British Science Fiction Cinema

<p><em>British Science Fiction Cinema</em> is the first substantial study of a genre which despite a sometimes troubled history has produced some of the best British films from the prewar classic <em>Things to Come to Alien</em> made in Britain by a British director. The contributors to this rich and provocative collection explore the diverse strangeness of British science fiction from literary adaptions like <em>Nineteen Eighty-Four</em> and <em>A Clockwork Orange</em> to pulp fantasies and 'creature features' far removed from the acceptable face of British cinema.<br>Through case studies of key films like <em>The Day the Earth Caught Fire</em> contributors explore the unique themes and concerns of British science fiction from the postwar boom years to more recent productions like <em>Hardware</em> and examine how science fiction cinema drew on a variety of sources from TV adaptions like <em>Doctor Who and the Daleks</em> to the horror/sf crossovers produced from John Wyndham's cult novels <em>The Day of the Triffids</em> and <em>The Midwich Cuckoos</em> (filmed as <em>Village of the Damned</em>). How did budget restrictions encourage the use of the 'invasion narrative' in the 1950s films? And how did films such as <em>Unearthly Stranger</em> and <em>Invasion</em> reflect fears about the decline of Britain's economic and colonial power and the 'threat' of female sexuality?<br><em>British Science Fiction Cinema</em> celebrates the breadth and continuing vitality of British sf film-making in both big-budget productions such as <em>Brazil</em> and <em>Event Horizon</em> and cult exploitation movies like <em>Inseminoid</em> and <em>Lifeforce</em>.</p>