The costume drama was one of the important production trends in British cinema during the 1980s and 1990s. Films such as "Chariots of Fire", "A Room with a View", "Howard's End", "Sense and Sensibility", "Elizabeth", and "Shakespeare in Love" won numerous accolades, received extensive critical acclaim, and achieved considerable box-office success, both in the UK and overseas. Since the late 1980s, there has been much debate about these films, about their politics and their meanings, and about their relationship to the heritage industry. In this text, the author moves the debate on heritage cinema in other directions. First, he demonstrates that there were many more "British" costume dramas than have usually been taken into account in discussions of heritage cinema, and describes the typical subject matter, themes, and stylistic characteristics of these films. Secondly, he explores the major concerns of the critical debate about heritage cinema, arguing that the ambivalence of the films themselves and the richness of the reception process necessarily produces a range of often incompatible interpretations of the same films.

About the Author
Andrew Higson has taught Film Studies at Leicester and Sunderland Polytechnics. He joined the University of East Anglia in 1986, and was made a Professor of Film Studies in 2000. He was chair of the Film Studies sector at the University from 1991 to 1998, and Dean of the School of English and American Studies from 2002 to 2005. He has published widely on British cinema, on Film Europe, and on national cinema. He is co-director of the British Cinema History Research Project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and based at the University of East Anglia.

Reviews
Review from other book by this author Waving the Flag represents a valuable addition to British film writing which pulls together and adds to his earlier discussions ... The case-studies are relatively self-contained and could, I imagine, be profitably read in isolation. Indeed, the details accumulated and the issues raised in each case aree so extensive that they characteristically exceed the strict requirements of the developing argument ... an impressive piece of scholarly research which adds considerably to our understanding of British film history. * John Hill, Screen, Vol. 37, No. 1, Spring '96 *
At long last, the identity of British cinema is a subject of sustained and serious scholarly investigation. * Marcia Landy, Twentieth Century British History, February 1999 *
Higson presents a fascinating and challenging examination of the connections between cinema and culture. I fully believe this book will be valuable for all those concerned with how the cultural analysis of films relates to the films' economic context. Higson writes in a clear and accessible manner ... his knowledge of production history,grasp of film aesthetics, and insightful interpretations make the connections between economics and art simply fascinating. * Lester D. Friedman, Film Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 4, Summer '96 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199259021
Author Andrew Higson
Format Paperback
Page Count 294
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 156mm * 16mm