Flashback: A Brief History of Film Chapters 17-20 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 17 opened with the statement that while the British film industry had a resurgence, there were no great new movements in international cinema during the 1980s. While the other countries were struggling, Great Britain was having a renaissance as it blended old and new cinema. British filmmakers continued making films from old literary scripts, using craftsmanship honed through the decades, as they stuck to class consciousness. They also began focusing on the recent past, particularly the 1950s. Another popular topic was addressing themes related to sex. James Ivory, Bill Forsyth, and Stephen Frears established themselves as significant directors of the decade. There was more concentration on television and theater than in the actual film industry.

During this decade in Western Europe, Pedro Almodovar, a filmmaker who was...