David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students a ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Rank Organisation attempted to do so in the 1940s, and Goldcrest in the 1980s. Numerous British-born directors, including

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

,

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&n ...

and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

, and performers, such as Charlie Chaplin and

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

, have achieved success primarily through their work in the United States. In 2009, British films grossed around $2 billion worldwide and achieved a market share of around 7% globally and 17% in the United Kingdom. UK box-office takings totalled £1.1 billion in 2012, with 172.5 million admissions. The

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

has produced a poll ranking what they consider to be the 100 greatest British films of all time, the

BFI Top 100 British films In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were "culturally British" ...

. The annual

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

hosted by the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

are considered to be the British equivalent of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

.

History

Origins and silent films

The world's first moving picture was shot in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

by Louis Le Prince in 1888 and the first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Gre ...

in 1889 by British inventor

William Friese Greene William Friese-Greene (born William Edward Green, 7 September 1855 – 5 May 1921) was a prolific English inventor and professional photographer. He was known as a pioneer in the field of motion pictures, having devised a series of cameras in 1 ...

, who patented the process in 1890. Charlie Chaplin with doll

The first people to build and run a working

35 mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

in Britain were Robert W. Paul and Birt Acres. They made the first British film ''

Incident at Clovelly Cottage ''Incident at Clovelly Cottage'', also known as ''Incident Outside Clovelly Cottage, Barnet'', shot by Birt Acres and produced by Acres and his collaborator Robert W. Paul in March 1895, was the "first successful motion picture film made in Bri ...

'' in February 1895, shortly before falling out over the camera's patent. Soon several British film companies had opened to meet the demand for new films, such as Mitchell and Kenyon in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and nort ...

. Although the earliest British films were of everyday events, the early 20th century saw the appearance of narrative shorts, mainly comedies and melodramas. The early films were often melodramatic in tone, and there was a distinct preference for story lines already known to the audience, in particular, adaptations of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays and Dickens novels. The Lumière brothers first brought their show to London in 1896. In 1898 American producer Charles Urban expanded the London-based Warwick Trading Company to produce British films, mostly documentary and news. In 1898 Gaumont-British Picture Corp. was founded as a subsidiary of the French Gaumont Film Company, constructing Lime Grove Studios in West London in 1915 in the first building built in Britain solely for film production. Also in 1898 Hepworth Studios was founded in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area ex ...

, South London by Cecil Hepworth, the

Bamforths Bamforth & Co Ltd was a publishing, film and illustration company based in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England. History Bamforth & Co Ltd was started in 1870 by James Bamforth, a portrait photographer in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. In 1883 he beg ...

began producing films in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and William Haggar began producing films in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Directed by Walter R. Booth in 1901, '' Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost'' is the earliest film adaptation of Charles Dickens's festive novella '' A Christmas Carol''. Booth's '' The Hand of the Artist'' (1906) has been described as the first British animated film. In 1902

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

was founded by Will Barker, becoming the oldest continuously-operating film studio in the world. In 1902 the earliest colour film in the world was made; like other films made at the time, it is of everyday events. In 2012 it was found by the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford after lying forgotten in an old tin for 110 years. The previous title for earliest colour film, using Urban's inferior Kinemacolor process, was thought to date from 1909. The re-discovered films were made by pioneer Edward Raymond Turner from London who patented his process on 22 March 1899. In 1903 Urban formed the

Charles Urban Trading Company The Charles Urban Trading Company specialised in travel, educational and scientific films. It was formed in 1903 in London by the Anglo-American film producer Charles Urban, who struck out on his own after five years at the Warwick Trading Company. ...

, which produced early colour films using his patented Kinemacolor process. This was later challenged in court by Greene, causing the company to go out of business in 1915. In 1903, Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow directed ''Alice in Wonderland'', the first film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's children's book ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''. In 1903

Frank Mottershaw Frank Mottershaw (1850–1932) (often confused with his second son, Frank Storm Mottershaw) was an early English cinema director based in Sheffield, Yorkshire. His films, '' A Daring Daylight Burglary'' and ''The Robbery of the Mail Coach'' (fe ...

of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

produced the film ''

A Daring Daylight Robbery ''A Daring Daylight Burglary'' (also known as ''A Daring Daylight Robbery'') is a 1903 British short silent film directed by Frank Mottershaw. The film was produced by the Sheffield Photo Company, and features members from the Sheffield Fire ...

