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By 1927, the largest cinema chains in the United Kingdom consisted of around 20 cinemas but the following year Gaumont-British expanded significantly to become the largest, controlling 180 cinemas by 1928 and up to 300 by 1929.
1920-30s. Post-war, with construction limitations lifted, ‘super cinemas’ began popping up around the country hosting 2,000+ seats. Many cinemas began combining live acts and films, providing live performances as a ‘preshow’ before the movie.
- The Gainsborough Melodramas
- The Ealing Comedies
- The Studios’ Legacy
- Conclusion
The first major studio that pioneered their own genre of film was Gainsborough Studios, based in London, which was founded in 1924. Although it produced a plethora of films between its foundation and its closure in 1951, it is most famously remembered for the Gainsborough melodramas, a collection of films produced in the 1940s. These films became i...
Another major name in the studio film boom was Ealing Studios, a London-based studio that started in 1902. Ealing still produces films, TV and music videos to this day, but one of the most important eras of its history was the popularity of the Ealing comedy. Beginning in 1947, the year after the final commonly-accepted Gainsborough melodrama was r...
The popularity of both of these strains of studio film can be compared to modern day trends in cinema. Although to directly link cinematic movements over half a century would be a foolish overstatement, various elements of both Gainsborough melodramas and Ealing comedies can be seen in films to this day. Gainsborough melodramas, being mostly period...
The rise of studio films as important cinematic movements had no previous precedent in the history of British cinema, but the economic success of a series of thematically linked films would clearly be at home in the twenty-first century. Using the same sets, recurring crew and casts, and stories that spoke to British experiences in the war, the stu...
- Tom Bedford
The BFI has launched the BFI Filmography, the world’s first complete and accurate living record of UK cinema, which means everyone – from film fans and industry professionals to researchers and students – can now search and explore British film history, for free.
Jun 18, 2020 · By the late 2000s, however, that number had trebled. The first British multiplex was built in Milton Keynes in 1985, sparking a boom in out-of-town multiplex cinemas. Today, most people see films on television, whether terrestrial, satellite or subscription video on demand (SVOD) services.
The first films were made on a sensitised paper roll a little over 2 inches wide. In 1889, Prince was able to obtain celluloid roll film from Eastman when it was introduced in England. Prince started commercial development of his motion picture camera in early 1890 with an updated version.
British cinema history. Articles by Raymond Williams, 'British Film History: New Perspectives'; Philip Corrigan, 'Film entertainment as ideology and pleasure: towards a history of audiences'; Michael Chanan, 'The emergence of an industry'; Simon Hartog, 'State protection of a beleaguered industry'; Margaret Dickinson, 'The state and the ...
