About this item
Highlights
- Despite Soho's rich cultural history, there remains an absence of work on the depiction of the popular neighbourhood in film.
- About the Author: Jingan Young is an award-winning playwright and journalist.
- 262 Pages
- Performing Arts, Film
Description
About the Book
Soho on Screenprovides the first history of London's commercial and cultural center, Soho, in British cinema. It highlights forgotten British films, filmmakers, and stars in detail and introduces thoroughly researched studies that highlight not only the cultural importance of Soho as a locus for cinema but also the impact of gentrification on the cultural and social development of Soho today.
Book Synopsis
Despite Soho's rich cultural history, there remains an absence of work on the depiction of the popular neighbourhood in film. Soho on Screen provides one of the first studies of Soho within post-war British cinema. Drawing upon historical, cultural and urban studies of the area, this book explores twelve films and theatrically released documentaries from a filmography of over one hundred Soho set productions. While predominantly focusing on low-budget, exploitation films which are exemplars of British and international filmmaking, Young also offers new readings of star and director biographies, from Laurence Harvey to Emeric Pressburger, and in so doing enlivens discussion on filmmaking in a time and place of intense social transformation, technological innovation and growing permissiveness.
Review Quotes
"Young's writing is engaging and well-researched, and, as with many of these types of books, will leave the reader seeking out many of the films analysed. It's a fascinating period in British cinema history and focusing on films connected to this one square mile of London is a great way to really dig into that history. Soho on Screen is highly recommended." - Cinema Retro
"This impressive and imaginative study explores Soho's representation in films from multiple angles, situating these films in the broader social and cultural context of postwar Britain. By covering an admirably wide range of films, including some lesser-known ones, Jingan Young explores Soho's image on screen during the 1950s and early 1960s as a way of examining changing ideas surrounding British national identity, London's immigrant communities, youth culture, sex and commercialism." - Chris O'Rourke, University of Lincoln
About the Author
Jingan Young is an award-winning playwright and journalist. She holds a PhD from King's College London, and is a regular contributor to The Guardian. She is editor of Foreign Goods: A Selection of Writing by British East Asian Artists (Oberon Books, 2018).