'', which launched the chase genre. In 1911 the

Ideal Film Company The Ideal Film Company (often known as Ideal Films or simply Ideal) was a British film production and distribution company that operated between 1911 and 1934. The company, based in Soho, London, was started by the two Jewish brothers Harry M ...

was founded in Soho, London, distributing almost 400 films by 1934, and producing 80. In 1913 stage director

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He ...

began directing British films, becoming Britain's most prolific film director, with almost 200 by 1957. In 1914 Elstree Studios was founded, and acquired in 1928 by German-born Ludwig Blattner, who invented a magnetic steel tape recording system that was adopted by the BBC in 1930. In 1915, the Kinematograph Renters’ Society of Great Britain and Ireland was formed to represent the film distribution companies. It is the oldest film trade body in the world. It was known as the Society of Film Distributors until it changed its name again to the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA). In 1920 Gaumont opened Islington Studios, where

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

got his start, selling out to Gainsborough Pictures in 1927. Also in 1920 Cricklewood Studios was founded by Sir Oswald Stoll, becoming Britain's largest film studio, known for Fu Manchu and Sherlock Holmes film series. Leslie Howard GWTW

In 1920 the short-lived company

Minerva Films Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

was founded in London by the actor Leslie Howard (also producer and director) and his friend and story editor Adrian Brunel. Some of their early films include four written by A. A. Milne including '' The Bump'', starring C. Aubrey Smith; '' Twice Two''; ''

Five Pound Reward 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

''; and '' Bookworms''. By the mid-1920s the British film industry was losing out to heavy competition from the United States, which was helped by its much larger home market – in 1914 25% of films shown in the UK were British, but by 1926 this had fallen to 5%. The Slump of 1924 caused many British film studios to close, resulting in the passage of the Cinematograph Films Act 1927 to boost local production, requiring that cinemas show a certain percentage of British films. The act was technically a success, with audiences for British films becoming larger than the quota required, but it had the effect of creating a market for poor quality, low cost films, made to satisfy the quota. The "quota quickies", as they became known, are often blamed by historians for holding back the development of the industry. However, some British film makers, such as Michael Powell, learnt their craft making such films. The act was modified with the Cinematograph Films Act 1938 assisted the British film industry by specifying only films made by and shot in Great Britain would be included in the quota, an act that severely reduced Canadian and Australian film production. Ironically, the biggest star of the silent era, English comedian Charlie Chaplin, was Hollywood-based. Hitchcock, Alfred 02

The early sound period

Scottish solicitor John Maxwell founded British International Pictures (BIP) in 1927. Based at the former

British National Pictures Studios Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated by Elstree Film Studios Limited. One of several facilities historically referred to as Elstree Studios, the Shenley Road ...

in Elstree, the facilities original owners, including producer-director

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wife ...

, had run into financial difficulties. One of the company's early films,

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to f ...

'' (1929), is often regarded as the first British sound feature. It was a part-talkie with a synchronised score and sound effects. Earlier in 1929, the first all-talking British feature, '' The Clue of the New Pin'' was released. It was based on a novel by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

, starring Donald Calthrop, Benita Home and Fred Raines, which was made by British Lion at their Beaconsfield Studios. John Maxwell's BIP became the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) in 1933. ABPC's studios in Elstree came to be known as the "porridge factory", according to Lou Alexander, "for reasons more likely to do with the quantity of films that the company turned out, than their quality". Elstree (strictly speaking almost all the studios were in neighbouring Borehamwood) became the centre of the British film industry, with six film complexes over the years all in close proximity to each other. By 1927, the largest cinema chains in the United Kingdom consisted of around 20 cinemas but the following year Gaumont-British expanded significantly to become the largest, controlling 180 cinemas by 1928 and up to 300 by 1929. Maxwell formed ABC Cinemas in 1927 which became a subsidiary of BIP and went on to become one of the largest in the country, together with Odeon Cinemas, founded by Oscar Deutsch, who opened his first cinema in 1928. By 1937, these three chains controlled almost a quarter of all cinemas in the country. A booking by one of these chains was indispensable for the success of any British film. With the advent of sound films, many foreign actors were in less demand, with English

received pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...

commonly used; for example, the voice of Czech actress Anny Ondra in ''Blackmail'' was substituted by an off-camera Joan Barry during Ondra's scenes. Starting with

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fl ...

