The Beginnings of the Cinema In England, 1894-1901: Volume 1

“. . . essential reading . . . a labour of love that will intrigue any cineaste.” –Film Quarterly

“Film studies for years to come will be indebted to him for having immeasurably enriched the literature on his subject.” –Quarterly Review of Film Studies

“...Beginnings of the Cinema in England belongs beside such founding works as Rachael Low's History of the British Film and Denis Gifford's British Film Catalogue. It is an essential work in the literature of the film.” –Film Quarterly

“...this remarkable set of books should be in every university library in the country, and on the shelves of every film historian.” –Viewfinder, No. 32, February 1998

“Perhaps it is a symptom of this change that the Barnes brothers have now found a publisher in the form of the University of Exeter Press, who have not only brought out this latest volume in style, but have re-issued volumes 2 to 4 in a uniform binding (with a promise of a totally revised volume 1 in 1998). Perhaps, at last, the British academic and archival establishments are coming to appreciate the fascination of the early cinema, a fascination that John and William Barnes have felt for over 60 years.” –Film History, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1998

“The five Barnes' volumes stand as a solid work of reference to one of the most imaginative and creative periods of cinema in Britain or anywhere else.” –Screening the Past, May 2000