"My Beautiful Laundrette": Turner Classic Movies British Film Guide (British Film Guides): No. 9

New
Paperback
2004
$28.30

Described by Stuart Hall as 'one of the most riveting and important films produced by a black writer in recent years', My Beautiful Laundrette was a significant production for its director Stephen Frears and its writer Hanif Kureshi. Omar, member of a Pakistani family 'getting ahead' in 1980s Thatcher's Britain is charged to make over a rundown launderette, and in the process falls in love with the brooding Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis in career-making form). Christine Geraghty interrogates My Beautiful Laundrette as a crossover film: between television and cinema, realism and fantasy, and as an independent film targeting a popular audience. She deftly shows how it has remained an important and watchable film in the 1990s and early 2000s and her exploration of the film itself is a remarkable, original and entertaining achievement.

Synopsis

Described by Stuart Hall as 'one of the most riveting and important films produced by a black writer in recent years', My Beautiful Laundrette was a significant production for its director Stephen Frears and its writer Hanif Kureshi. Omar, member of a Pakistani family 'getting ahead' in 1980s Thatcher's Britain is charged to make over a rundown launderette, and in the process falls in love with the brooding Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis in career-making form). Christine Geraghty interrogates My Beautiful Laundrette as a crossover film: between television and cinema, realism and fantasy, and as an independent film targeting a popular audience. She deftly shows how it has remained an important and watchable film in the 1990s and early 2000s and her exploration of the film itself is a remarkable, original and entertaining achievement.

$28.30

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 118
Publisher: Bloomsbury 3PL
Published: 29 Oct 2004
ISBN 10: 185043414X
ISBN 13: 9781850434146

Media Reviews

The Bookseller: offering enthusiasts 'fashionable and lively guides' to classic films. Kamera magazine/website: 'combines an intelligent and detailed analysis of the film with a stimulating and impeccably researched account of its contemporary critical reception' 'The detail with which the film is observed is impressive.' 'sophisticated and enlightening' 'Her account of the film's enduring impact is particularly absorbing' 'The rigorous and multifaceted analysis provided in this fascinating book will undoubtedly prove valuable to students and experienced academics alike, whilst its style is sufficiently accessible to appeal to a wider range of film enthusiasts.' The Veteran, Summer 2005: 'Her [Geraghty's]insightful book reminds us of how far television drama at Channel 4 has strayed from the vision of Jeremy Isaacs and, later, Michael Grade, under whom the film was commissioned.' In the Picture, No. 51: 'I was particularly impressed by the analysis of the acting... Analysis of performance is still under represented in Film Studies.' 'Geraghty obviously knows Launderette well, and faithfully understands it and the social, cultural, and political aspects of its production.' Film International Review by 'Precise, lucid, clearly organised.' - Robert Shail, Journal of British Cinema and Television

Author Bio

Christine Geraghty is Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow. She is the author of British Cinema in the Fifties: Gender, Genre and the 'New Look' and Women and Soap Opera and co-editor of The Television Studies Book.