Studying British Cinema: The 1990s

The 1990s were years of contradiction for British cinema. On the one hand, the exhibition and production of British films bounced back from the dark days of the early 1980s, in which cinema attendance and filmmaking slumped to an all-time low. On the other hand, foreign investment now played a major role in supporting the industry, with companies erecting cinema multiplexs and, particularly in the case of American investment, pouring money into big budget British productions. While this kept studios, technicians, directors, and actors busy, none of the profits from these films made it back to Britain. Through a detailed analysis of twenty films, Studying British Cinema: 1990s painstakingly reexamines this fragile revival of British film fortunes. Placing these and other films against a backdrop of vibrant cultural, technological, and political change, the volume illuminates a decade that would come to be known as "Cool Brittania," evoking a deliberate comparison with the events of the 1960s.

Eddie Dyja was editor of BFI Film and Television from 1995 to 2005. He now works as a freelance writer and editor and has contributed to Rough Guide to Film and screenonline, and has compiled an online directory of films for children called Now Showing 3.