Bound by modest budget constraints and dwarfed by Hollywood's output, British sci-fi cinema has enjoyed a checkered past, overlooked by critics. Yet the sci-fi genre has produced some of the best British films, from the pre-war classic Things to Come to Alien - made in Britain by a British director. This text redresses the balance, exploring the diverse strangeness of British sci-fi from literary adaptations like 1984 and A Clockwork Orange to the pulp fantasies and creature features far removed from the acceptable face of British cinema. Through case studies of key films like The Day the...

British Science Fiction Cinema is the first substantial study of a genre which, despite a sometimes troubled history, has produced some of the best British films, from the prewar classic Things to Come to Alien made in Britain by a British director. The contributors to this rich and provocative collection explore the diverse strangeness of British science fiction, from literary adaptions like Nineteen Eighty-Four and A Clockwork Orange to pulp fantasies and 'creature features' far removed from the acceptable face of British cinema.
Through case studies...