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Palgrave Macmillan

The Brighton School and the Birth of British Film

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

Authors:
  1. Frank Gray

    1. University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

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  • Constitutes the first book to explore the work of the British pioneer filmmakers, George Albert Smith and James Williamson
  • Highlights Smith and Williamson’s role in the early evolution of film narrative and the beginnings of film editing
  • Explores the relationships between Smith and Williamson’s films and a range of contemporary practices and events, such as the magic lantern, mesmerism, pantomime, the Boxer Rebellion and the Anglo-Boer War

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 1-15

  3. Investigating the Brighton School

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 17-38

  4. Invention and Wonder: The Arrival of Film in Britain and Brighton, 1894–1896

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 39-76

  5. Wonders and Marvels: Smith’s Early Years

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 77-110

  6. 1897: Smith Turns to Film

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 111-149

  7. Smith’s Visions and Transformations: The Films of 1898

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 151-170

  8. Smith’s Edited Films, 1899–1903

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 171-210

  9. Williamson’s Kinematograph Films

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 211-240

  10. Williamson’s Picture Stories

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 241-266

  11. Transitions, Chains and Flows

    • Frank Gray
    Pages 267-277

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 279-304
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Keywords

About this book

This study is devoted to the work of two early British filmmakers, George Albert Smith and James Williamson, and the films that they made around 1900. Internationally, they are known collectively as the ‘Brighton School’ and are positioned as being at the forefront of Britain’s contribution to the birth of film. The book focuses on the years 1896 to 1903, as it was during this short period that film emerged as a new technology, a new enterprise and a new form of entertainment. Beginning with a historiography of the Brighton School, the study goes on to examine the arrival of the first 35mm films in Britain, the first film exhibitions in Brighton and the first projection of film in Brighton. Both Smith and Williamson’s work features a progression from the production of single shot unedited films to multi-shot edited films. Their subject matter was inspired by a knowledge of contemporary pantomime, humour, literature, theatre, mesmerism, the magic lantern and current affairs and their practices were underpinned by active involvement in the new film trade. Through the exploration of how these filmmakers cultivated a new way of understanding film and its commercial potential, this book establishes them as key figures in the development of British film culture. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

    Frank Gray

About the author

Frank Gray is the Director of Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton, UK, an AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellow, a Co-Director of Cinecity (the Brighton Film Festival) and has served as the Chair of Film Archives UK. His research is dedicated to the beginnings of film in Brighton and Britain. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Brighton School and the Birth of British Film

  • Authors: Frank Gray

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17505-4

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-17504-7Published: 25 July 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-17507-8Published: 14 August 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-17505-4Published: 16 July 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 304

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 8 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Film History, British Cinema and TV

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