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| Monthly Film Bulletin | |
|---|---|
| Name | Monthly Film Bulletin |
| Type | Film review periodical |
| Language | English |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Ceased | 1991 |
| Publisher | British Film Institute |
Monthly Film Bulletin
The Monthly Film Bulletin was a British cinema periodical published by the British Film Institute from 1934 to 1991 that provided systematic reviews and catalogue records for films released in the United Kingdom, with emphasis on exhibition at venues such as the British Council screenings, National Film Theatre, and repertory cinemas in London, Manchester, and Glasgow. It operated alongside institutions and events like the British Board of Film Classification, the Festival of Britain, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and distributors such as Rank Organisation, British Lion Films, and Paramount Pictures in shaping British and international film circulation. Contributors and readers included staff and affiliates of BBC Television, the Cinema Theatre Association, the University of Warwick, and the London Film Festival.
The journal began under the auspices of the British Film Institute during the interwar period, contemporaneous with publications like Sight and Sound and the activities of figures linked to the Empire Marketing Board and the Colonial Office. Early decades saw interaction with exhibitors and censors including the British Board of Film Censors and trade houses such as Gaumont British, while wartime coverage intersected with institutions such as the Ministry of Information and cultural campaigns led by the Royal Air Force and War Artists' Advisory Committee. Postwar reorganization paralleled developments at the National Film Archive, the expansion of film studies at universities including University of Warwick and University of Exeter, and debates triggered by the Cahiers du cinéma movement, the French New Wave, and distributors like CIC and United Artists. In the 1970s and 1980s its run overlapped with academic jobs and grants from bodies such as the Arts Council of Great Britain and controversies involving broadcasters like Channel 4 Television and corporations such as the BBC and ITV. The title ceased as a standalone issue in the early 1990s when publication practices were restructured by the British Film Institute and merged into broader databases and publications such as the revived Sight and Sound and archival projects associated with the National Film and Television Archive.
The magazine maintained a concise, standardized format modeled on cataloguing practice found in archives like the National Film Archive and libraries such as the British Library, with review entries akin to records used by the British Council and the Commonwealth Institute. Each issue used a strict rubric for credits, running time, and technical details reflecting standards promoted by the British Standards Institution and trade manuals distributed by firms such as Pioneer and Technicolor. The editorial line balanced descriptive cataloguing with critical summary, influenced by contemporary critical discourse from journals including Cahiers du cinéma, Film Comment, and Sight and Sound, and by critical figures associated with the British Film Institute and academic departments at institutions like King's College London and University College London. Style and length constraints were shaped by postal regulations from the Post Office and production practices involving printers who served periodicals such as The Times and The Guardian.
Coverage emphasized releases in the United Kingdom and commonwealth circulation, including films from the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, India, Soviet Union, and Latin American cinemas represented at festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Its indexing influenced filmographies compiled in reference works published by houses like Oxford University Press and organizations such as the International Federation of Film Archives. Filmmakers and scholars citing the periodical included figures from British New Wave cinema, participants in the British Film Institute's educational outreach, and critics associated with The Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, New Statesman, New York Times, and Le Monde. The Bulletin's synoptic records aided curators at the British Film Institute National Archive, programmers at the BFI London Film Festival, and preservation projects supported by the National Lottery and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Contributors and editors included critics, archivists, and scholars who worked across institutions such as the British Film Institute, the BBC, and universities like University of Warwick and London Film School. Notable figures associated by tenure, contribution, or influence had ties to publications like Sight and Sound and The Spectator and to film movements represented at festivals including Cannes and Venice. Several editors moved between the Bulletin and outlets such as Film Comment, Monthly Review, and academic presses at Cambridge University Press and Routledge, and contributors later participated in broadcasting at BBC Radio and television programming at Channel 4 Television Corporation.
Critical reception among critics at Sight and Sound, The Guardian, and The Times recognized the Bulletin's utility for librarians, programmers at the British Film Institute National Archive, and scholars at institutions including Oxford University and Cambridge University. Its legacy persists in databases maintained by the British Film Institute, in citations in monographs from publishers such as Manchester University Press and Oxford University Press, and in restoration and programming practices at venues like the National Film Theatre and archives across Europe and North America including the Library of Congress and the Cinémathèque Française. The periodical's compact record-critique model informed subsequent bibliographic projects and online repositories developed by organizations such as the European Film Gateway and the International Federation of Film Archives.
Category:Film magazines published in the United Kingdom Category:British Film Institute