WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL 2024
Benedict Morrison
The art and ideas of post-war British cinema
At Stretton-on-Fosse Village Hall, GL56 9SR
Through excerpts from British films, today’s DSI will help us explore the more subtle meanings of some best-loved British cinema and the more modern approaches to film.
Session one: Cinema from the Rubble: the Post-War Politics of the Ealing Comedies. The Ealing comedies are amongst the most popular British films ever made; they have a reputation for cosy, whimsical fun. We revisit them in the light of their post-war context, exploring the more serious politics of their representation of life amongst the ruins of bombed cities.
Session two: Cinema of Resistance: the Startling Visions of Experimental British Film. The playful witty spirit of Ealing has haunted the works of such daring British directors as Terence Davies, Derek Jarman and Peter Greenaway. This talk explores how experimental cinema of the 1980s and 1990s developed the funny, startling political commentary and artistic visions.
Session three: Reading Films. This final session will introduce some of the strategies which can unpick films’ subtler meanings. We will encounter some key principles and possibilities of analysis before creating our own analyses of sequences from some familiar films.
The day starts at 10am with coffee for a 10.30am start and finishes at approximately 3.15pm.
Cost (including coffee and lunch): Members £44, Guests £46
As well as being an accredited Arts Society Lecturer, Benedict Morrison is also a Lecturer in Literature and Film at the University of Exeter. He is a published author on Art Cinema with Oxford University Press and is producing work on post-war British comedy films.As well as being an accredited Arts Society Lecturer, Benedict Morrison is also a Lecturer in Literature and Film at the University of Exeter. He is a published author on Art Cinema with Oxford University Press and is producing work on post-war British comedy films.