's '' Drifters'' (also 1929), the period saw the emergence of the school of realist Documentary Film Movement, from 1933 associated with the GPO Film Unit. It was Grierson who coined the term " documentary" to describe a non-fiction film, and he produced the movement's most celebrated early films, '' Night Mail'' (1936), written and directed by Basil Wright and Harry Watt, and incorporating the poem by W. H. Auden towards the end of the short. Music halls also proved influential in comedy films of this period, and a number of popular personalities emerged, including

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

, Gracie Fields, Jessie Matthews and Will Hay. These stars often made several films a year, and their productions remained important for morale purposes during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

.

Many of the British films with larger budgets during the 1930s were produced by London Films, founded by Hungarian ''emigre''

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)The Private Life of Henry VIII ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' is a 1933 British film directed and co-produced by Alexander Korda and starring Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Merle Oberon and Elsa Lanchester. It was written by Lajos Bíró and Arthur Wimperis for London Fi ...

'' (1933), made at

British and Dominions Elstree Studios Imperial Studios were the studios of the British and Dominions Film Corporation, a short-lived British film production company located at Imperial Place, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The studios (one of several facilities historica ...

, persuaded

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

and The Prudential to invest in Korda's Denham Film Studios, which opened in May 1936, but both investors suffered losses as a result. Korda's films before the war included '' Things to Come'', ''

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally co ...

'' (both 1936) and '' Knight Without Armour'' (1937), as well as the early Technicolour films '' The Drum'' (1938) and '' The Four Feathers'' (1939). These had followed closely on from '' Wings of the Morning'' (1937), the UK's first three-strip Technicolour feature film, made by the local offshoot of

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

. Although some of Korda's films indulged in "unrelenting pro-Empire flag waving", those featuring Sabu turned him into "a huge international star"; "for many years" he had the highest profile of any actor of Indian origin. Paul Robeson was also cast in leading roles when "there were hardly any opportunities" for African Americans "to play challenging roles" in their own country's productions. In 1933, the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

was established as the lead organisation for film in the UK. They set up the National Film Library in 1935 (now known as the BFI National Archive), with Ernest Lindgren as its curator. In 1934, J. Arthur Rank became a co-founder of British National Films Company and they helped create Pinewood Studios, which opened in 1936. Also in 1936, Rank took over General Film Distributors and in 1937, Rank founded The Rank Organisation. In 1938, General Film Distributors became affiliated with Odeon Cinemas. Pygmalion-1938

Rising expenditure and over-optimistic expectations of expansion into the American market caused a financial crisis in 1937, after an all-time high of 192 films were released in 1936. Of the 640 British production companies registered between 1925 and 1936, only 20 were still active in 1937. Moreover, the 1927 Films Act was up for renewal. The replacement Cinematograph Films Act 1938 provided incentives, via a " quality test", for UK companies to make fewer films, but of higher quality, and to eliminate the "quota quickies". Influenced by world politics, it encouraged American investment and imports. One result was the creation of MGM-British, an English subsidiary of the largest American studio, which produced four films before the war, including '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939). The new venture was initially based at Denham Studios. Korda himself lost control of the facility in 1939 to the Rank Organisation. Circumstances forced Korda's '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940), a spectacular fantasy film, to be completed in California, where Korda continued his film career during the war. By now contracted to Gaumont British, Alfred Hitchcock had settled on the thriller genre by the mid-1930s with '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934), '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and '' The Lady Vanishes'' (1938). Lauded in Britain where he was dubbed "Alfred the Great" by '' Picturegoer'' magazine, Hitchcock's reputation was beginning to develop overseas, with a ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' feature writer asserting; "Three unique and valuable institutions the British have that we in America have not.

