The Beginnings of the Cinema In England, 1894-1901

Volume 5: 1900

Add to my list

by John Barnes

Type: Studies
Subject: Silent Cinema
Keywords: Great Britain, early cinema
Publishing date: 1997
> See the newer edition (2014)
Publisher: University of Exeter Press
Collection: Beginnings of the Cinema in England
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 364 pages
6 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches (17 x 25 cm)

ISBN-10 ISBN-13

0-85989-522-X
978-0-85989-522-4

User Ratings

(0 vote)

Average rating:

0	rating	= We can do without
0	rating	= Good book
0	rating	= Excellent book
0	rating	= Unique / a reference

Your rating: -

Report incorrect or incomplete information

Book Presentation:
Describing in detail one of the most inventive periods in the history of English cinema, the volumes in this celebrated series are already established as classics in their field and represent a major contribution to international film studies. Each volume details the highlights of a single cinematic year, including details of production, manufacturers of equipment, dealers and exhibitors. This is augmented by numerous carefully chosen illustrations and a comprehensive filmography of English films, fiction and non-fiction, for the year. Particular attention is also paid to the ways in which the cinema of other countries affected the English industry.

Volume 5 documents the emergence of Cecil M. Hepworth as one of England’s major film producers in 1900. The work of England’s two premier pioneers in the field of cinematography, Robert W. Paul and Birt Acres, is also examined. The conflict in South Africa against the Boers and the uprising of the Boxers in China proved popular subjects for new films and fictional representations. Forgotten pioneers of film are rescued from oblivion in this volume through the attention paid to their roles in English cinema. Volume 5 is introduced and edited by Richard Maltby.

The long-awaited fifth and final volume in the series is published for the first time by UEP, and edited and introduced by Richard Maltby, Professor of Screen Studies, Flinders University, Australia.

Describing in detail one of the most inventive periods in the history of English cinema, this series represents a major contribution to international film studies. Each illustrated volume details a single cinematic year, including details of production, manufacturers of equipment, dealers and exhibitors, as well as a comprehensive filmography of English films, fiction and non-fiction, for the year. The previous volumes are aready established as classics in their field and have recently been re-jacketed and re-issued by University of Exeter Press.The fifth and final volume documents the year 1900, when the conflict in South Africa against the Boers and the Boxer uprising in China proved popular subjects for news films and fictional representations. It includes a full Introduction by Richard Maltby which places Victorian cinema in its cultural, social and historical context

About the Author:
John Barnes (1920–2008) wrote extensively on the beginnings of the cinema and on precinema history. With his twin brother, William, he produced a collection of films documenting life in Kent in the 1930s.

Press Reviews:
“The eagerly awaited publication of John Barnes' fifth volume marks the final instalment of this groundbreaking series ... it seemed for a while that it might never see the light of day. That it has done so, and that the other books in the series have been re-issued, is testimony not only to John's tenacity, but to the foresight of Exeter University Press ... The series has become the standard reference text for English cinema of this period, with its combination of technical, biographical and contextual information ... As well as providing reliable and comprehensive reference material for film scholars these books are eminently accessible and entertaining. They are a significant contribution to the canon of film scholarship and a fitting testimony to a lifetime's dedication to the cinema.”

–Screening the Past, May 2000
- Screening the Past

“The five Barnes' volumes stand as a solid work of reference to one of the most imaginative and creative periods of cinema in Britain or anywhere else.” –Screening the Past, May 2000
— Screening the Past

“Perhaps it is a symptom of this change that the Barnes brothers have now found a publisher in the form of the University of Exeter Press, who have not only brought out this latest volume in style, but have re-issued volumes 2 to 4 in a uniform binding (with a promise of a totally revised volume 1 in 1998). Perhaps, at last, the British academic and archival establishments are coming to appreciate the fascination of the early cinema, a fascination that John and William Barnes have felt for over 60 years.” –Film History, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1998
- Film History

“A triumphant finale to a major achievement in social as well as cinema history. . . Barnes' chronicle is meticulous and wonderfully illustrated. Cumulatively, it has shown this period was arguably British cinema's most inventive” –Sight and Sound, Vol. 8, Issue 2, February 1998
— Sight and Sound

“...this remarkable set of books should be in every university library in the country, and on the shelves of every film historian.” –Viewfinder, No. 32, February 1998
— Viewfinder

“...Beginnings of the Cinema in England belongs beside such founding works as Rachael Low's History of the British Film and Denis Gifford's British Film Catalogue. It is an essential work in the literature of the film.” –Film Quarterly
— Film Quarterly

“Film studies for years to come will be indebted to him for having immeasurably enriched the literature on his subject.” –Quarterly Review of Film Studies
— Quarterly Review of Film Studies

“. . . essential reading . . . a labour of love that will intrigue any cineaste.” –Film Quarterly
— Film Quarterly