The British television director Alan Clarke is primarily associated with the visceral social realism of such works as his banned borstal play Scum, and his study of football hooliganism, The Firm. This book uncovers the full range of his work from the mythic fantasy of Penda’s Fen, to the radical short film on terrorism, Elephant.Dave Rolinson uses original research to examine the development of Clarke’s career from the theatre and the ‘studio system’ of provocative television play...

This book suggests crime fiction is now the most relevant and valid form of writing which can deal with modern Ireland in terms of the post-'Troubles' landscape and post-Celtic Tiger economic boom. The book takes a chapter by chapter approach with each chapter and author discussing a different facet of Irish crime writing for example, Declan Hughes discusses the influence of American culture on Irish crime writing and Tana French reflects on crime fiction and the post-Celtic Tiger Irish id...

Bringing to mind rockers and royals, Buckingham Palace and the Scottish Highlands, Britain holds a special interest for international audiences who have flocked in recent years to quality exports like Fish Tank, Trainspotting and The King's Speech. A series of essays and articles exploring the definitive films of Great Britain, this addition to Intellect's Directory of World Cinema series turns the focus on England together with Northern Ireland, Scotlan...

The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction covers British and American crime fiction from the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth. As well as discussing the detective fiction of writers like Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, it considers other kinds of fiction where crime plays a substantial part, such as the thriller and spy fiction. It also includes chapters on the treatment of crime in eighteenth-century literature, French and Victorian fiction, women an...

Before Saturday March 26th 2005, "Doctor Who" had been off the air as a regular, new TV series for more than fifteen years; until a production team led by Russell T. Davies re-imagined the programme so successfully, so triumphantly, that it's become an instant Christmas tradition, a BAFTA winner, an international 'superbrand' and a number one rated show. It's even been credited with reinventing family TV. This is the first full-length book to explore the 'new Who' phenomenon through to the...

Animation was once a relatively simple matter, using fairly primitive means to produce rather short films of subjects that were generally comedic and often quite childish. However, things have changed, and they continue changing at a maddening pace. One new technique after another has made it easier, faster, and above all cheaper to produce the material, which has taken on an increasing variety of forms.The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons is an introduction to all aspects...

This was the first comprehensive study of film production in Ireland from the silent period to the present day, and of representations of Ireland and ‘Irishness’ in native, British, and American films. It remains an authority on the topic. The book focuses on Irish history and politics to examine the context and significance of such films as Irish Destiny, The Quiet Man, Ryan’s Daughter, Man of Aran, Cal, The Courier, and The Dead.

'In this excellent and provocative book, Matthew Ricketson lays bare the challenges of modern storytelling. I have found myself thinking about it every day, long after I put it down.' - William Powers, author of Hamlet's BlackBerry'An essential guide for the true storyteller.' - Chloe Hooper, award-winning author of fiction and non-fictionIt's etched into our neurological pathways; we can't live without it. Telling true stories is one of the things that makes us hu...

This is the first substantial study of British cinema's most neglected genre. Bringing together original work from some of the leading writers on British popular film, this book includes interviews with key directors Mike Hodges (Get Carter) and Donald Cammel (Performance). It discusses an abundance of films including:* acclaimed recent crime films such as Shallow Grave, Shopping, and Face.* early classics like They Made Me A F...

Paul Newland is a lecturer in film studies in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television at Aberystwyth University.

Contemporary British Television Crime Drama examines one of the medium’s most popular genres and places it within its historical and industrial context. The television crime drama has proved itself capable of numerous generic reinventions and continues to enjoy some of the highest viewing figures. Crime drama offers audiences stories of right and wrong, moral authority asserted and resisted, and professionals and criminals, doing so in ways that are often highly entertaining, innovative, a...

Crime Fiction provides a lively introduction to what is both a wide-ranging and hugely popular literary genre. Using examples from a variety of novels, short stories, films and televisions series, John Scaggs:*presents a concise history of crime fiction - from biblical narratives to James Ellroy - broadening the genre to include revenge tragedy and the gothic novel*explores the key sub-genres of crime fiction, such as 'Rational Criminal Investigation', The Hard-Boile...