<DIV><DIV><P><I>British Film Design</I> is about the things that you see when you close your eyes and think of  British cinema: <I>Dr. No's</I> Hideaway, the buffet of <I>Brief Encounter</I>, <I>Vera Drake's</I> parlour, Hogwarts School...and a thousand other visions of British films. This book is also about the people who have created those visions.</P><P>The physical environments of films are made by Production Designers/Art Directors. Their efforts have tended to go unnoticed by cinema audiences. <I>British Film Design</I> offers the first comprehensive historical survey of British art direction. It takes a chronological journey through British film design, starting with the efforts of the film "primitives" of the silent era and ending with the modern day purveyors of part built/part computer generated "blended design." Certain themes recur en route. These include British cinema's obsession with realism; the Production Designer's continual struggle for recognition; influence from European artists and the benefits -- and perils -- of American finance. The book succeeds in expressing the joy of looking at films from inside out; seeing beyond the stars to recognise sets as silent players in the action.</P></DIV></DIV>