European Cinema

'The publication of European Cinema: An Introduction comes as a shower of rain in the desert...The editors Jill Forbes and Sarah Street and their contributors have written a text that helps to fill a yawning gap and offers an accessible, well-written and stimulating account for a wide range of readers.' - Steve Brewer, European Journal of Communication

This introduction to the study of European cinema asks whether European cinema exists and, what its aesthetic, political and economic characteristics might be. It offers a series of case studies of films from the major European film producing countries including Britain and Russia.The survival of cinema in Europe and the analysis of its heritage are key issues for the new century. This book asks how we can define European cinema and how it should be studied. It provides an overview of the problems, traditions and key questions that have informed the study of European cinema, investigating the links and tensions between Europe and Hollywood and exploring the different experiences of national identities within a common European framework.

Twelve case studies of individual European films ranging from The Battleship Potemkin and The Lodger, to La Haine and Trainspotting, illustrate the distinctiveness and variety of cinema in Europe as well as the various critical methods by which it can be studied.

With its detailed analysis of films from several European countries including Britain and Russia, the book encourages a comparative approach and raises urgent questions about the future of European cinema in the context of globalization. It will be of interest to students in Film Studies, European Studies and Modern European Languages and Cultures.