Brief Encounters

For many years lesbian and gay representation in British cinema escaped the attention of critics and historians. Informative and entertaining <i>Brief Encounters</i> examines performers directors and a wide range of films to reveal a cinema more varied vital and sensuous than we could have imagined. <br/><br/>Through a close reading of mid-twentieth century British films Bourne explores a range of lesbian and gay screen images from movies including <i>Soldiers of the King Pygmalion In Which We Serve Brief Encounter Black Narcissus The Red Shoes</i> and <i>A Hard Day's Night</i>. In addition he looks in detail at the ground-breaking <i>Victim</i> and brings together the moving reminiscences of gay men who first saw the film in the hostile climate of 1961 and the reactions of contemporary critics. <br/><br/>This fluent chronology of over 150 famous half-remembered and forgotten films is a testament to the contribution of gays and lesbian to British cinema culture.