Cinema has had a hugely influential role on global culture in the twentieth century at multiple levels: social, political, and educational. The part of British cinema in this has been controversial-often derided as a whole, but also vigorously celebrated, especially in terms of specific films and film-makers. In this Very Short Introduction, Charles Barr considers films and filmmakers, and studios and sponsorship, against the wider view of changing artistic, socio-political, and industrial climates over the decades of the twentieth century. Considering British cinema in the wake of one of the most familiar of cinematic reference points-Alfred Hitchcock-Barr traces how British cinema has developed its own unique path, and has since been celebrated for its innovative approaches and distinctive artistic language.