"Writing with a graceful style and a quiet wit, Barr has made a valuable contribution to the increasing array of cinematic Very Short Introductions." -- David Sterritt, Quarterly Review of Film and Video"It's a long time since I've read such a short book that seems so rich in content and offered so comprehensive and lucid approach to a complex phenomenon. This is a book for any intelligent non-specialist reader with an interest in British film." -- Brian McFarlane, On Screen"An entertaining and very informative tour of British film history, starting from the silent days of course, but taking a more productive route than a simple chronological tour." -- Pamela Hutchison, Silent London"This short introduction is.a shrewd one. it informs and also inspires." -- Graham McCann, Former Fellow of King's College, University of Cambridge"Not the least among this small book's many pleasures are its lucid, nuanced prose style and the elegant manner in which thematic threads are teased out and followed through .

it is a sensitive, sensible, and sharply perceptive introduction that will be welcomed by students new to the field, while those who think they know everything about the subject already will find some fresh observations." -- Sheldon Hall, Hitchcock Annual"It guides and galvanises; it informs and also inspires. As a starting point for an inquisitive student,. it soon earns ample respect for its selectiveness, as well as appreciation for the additional lines of inquiry that it suggests." -- Graham McCann, Society"British Cinema: A Very Short Introduction, despite its format as a pocket guide, offers considerably more than its slender size promises. It will be of particular value to students and to general readers approaching British cinema history for the first time, and it is pleasing that the appendices include a solid section of recommended further reading." -- James Shelton, Journal of British Cinema and Television 21.1.