Ealing Revisited (Bfi)
£13.60
During its heyday, Ealing produced a string of classic comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955), but there is much more to Ealing than these films, as this volume of new writing on the studio shows.
Addressing both known and less familiar aspects of Ealing’s story, its films, actors and technicians, the contributors uncover what has gone unexplored, or unspoken, in previous histories of the studio, and consider the impact that Ealing has had on British cultural life from the 1930s to the present.
Listed in the Independent on Sunday’s Cinema books of 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/ios-books-of-the-year-2012-cinema-8373713.html
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Additional information
| Publisher | Palgrave, 2012th edition (31 Oct. 2012) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 256 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1844575101 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1844575107 |
| Dimensions | 18.72 x 2.29 x 27.38 cm |
by M. J. Nelson
No film studio in the world arouses so much affection among cineastes – or at least British cineastes – as Ealing Studios. For something like 20 years, under the benevolent leadership of Sir Michael Balcon, it produced a string of memorable films (and, truth to tell, some less than memorable films) which encapsulated much of the lives of often ordinary people, whether in peacetime or wartime. Although Ealing is remembered nowadays mainly for its somewhat eccentric comedies like ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’, ‘The Man In The White Suit’ and ‘The Ladykillers’ its some 90 features in all encompassed a wide variety of subjects, from tales of heroism like ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ to nitty-gritty social dramas like ‘It Always Rains On Sunday’. This ‘major reappraisal’ of Ealing Studios by a number of expert academics offers a detailed and balanced assessment of its contribution to British and, indeed, world cinema. Fortunately many of the films are available on DVD so the legacy can continue to be enjoyed by the studio’s devotees.
by Doggo
Brought back memories of the delightful films made there
by S F MACMILLAN
Excellent
by Wingate
As with most BFI books each chapter is written by a different author.alas as in the case with clashing and contrasting styles.The book starts with the construction of the sound stages and the period of ATP(1930-8) presided over by Basil Dean.However the book concentrates on the reign of Michael Balcon from 1938 till the sale and subsequent demise of Ealing Studios..The most interesting chapter is the one which concentrates on the Michael and Aileen Balcon collection.However the level of excellance is not mainted with a number of dull,boring and strange chapters,in particulary Kind Hearts And Campery:The Ealing Studio Perverts.Furthermore there is a fair amount of duplication.For example 2 separate chapters refer to problems caused by Paul Robeson for the release of The Proud Valley,with the same press clippings referenced.Poor editing here.There is too much writing which is addressed at academics rather than those of us simply interested in reading about British cinema history.
by John Raisbeck
A useful revision of prevailing views on Ealing. But for anyone new to Ealing Charles Barr’s Ealing Studios would be a useful book to read before this one.