British cinema and society with analysis of the film: Passport to Pimlico, 1949, Henry Cornelius

Résumé du document

Great Britain is usually perceived as a country that has a very developed culture, with respect to several points of view, not only musical, but also literally and, of course cinematographic. It thus seems interesting to show what the relation between cinema and British society is. To deal with this issue, I will show what the British frame of mind concerning cinema was, and then introduce the movie "Passport to Pimlico? (1949) by Henry Cornelius [Ealing Comedy],

Extraits

[...] To deal with this issue, I choose to show what the UK frame of mind concerning cinema was, and then I want to introduce the movie Passport to Pimlico (1949) Henry Cornelius [Ealing Comedy], I. British cinema A. The evolution of cinema in british society The story of British cinema is the survival of national one in an international context of American cinema domination. British cinema always needs to adapt itself to survive, all the more so cinema wasn't a main point of the English culture, compared with France for instance. [...]

[...] We can explain this phenomenon with the fascination of the American audience for Hugh Laurie, who plays the main character in House MD. Witness of this”British invasion”, the choice of actresses for the new TV shows The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Bionic woman. Last spring, even Stephen Frears shot the thriller Skip Tracer's pilot. II. Analysis of a film A. About british society I would like to speak about the movie Passport to Pimlico (1949) Henry Cornelius [Ealing Comedy], but maybe it's interesting to explain the context of the English society when this movie was produced. [...]

[...] This was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford Cripps. The Secretary of the United States Treasury, Mr. John Snyder, explained that the British devaluation should result in "an early rise in their dollar resources." He described it as constructive economic step" whose long-term results should be a healthy impetus to world-wide multilateral trade. We can add that gas industries were nationalized at the same time, and then that Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the US create the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) to counter Soviet expansion in Europe. [...]

[...] Finally, it's impossible to speak about English cinema without speaking about James Bond! A global success with those blockbusters which want to defend British values in an American surrounded world. Instead of James doesn't have the best arms of the world, he yet saves the planet because he is the most intelligent, the most beautiful and of course the most English. B. Today british success Since the success of the American adaptation of The Office, BBC' sitcom, studios have never looked so much at the United Kingdom. [...]

[...] This exploration of the English character is at the heart of Passport to Pimlico. For all their dogged resistance, the Burgundians never lose sight of their true national identity, as the film's most memorable line makes clear: "We always were English and we always will be English, and it's just because we are English that we're sticking up for our right to be Burgundian!" Bibliography www.allocine.fr L'Europe, L. Carrouet (2006) Wikipedia.fr http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/british_cinema_and_socie ty/ Director Henry Cornelius made no further films at Ealing, though he later directed the very Ealing-ish Genevieve (1953) for Rank. [...]