The Monthly Film Bulletin was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with Sight & Sound. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a narrow arthouse release.
The Monthly Film Bulletin was edited in the mid-1950s by David Robinson, in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Peter John Dyer, and then by Tom Milne. By the end of the 1960s, when the character and tone of its reviews changed considerably with the arrival of a new generation of critics influenced by the student culture and intellectual tumult of the time (not least the overthrow of old ideas of "taste" and quality), David Wilson was the editor. It was then edited by Jan Dawson (1938[1] – 1980), for two years from 1971, and from 1973 until its demise by the New Zealand-born critic Richard Combs.
In 1991, The Monthly Film Bulletin was merged with Sight & Sound, which had until then been published quarterly. Sight & Sound then became a monthly publication and took up The Monthly Film Bulletin's remit to review all films released in the UK.
The Monthly Film Bulletin was originally published to allow UK cinema managers to decide what films to show, hence the complete cast and production lists, full plot followed by a thorough critique. Only films that had been registered with the UK government trade authority were covered each month. During the years of full supporting programmes, The Monthly Film Bulletin printed long lists of B-features and short films with brief capsule reviews; by the 1970s, the tone and style of its reviews had changed considerably, and was increasingly influenced in some cases by the auteur theory and Marxist-influenced film theory, though some more traditional critics such as John Gillett remained, and others such as David McGillivray and Paul Taylor took exploitation movies more seriously than had previously been considered acceptable, while Steve Jenkins wrote a lengthy defence in 1981 of Glen or Glenda. Another change was that all reviews had a byline – up to September 1968, only the reviews of films considered more significant by the BFI had a partial byline of initials only (so Tom Milne would be "T.M."). From January 1971, all films were listed in alphabetical order, mainly because a new wave of critics who were influencing the magazine had already overturned the assumptions implicit in the separation of films (for example, several by Sergio Leone and many from the stable of Roger Corman were only included in the "shorter notices" section). From the July 1982 issue, The Monthly Film Bulletin changed again to include more feature articles, interviews, and photographs.
Contributorsedit
The Monthly Film Bulletin's contributors included:
Gilbert Adair (joined in 1979 and was a regular through the early 1980s)
David Wilson (1965 – at least 1987, though very sporadic in later years; editor from c. 1968–1971)
Robin Wood (often at odds with the BFI, but briefly contributed c. 1972/1973.)
Referencesedit
^Richard Roud (ed) Cinema: a Critical Dictionary; The Major Film Makers, 1980, Secker & Warburg, p. v
February 18, 2024
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The Monthly Film Bulletin was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991 when it merged with Sight amp Sound It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom including those with a narrow arthouse release The Monthly Film BulletinCategoriesFilm criticismFrequencyMonthlyFirst issueFebruary 1934 90 years ago 1934 02 Final issueNumberApril 1991 1991 04 v 58 no 687CompanyBritish Film InstituteCountryUnited KingdomBased inLondonLanguageEnglishISSN0027 0407History editThe Monthly Film Bulletin was edited in the mid 1950s by David Robinson in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Peter John Dyer and then by Tom Milne By the end of the 1960s when the character and tone of its reviews changed considerably with the arrival of a new generation of critics influenced by the student culture and intellectual tumult of the time not least the overthrow of old ideas of taste and quality David Wilson was the editor It was then edited by Jan Dawson 1938 1 1980 for two years from 1971 and from 1973 until its demise by the New Zealand born critic Richard Combs In 1991 The Monthly Film Bulletin was merged with Sight amp Sound which had until then been published quarterly Sight amp Sound then became a monthly publication and took up The Monthly Film Bulletin s remit to review all films released in the UK The Monthly Film Bulletin was originally published to allow UK cinema managers to decide what films to show hence the complete cast and production lists full plot followed by a thorough critique Only films that had been registered with the UK government trade authority were covered each month During the years of full supporting programmes The Monthly Film Bulletin printed long lists of B features and short films with brief capsule reviews by the 1970s the tone and style of its reviews had changed considerably and was increasingly influenced in some cases by the auteur theory and Marxist influenced film theory though some more traditional critics such as John Gillett remained and others such as David McGillivray and Paul Taylor took exploitation movies more seriously than had previously been considered acceptable while Steve Jenkins wrote a lengthy defence in 1981 of Glen or Glenda Another change was that all reviews had a byline up to September 1968 only the reviews of films considered more significant by the BFI had a partial byline of initials only so Tom Milne would be T M From January 1971 all films were listed in alphabetical order mainly because a new wave of critics who were influencing the magazine had already overturned the assumptions implicit in the separation of films for example several by Sergio Leone and many from the stable of Roger Corman were only included in the shorter notices section From the July 1982 issue The Monthly Film Bulletin changed again to include more feature articles interviews and photographs Contributors editThe Monthly Film Bulletin s contributors included Gilbert Adair joined in 1979 and was a regular through the early 1980s Martyn Auty 1978 at least 1987 Anne Billson 1984 1990 Geoff Brown 1974 1991 Richard Combs 1969 1991 editor from 1973 Pam Cook 1985 1991 associate editor and contributor Peter Cowie 1961 65 Jan Dawson 1967 1980 editor from 1971 1973 Raymond Durgnat often at odds with the BFI in earlier years but contributed regularly in the 1980s Peter John Dyer at least 1956 1966 editor in late 1950s and early 1960s John Gillett at least 1954 to at least 1983 an unusually long run during a period when the magazine changed beyond recognition Verina Glaessner 1969 1991 Penelope Houston c 1950 mid 1970s Steve Jenkins joined in 1980 as associate editor continued as a contributor for most of that decade Gavin Lambert c 1950 c 1956 1957 David McGillivray a regular throughout the 1970s Tom Milne 1962 91 editor from c 1963 1968 Kim Newman 1982 91 David Pirie 1969 mid 1970s Derek Prouse mainly in 1950s created the London Film Festival in 1957 Tim Pulleine 1977 1991 John Pym 1975 1991 Tony Rayns 1970 1991 Eric Rhode mainly in late 1950s and early 1960s David Robinson mainly in 1950s editor 1955 1956 but continued sporadically into the 1970s Cynthia Rose early 1980s Jonathan Rosenbaum assistant editor 1974 1977 contributor 1974 1977 and sporadically afterwards Richard Roud mainly in late 1950s and early 1960s Elizabeth Sussex mid 1960s John Russell Taylor first contributed in 1959 continued for much of the 1960s and into the 1970s Paul Taylor 1978 at least 1986 Robert Vas mainly in late 1950s and early 1960s David Wilson 1965 at least 1987 though very sporadic in later years editor from c 1968 1971 Robin Wood often at odds with the BFI but briefly contributed c 1972 1973 References edit Richard Roud ed Cinema a Critical Dictionary The Major Film Makers 1980 Secker amp Warburg p v Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Monthly Film Bulletin amp oldid 1182065151, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
