In a market long dominated by Hollywood, French films are consistently the most widely distributed non-English language works. French cinema, however, appears to undergo a transformation as it reaches Britain, becoming something quite different to that experienced by audiences at home. Drawing on extensive archival research the authors examine in detail the discourses, debates and decisions which have determined the place accorded to French cinema in British film culture. In so doing they provide a fascinating account of this particular instance of transnational cinematic traffic while simultaneously shedding new light on British film history. From the early days of the Film Society, via the advent of the X certificate to the new possibilities of video and DVD, this book reveals the complex and detailed history of the distribution, exhibition, marketing and reception of French cinema in Britain.

In a market long dominated by Hollywood, French films are consistently the most widely distributed non-English language work. French cinema, however, appears to undergo a transformation as it reaches Britain, becoming something quite different to that experienced by audiences at home. Drawing on extensive archival research the authors examine in detail the discourses, debates, and decisions which have determined the place accorded to French cinema in British film culture. In so doing they provide a fascinating account of this particular instance of transnational cinematic traffic while simultaneously shedding new light on British film history. From the early days of the Film Society, via the advent of the X certificate to the new possibilities of video and DVD, this book reveals the complex and detailed history of the distribution, exhibition, marketing, and reception of French cinema in Britain.

"This is a rich and academically relevant collection ... that offers an engagement with a full spectrum of disciplinary interests ... The running filmography that is established across the volume will be a great resource to film scholars and students, and the range of methodological approaches deployed is genuinely inspiring in terms of its diversity, application and results." . Sue Harris, Queen Mary University of London

" T]here is much here to inform the specialist and please the aficionado. This is a welcome addition to the fields of reception studies, French and British film history and culture, and transnational film studies." . Professor Elizabeth Ezra, University of Stirling

A series of limiting definitions have tended to delineate the Franco-British cinematic relationship. As this collection of essays reveals, there is much more to it than simple oppositions between British critical esteem for the films of France and French dismissal of 'le cinema British', or the success of Ken Loach et al. at the French box office and the relative dearth of French movies on British screens. In fact, there has long been a rich and productive dialogue between these two cultures in which both their clear differences and their shared concerns have played a vital role. This book provides an overview of the history of these relations from the early days of sound cinema to the present day. The chapters, written by leading experts in the history of French, British and European cinema, provide insights into relations between French and British cinematic cultures at the level of production, exhibition and distribution, reception, representation and personnel. The book features a diverse range of studies, including: the exhibition of French cinema in Britain in the 1930s, contemporary 'extreme' French cinema, stars such as Annabella, David Niven and Jane Birkin and the French Resistance on British screens.

Lucy Mazdon is a Reader in Film Studies at the University of Southampton. She has written widely on French cinema and television and her publications include Encore Hollywood: Remaking French Cinema (BFI, 2000), France on Film: Reflections on Popular French Cinema (Wallflower, 2001) and The Contemporary Television Series (EUP, 2005).

Catherine Wheatley is a Research Assistant at the University of Southampton where she is working on Lucy Mazdon's AHRC funded project on French cinema in Britain. She is the author of Michael Haneke's Cinema: The Ethic of the Image (Berghahn Books, 2009) and is a regular contributor to Sight and Sound.

Through an analysis of films as diverse as "Jean de Florette, Ma Vie en rose, " and "Nikita, " this collection of new essays is a comprehensive introduction to the concerns and styles that characterize contemporary popular French film. Set within an economic, political, and social context, "France on Film" reconsiders the direction French cinema is taking today, bringing into focus critical questions concerning wide-ranging notions of French culture, identity, and nationhood. Examining questions of popular cinema as opposed to art cinema, this book also seeks to (re)present films that have been widely popular in France and internationally and to thus challenge the traditional art-house view of contemporary French cinema. It also includes a comprehensive filmography and statistics detailing the current state of the French film industry.