Order of Book Series
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BFI Film Classics Books in Order

BFI Film Classics contains 103 books, published between 1982 and 2020. The first book is Napoleon: Abel Gance's Classic Film (1982) and the newest is Fear Eats The Soul (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
103
Published
1982–2020
Pages on record
2,144 in 19 of 103 books
See all 103 books in order Printable BFI Film Classics checklist

BFI Film Classics is a series of books on film history and criticism whose titles name individual films, catalogued at 103 volumes by different writers. Subjects include Napoléon (1927), The Seventh Seal and 42nd Street. Titles include The Seventh Seal (1993), L'atalante (1993), Things To Come (1995), The Big Sleep (1997), Bride of Frankenstein (1997) and The Birds (1998), with Fear Eats The Soul (2020) the latest. Mark Kermode is credited on 3 volumes, and Christopher Frayling, Edward Buscombe and Jonathan Rosenbaum on 2 each.

How many BFI Film Classics books are there?

BFI Film Classics has 103 books, released between 1982 and 2020.

BFI Film Classics Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 103 BFI Film Classics books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Napoleon: Abel Gance's Classic Film by Kevin Brownlow, book 1 of the BFI Film Classics series (1982)
  2. Cover of The Seventh Seal by Melvyn Bragg, book 2 of the BFI Film Classics series (1993)
  3. Cover of 42nd Street by J. Hoberman, book 3 of the BFI Film Classics series (1993)
  4. Cover of Bride of Frankenstein by Alberto Manguel, book 8 of the BFI Film Classics series (1997)
  5. Cover of The Thing by Anne Billson, book 9 of the BFI Film Classics series (1997)
  6. Cover of Titanic by David M. Lubin, book 13 of the BFI Film Classics series (2000)
  7. Cover of Thelma And Louise by Marita Sturken, book 14 of the BFI Film Classics series (2000)
  8. Cover of Belle De Jour by Michael Wood, book 15 of the BFI Film Classics series (2001)
  9. Cover of The Exorcist by Mark Kermode, book 17 of the BFI Film Classics series (2003)
  10. Cover of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Peter Krämer, book 22 of the BFI Film Classics series (2010)
  11. Cover of Grey Gardens by Matthew Tinkcom, book 24 of the BFI Film Classics series (2011)
  12. Cover of Meshes Of The Afternoon by John David Rhodes, book 25 of the BFI Film Classics series (2011)
  13. Cover of Taxi Driver by Amy Taubin, book 27 of the BFI Film Classics series (2012)
  14. Cover of Metropolis by Thomas Elsaesser, book 28 of the BFI Film Classics series (2012)
  15. Cover of Singin' In The Rain, book 29 of the BFI Film Classics series (2012)
  16. Cover of Don't Look Now by Mark Sanderson, book 30 of the BFI Film Classics series (2012)
  17. Cover of Quatermass And The Pit by Kim Newman, book 85 of the BFI Film Classics series (2019)
  1. 1
    Napoleon: Abel Gance's Classic Film1982 · 310 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982310
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Seventh Seal1993 · 69 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199369
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    42nd Street1993 · 79 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199379
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    L'atalante1993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    It's A Gift1994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Things To Come1995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Big Sleep1997 · confirmed 2/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Bride of Frankenstein1997 · 68 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199768
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Thing1997 · 96 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199796
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Birds1998 · 120 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Crash1999 · confirmed 2/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Sanshô Dayû1999 · confirmed 2/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Titanic2000 · 142 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000142
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Thelma And Louise2000 · 94 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200094
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Belle De Jour2001 · 79 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200179
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Manchurian Candidate2002 · 96 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200296
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Exorcist2003 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Kind Hearts And Coronets2003 · confirmed 2/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Matrix2004 · confirmed 2/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    City Lights2007 · confirmed 2/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Ratcatcher2008 · 96 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200896
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    2001: A Space Odyssey2010 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Best Years Of Our Lives2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Grey Gardens2011 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Meshes Of The Afternoon2011 · 136 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011136
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Caché2012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Taxi Driver2012 · 88 pages · confirmed 2/4
    201288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Metropolis2012 · 112 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Singin' In The Rain2012 · 87 pages · confirmed 2/4
    201287
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Don't Look Now2012 · 88 pages · confirmed 2/4
    201288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Where to start with BFI Film Classics

Start with Napoleon: Abel Gance's Classic Film (1982), the earliest published title.

What is the newest BFI Film Classics book?

Fear Eats The Soul (2020) is the newest BFI Film Classics book released so far.

Is there a new BFI Film Classics book coming?

No next BFI Film Classics book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

BFI Film Classics at a glance

No recent titles
The newest BFI Film Classics title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
BFI Film Classics books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
2,144 pages across the 19 of 103 books with a recorded length, a median of 96 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most BFI Film Classics books, 79 of 103, were published in the 2010s.
Attribution
Of the 103 titles, 3 are credited to Mark Kermode, 3 to Peter Krämer, 2 to Christopher Frayling and 2 to Jonathan Rosenbaum. A further 93 writers are credited. One title carries no credit.

What the BFI Film Classics books are about

20 of the 103 BFI Film Classics books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: motion pictures, history is tagged on 8 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Motion pictures, history 8 of 20 books
  • History and criticism 5 of 20 books
  • Motion pictures 5 of 20 books
  • Criticism and interpretation 3 of 20 books
  • Motion picture plays 3 of 20 books
  • History 2 of 20 books