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, on 15 June 1215. ...

, the

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close ...

and Alfred Hitchcock, the greatest director of screen melodramas in the world." Hitchcock was then signed up to a seven-year contract by Selznick and moved to Hollywood.

Second World War

Published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' on 5 September 1939, two days after Britain declared war on Germany,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

’s letter protested against a government order to close all places of entertainment, including cinemas. ‘What agent of Chancellor

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

is it who has suggested that we should all cower in darkness and terror “for the duration”?’. Within two weeks of the order cinemas in the provinces were reopened, followed by central London within a month. In 1940, cinema admissions figures rose, to just over 1 billion for the year, and they continued rising to over 1.5 billion in 1943, 1944 and 1945. Humphrey Jennings began his career as a documentary film maker just before the war, in some cases working in collaboration with co-directors. ''

London Can Take It ''London Can Take It!'' is a short British propaganda film from 1940, which shows the effects of eighteen hours of the German blitz on London and its people. Intended to sway the US population in favour of Britain's plight, it was produced by th ...

'' (with Harry Wat, 1940) detailed

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

while '' Listen to Britain'' (with Stewart McAllister, 1942) looked at the home front. The Crown Film Unit, part of the Ministry of Information took over the responsibilities of the GPO Film Unit in 1940. Paul Rotha and

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a p ...

were colleagues of Jennings. British films began to make use of documentary techniques; Cavalcanti joined

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was hi ...

for '' Went the Day Well?'' (1942), Many other films helped to shape the popular image of the nation at war. Among the best known of these films are '' In Which We Serve'' (1942), ''

We Dive at Dawn ''We Dive at Dawn'' is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance f ...

'' (1943), ''

Millions Like Us ''Millions Like Us'' is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It starred Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Eric Portman and Megs Jenkins. It was co-written and co-direc ...

'' (1943) and '' The Way Ahead'' (1944). The war years also saw the emergence of The Archers partnership between director Michael Powell and the Hungarian-born writer-producer Emeric Pressburger with films such as '' The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943) and '' A Canterbury Tale'' (1944). Two Cities Films, an independent production company releasing their films through a Rank subsidiary, also made some important films, including the Noël Coward and David Lean collaborations '' This Happy Breed'' (1944) and ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

'' (1945) as well as Laurence Olivier's '' Henry V'' (1944). By this time, Gainsborough Studios were releasing their series of critically derided but immensely popular period melodramas, including '' The Man in Grey'' (1943) and '' The Wicked Lady'' (1945). New stars, such as Margaret Lockwood and James Mason, emerged in the Gainsborough films.

Post-war cinema

Towards the end of the 1940s, the Rank Organisation became the dominant force behind British film-making, having acquired a number of British studios and the Gaumont chain (in 1941) to add to its Odeon Cinemas. Rank's serious financial crisis in 1949, a substantial loss and debt, resulted in the contraction of its film production. In practice, Rank maintained an industry duopoly with ABPC (later absorbed by EMI) for many years. Deborah Kerr 3

For the moment, the industry hit new heights of creativity in the immediate post-war years. Among the most significant films produced during this period were

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...

's ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life (play), Still Life''. Starring Celia Jo ...

'' (1945) and his Dickens adaptations '' Great Expectations'' (1946) and '' Oliver Twist'' (1948), Ken Annakin's comedy '' Miranda'' (1948) starring Glynis Johns,

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

's thrillers '' Odd Man Out'' (1947) and '' The Third Man'' (1949), and Powell and Pressburger's '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), '' Black Narcissus'' (1947) and '' The Red Shoes'' (1948), the most commercially successful film of its year in the United States. Laurence Olivier's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

'' (also 1948), was the first non-American film to win the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categor ...

