15 | BRITISH SOCIAL REALISM

A concise and accessible introduction to the rich tradition of social realism in British cinema from its beginnings in the documentary movement of the 1930s to its more stylistically-eclectic and generically-hybrid contemporary forms. This volume examines the movements, moments and cycles of British social realist texts through a detailed consideration of practice, politics, form, style and content, using case studies of key texts including Listen to Britain, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Letter to Brezhnev and Nil By Mouth. The book considers the challenges for social realist film practice and production in Britain, now and in the future.

August 2002
144 pages

978-1-903364-41-3 (pbk)

£12.99

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Samantha Lay is Senior Lecturer at Trinity and All Saints College, University of Leeds.

‘A long-overdue introduction to the one of the most distinctive aspects of British cinema ... it fills an important gap in the literature and will be of considerable interest to undergraduate readers anywhere that courses on British cinema are offered.'
– Steve Chibnall, De Montfort University 

‘British Social Realism is without doubt the best introduction to this distinctive and fascinating genre that any film student could hope to read. A very welcome addition to Wallflower Press’ excellent Short Cuts series.'
– Film Ireland

‘As an example of good writing, intelligent illustration and clear discussion of key ideas, this book is something of a rarity … As an intelligent and coherent over-view of the field, Lay's British Social Realism is an important starting point from which the new possibilities for British filmmaking in the twenty-first century can be further explored.’
– Jonathan Wright, www.film-philosophy.com

‘Whatever your take on the films, they are key to understanding British cinema, and the book is a fine introduction.’
– Empire