Armchair Cinema

A History of Feature Films on British Television, 1929-1981

By: Sheldon Hall

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Hardcover | 30 June 2024

At a Glance

Hardcover
536 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.4 x 17.2 x 3.0

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Since broadcast television first emerged as a serious alternative to the cinema, more people have seen films on TV than by any other means. Feature films originally made for the big screen were initially withheld from TV by the film industry in the competition for audiences. Struggles between film and television interests settled into a truce in the mid-1960s, since when thousands of films have been shown on British terrestrial television each year. They assumed particular importance in the 1970s and 1980s, when cinema blockbusters became major TV events and themed seasons gave viewers access to many older movies.

This book provides a comprehensive history and analysis of the ways in which cinema films have figured in TV programming in the UK and the role that British television has played in changing the consumption of film entertainment.

Industry Reviews

"Sheldon Hall's pioneering Armchair Cinema examines in forensic detail - with a wealth of fascinating archival material - the history of the often stressful relationship between broadcasters and the film industry, and of the changing status of film in television programming, in the process laying the foundations for a fertile new area of media studies. This is an important and absorbing book."

--Sir Christopher Frayling, Emeritus Professor of Cultural History Royal College of Art and Visiting Professor of Arts, University of Lancaster

Often uneasy bedfellows, cinema and television have nonetheless always been in a relationship. InArmchair Cinema Sheldon Hall's meticulous archival research informs an illuminating history of where many films find their biggest audience - at home. This is the untold story of feature films on the small screen in Britain (1929-1981).

--Justin Smith, Professor of Cinema and Television History, De Montfort University

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