. Ealing Studios (financially backed by Rank) began to produce their most celebrated comedies, with three of the best remembered films, '' Whisky Galore'' (1948), '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' and '' Passport to Pimlico'' (both 1949), being on release almost simultaneously. Their

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsDead of Night'' (1945) is also particularly highly regarded. Under the Import Duties Act 1932,

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

levied a 75%

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and p ...

on all film imports on 6 August 1947 which became known as Dalton Duty (after

Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreign policy in the 19 ...

then the Chancellor of the Exchequer). The tax came into effect on 8 August, applying to all imported films, of which the overwhelming majority came from the United States; American film studio revenues from the UK had been in excess of US$68 million in 1946. The following day, 9 August, the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distri ...

announced that no further films would be supplied to British cinemas until further notice. The Dalton Duty was ended on 3 May 1948 with the American studios again exported films to the UK though the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

prohibited US film companies from taking foreign exchange out of the nations their films played in. Following the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, the

National Film Finance Corporation The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, and further enhanced by the ...

(NFFC) was established as a British film funding agency. The Eady Levy, named after Sir Wilfred Eady was a tax on

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is f ...

receipts in the United Kingdom in order to support the British Film industry. It was established in 1950 coming into effect in 1957. A direct governmental payment to British-based producers would have qualified as a

subsidy A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

under the terms of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its ...

, and would have led to objections from American film producers. An indirect levy did not qualify as a subsidy, and so was a suitable way of providing additional funding for the UK film industry whilst avoiding criticism from abroad. In 1951, the National Film Theatre was initially opened in a temporary building at the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

. It moved to its present location on the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Albert ...

in London for the first London Film Festival on 16 October 1957 run by the BFI. Terry-Thomas in Where Were You When the Lights Went Out

During the 1950s, the British industry began to concentrate on popular comedies and World War II dramas aimed more squarely at the domestic audience. The war films were often based on true stories and made in a similar low-key style to their wartime predecessors. They helped to make stars of actors like John Mills, Jack Hawkins and Kenneth More. Some of the most successful included '' The Cruel Sea'' (1953), '' The Dam Busters'' (1954), '' The Colditz Story'' (1955) and '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956). The Rank Organisation produced some comedy successes, such as '' Genevieve'' (1953). The writer/director/producer team of twin brothers John and Roy Boulting also produced a series of successful satires on British life and institutions, beginning with '' Private's Progress'' (1956), and continuing with (among others) '' Brothers in Law'' (1957), '' Carlton-Browne of the F.O.'' (1958), and '' I'm All Right Jack'' (1959). Starring in '' School for Scoundrels'' (1960), the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

thought Terry-Thomas was "outstanding as a classic British

bounder Bounder may refer to: *Bounder (character), a dishonorable man * ''Bounder'' (video game), a 1985 computer game *'' The Bounder'', a television show *Myasishchev M-50 (NATO reporting name "Bounder"), a Soviet Union prototype bomber aircraft * Pseud ...

". Popular comedy series included the "Doctor" series, beginning with '' Doctor in the House'' (1954). The series originally starred Dirk Bogarde, probably the British industry's most popular star of the 1950s, though later films had Michael Craig and Leslie Phillips in leading roles. The Carry On series began in 1958 with regular instalments appearing for the next twenty years. The Italian director-producer Mario Zampi also made a number of successful black comedies, including ''

Laughter in Paradise ''Laughter in Paradise'' is a 1951 British comedy film, starring Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, George Cole, and Guy Middleton. The film was remade as '' Some Will, Some Won't'' (1970). Plot In his will, notorious practical joker Henry Russell l ...

'' (1951), '' The Naked Truth'' (1957) and '' Too Many Crooks'' (1958).

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

had continued its run of successful comedies, including '' The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951) and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955), but the company ceased production in 1958, after the studios had already been bought by the BBC. Dracula 1958 a

Less restrictive censorship towards the end of the 1950s encouraged film producer

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

to embark on their series of commercially successful horror films. Beginning with adaptations of Nigel Kneale's BBC science fiction serials ''

The Quatermass Experiment ''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a British science fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television during the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells t ...

'' (1955) and '' Quatermass II'' (1957), Hammer quickly graduated to '' The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) and '' Dracula'' (1958), both deceptively lavish and the first gothic horror films in colour. The studio turned out numerous sequels and variants, with English actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee being the most regular leads. '' Peeping Tom'' (1960), a now highly regarded thriller, with horror elements, set in the contemporary period, was badly received by the critics at the time, and effectively finished the career of Michael Powell, its director.

