The history of British literature on film, 1895-2015 / Greg M. ColoÌn Semenza & Robert Hasenfratz.

"From The Death of Nancy Sykes (1897) to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) and beyond, cinematic adaptations of British literature participate in a complex and fascinating history. The History of British Literature on Film, 1895-2015 is the only comprehensive narration of cinema's 100-year-old love affair with British literature. Unlike previous studies of literature and film, which tend to privilege particular authors such as Shakespeare and Jane Austen, or particular texts such as Frankenstein, or particular literary periods such as Medieval, this volume considers the multiple functions of filmed British literature as a cinematic subject in its own right-one reflecting the specific political and aesthetic priorities of different national and historical cinemas. In what ways has the British literary canon authorized and influenced the history and aesthetics of film, and in what ways has filmed British literature both affirmed and challenged the very idea of literary canonicity? Seeking to answer these and other key questions, this indispensable study shows how these adaptations emerged from and continue to shape the social, artistic, and commercial aspects of film history"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: -- Chapter 1: 'Weird, Mystical, Barbaric': Brit-lit on Film, 1896-1906 Chapter 2: 'Crude, Vicious, and Lascivious Entertainments': The Arrival of the Brit-lit Film, 1907-1920 Chapter 3: The High Silent Era (1920-1929)Chapter 4: The Talkies (1929-1938) Chapter 5: War and its Aftermath: (1939-1954)Chapter 6: The Legacy of Auteurism: 1954-1970s Chapter 7: The Brit-Lit Film as Genre: 1970s-1989 Chapter 8: Globalism, Independence, and Beyond: 1990-2010.