Description
Book SynopsisBritish Instructional Films was at the centre of a number of issues important to Britain and the Empire in the 1920s: the memory and history of the Great War, national and imperial identities, the role of cinema as a shaper of attitudes and identities, power relations between Britain and the USA and the nature of popular culture as an international contest in its own right.
Trade ReviewCelluloid War Memorials covers a fascinating subject and Professor Connelly reveals interesting and thought-provoking ideas about how the past – even the immediate past – is remembered and memorialised by individuals and society.
Kathy Stevenson, The Western Front Association Stand To!, Number 11, May 2018
-- Kathy Stevenson * The Western Front Association Stand To! *
This is a convincing and important contribution to the field . . . this promises to provide a depth to our understanding of the history and tradition of documentary in British film production at this time. I look forward to reading it when it comes out.
Mark Connelly's Celluloid War Memorials is an indispensable addition to the field of British Film History and to Film Studies and History more broadly. The book is a landmark study of a British production company. But more than that, Connelly has written a book which productively connects industry, audience and cultural memory, and in the process provides an important piece of the puzzle that is the ever changing cultural memory of the Great War in Britain.’
Michael Hammond, Department of Film Studies, University of Southampton
-- Michael Hammond
BIF [British Instructional Films] and their WW1 [World War 1] films have received little attention by scholars, despite their box office success and critical acclaim at the time of their release… the role of the films as a ‘surrogate language’ for veterans is particularly interesting and productive, as is the argument that the films might be understood as ‘celluloid war memorials’. The intention to concentrate on contexts of reception is particularly interesting in this regard and promises to offer a fresh insight into the productions.
Another major strength is the emphasis it places on the circulation of the films outside Britain itself, within the Empire and further afield. This really is original and has the potential to result in some ground-breaking work.’
Lawrence Napper, Film Studies Department, King’s College London
-- Lawrence Napper
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Forging an Identity: The Battle of Jutland (1921) and Armageddon (1923)
Twisting the dragon’s tail: Zeebrugge (1924)
Filming the holy ground of British arms: Ypres (1925)
Retreating to Victory: Mons (1926)
Praising the not-so-silent service: The Battles of the Coronel and Falkland Islands (1927)
Epilogue and conclusion
