort zone: Great Day (1945) and Temptation Harbour (1947) (p. 61)
• 6 It Always Rains on Sunday (1947) - and other things go wrong too (p. 74)
• 7 The Third Man (1949) and several more (p. 86)
• 8 Genevieve (1953): old cars and 'the other thing' (p. 98)
• 9 Double bill: Private Information (1952) and Cash on Demand (1963) (p. 109)
• 10 A Kind of Loving (1962) - and of living (p. 121)
• 11 The Servant (1963): things fall apart (p. 133)
• 12 Sex, talk, men and Women in Love (1969) (p. 146)
• 13 Hard men: Get Carter (1971) (p. 158)
• 14 From life: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977) (p. 170)
• 15 Alice in the real world: Dreamchild (1986) (p. 181)
• 16 Guests and others at Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) (p. 192)
• 17 Families and other disasters; Secrets & Lies (1996) (p. 204)
• 18 In search of Wonderland (1998) (p. 217)
• 19 Giving and taking Last Orders (2002) (p. 228)
• 20 In your face: In the Loop (2009) (p. 240)
• Cast and credits (p. 251)
• Further reading (p. 259)
• Index (p. 261)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Unlike his coedited The Encyclopedia of British Film (CH, Nov'14, 52-1157), this work by McFarlane (adjunct, Swinburne Univ., Australia) is a highly selective representation of British films--from The Lady Vanishes (1938) to In the Loop (2009)--presented in knowledgeable and informative chapters. The films were chosen by the author at random, apparently for certain aspects that make them interesting, such as the type of direction, the expression of particular themes, particularly good production, etc. In each chapter, he examines various aspects of one or two productions, the whole of which is presented chronologically. The author's intention is revealed in his introduction: to offer information for general readers with enough of an academic approach to appeal to scholars. The work reads much like a series of lectures, written in a chatty, often gossipy tone, with moments of humor. The author's somewhat rambling arrangement of ideas manages to inform and entertain, and the work serves as an introduction to spur further research (like a rousing lecture). Black-and-white illustrations and brief bibliographies enhance the text, and the list of casts and credits along with a decent bibliography bring the work to The End. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Martha Lawler, Louisiana State University in Shreveport