English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 by Jonathan Rigby
| English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 by Jonathan Rigby | |
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| Category: Entertainment | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: A book so exhaustively detailed and knowledgeable you may feel like a rest in a darkened room having waded through it. But on second thoughts, that might not be wise… | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 384 | Date: May 2015 |
| Publisher: Signum Books | |
| ISBN: 9780957648166 | |
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Wow. Every once in a while you come across a book such as this, which represents in two covers the complete sine qua non of its subject and type. There is little vital to say about this book except it is essential for anyone with any remote interest in British horror in motion picture form – yes, it covers cinema to a minute level but also regards TV in an addendum that will bring back equal memories to those who watch it. A book as long and detailed as this – and boy, is it long and detailed – is immediately marked out as a sterling, five-star read, and yet the humble reviewer (like perhaps a victim of one of these gothic fictions) has an exhaustive and exhausting time ahead. Yes, we here at The Bookbag do read every word of the books we cover, even if the only verdict regarding them is blatantly evident from the first hour's perusal.
And so I at least can drop a few names in. Who knew that this, or indeed any, celebration of horror cinema would find cause to mention Dylan Thomas, Billie Whitelaw, Ray Cooney, Keith Chegwin (in two guises, no less) and Billy Wilder's brother as some of the relevant craftsmen and –women? Not to mention various 70s pop stars who I'd rather expunge from memory. Nothing escapes an author, a specialist, an expert, like Jonathan Rigby.
What he does is exemplary throughout. Starting with a brief description of what he takes as 'gothic', we're in to a book-length essay regarding how us Brits have represented it, going right back to the silent days – the 1900s even. Throughout the essay, when he hits upon those he deems the 100 highlights, he will expand his writing to give a couple of pages of verdict, which always seems fair and intelligently reasoned. Not once does he give notice to the films in anything like a formulaic fashion, as he discusses the music, the décor, the script or the actorly failings as and when appropriate. And whereas there are already copious film list books, where we go A-Zombie through a select few titles in self-contained fashion, here the book just flows past. Each of the 100 films gets a box-out, with full cast and credits, a relevant quote and an extract from a contemporary review, and the nearest thing to a nitpick is knowing when to turn to those while in the full swing of things. A symbol would have helped.
But everything is symbolised just as the fan, anywhere between passing enthusiast and rampant trainspotter, would like. Evidence of that is the brilliant selection of photographs, which don't go down the monster/Fangoria route, nor the tits-'n'-ass path of '70s horror films themselves, but just stay on the encyclopaedic route through things. No two-page spread is without an image, but make no mistake, this is not a quick perusal. The dense, double-columned pages are there for a reason – to give you all that this master of the form knows. I'm damned sure the cover star, the already much-missed Sir Christopher Lee, made films in a much shorter time than it took me to read this volume (especially that one he knew nothing about, as everything of his was from the cutting room floor of a different title entirely).
So, this is an undertaking. I'd pretty much say it was the summary of a life's work, except for two things. One, this is the third version of this book, and seeing as British horror has had a full-on resurgence since the dark days which saw the title's original release, it comes at a great time. And secondly, the bleeder has already done an American version, and is polishing off a European Gothic title for 2016. If that is anywhere near as succinct, detailed, well-written, authoritative, up-to-date (he ends with a list of films still being made at my time of reviewing, no less) and intelligent, then it will be yet another essential purchase. Seldom are the non-fiction books with such a distinction of perfection on every page, but this is one.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
In Glorious Technicolor: A Century of Film and How it has Shaped Us by Francine Stock firmly appeals to the cineaste amongst us.
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You can read more book reviews or buy English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 by Jonathan Rigby at Amazon.com.
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