Social realism

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-C0710-0009-013, Karlsbad, Filmfestival, Beyer, Reiss, Brousil

The British New Wave film makers attempted to produce

social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

films (see also ' kitchen sink realism') attempted in commercial feature films released between around 1959 and 1963 to convey narratives about a wider spectrum of people in Britain than the country's earlier films had done. These individuals, principally Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson and

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Tom Jones''. Earl ...

, were also involved in the short lived Oxford film journal ''

Sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ...

'' and the " Free Cinema" documentary film movement. The 1956 statement of Free Cinema, the name was coined by Anderson, asserted: "No film can be too personal. The image speaks. Sounds amplifies and comments. Size is irrelevant. Perfection is not an aim. An attitude means a style. A style means an attitude." Anderson, in particular, was dismissive of the commercial film industry. Their documentary films included Anderson's '' Every Day Except Christmas'', among several sponsored by Ford of Britain, and Richardson's '' Momma Don't Allow''. Another member of this group, John Schlesinger, made documentaries for the BBC's '' Monitor'' arts series. Together with future James Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman, dramatist John Osborne and Tony Richardson established the company Woodfall Films to produce their early feature films. These included adaptations of Richardson's stage productions of Osborne's '' Look Back in Anger'' (1959), with

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable p ...

, and ''

The Entertainer An entertainer is a person who entertains (singer, actor, comedian, etc.) The Entertainer may refer to: Music Songs * "The Entertainer" (rag), a 1902 classic piano rag written by Scott Joplin *"The Entertainer", rearrangement of the Joplin rag by ...

'' (1960) with Laurence Olivier, both from Osborne's own screenplays. Such films as Reisz's '' Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' (also 1960), Richardson's ''

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

'' (1961), Schlesinger's '' A Kind of Loving'' (1962) and '' Billy Liar'' (1963), and Anderson's '' This Sporting Life'' (1963) are often associated with a new openness about working-class life or previously taboo issues. The team of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph, from an earlier generation, "probe into the social issues that now confronted social stability and the establishment of the promised peacetime consensus".Tim O'Sullivan
"Dearden, Basil (1911-1971)"
BFI screenonline, citing the ''Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors''. ''

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were the ...

'' (1950). and ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sap ...

'' (1959) were early attempts to create narratives about racial tensions and an emerging multi-cultural Britain. Dearden and Relph's '' Victim'' (1961), was about the blackmail of homosexuals. Influenced by the Wolfenden report of four years earlier, which advocated the decriminalising of homosexual sexual activity, this was "the first British film to deal explicitly with homosexuality". Unlike the New Wave film makers though, critical responses to Dearden's and Relph's work have not generally been positive.

The 1960s

As the 1960s progressed, American studios returned to financially supporting British films, especially those that capitalised on the " swinging London" image propagated by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine in 1966. Films like ''

Darling Darling is a term of endearment of Old English origin. Darling or Darlin' or Darlings may also refer to: People * Darling (surname) * Darling Jimenez (born 1980), American boxer * Darling Légitimus (1907–1999), French actress Places Austral ...

'', '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (both 1965), '' Alfie'' and '' Georgy Girl'' (both 1966), all explored this phenomenon. '' Blowup'' (also 1966), and later '' Women in Love'' (1969), showed female and then male full-frontal nudity on screen in mainstream British films for the first time. At the same time, film producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli combined sex with exotic locations, casual violence and self-referential humour in the phenomenally successful

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

series with Sean Connery in the leading role. The first film '' Dr. No'' (1962) was a sleeper hit in the UK and the second, '' From Russia with Love'' (1963), a hit worldwide. By the time of the third film, '' Goldfinger'' (1964), the series had become a global phenomenon, reaching its commercial peak with '' Thunderball'' the following year. The series' success led to a spy film boom with many Bond imitations. Bond co-producer Saltzman also instigated a rival series of more realistic spy films based on the novels of

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air F ...

. Michael Caine starred as bespectacled spy Harry Palmer in '' The Ipcress File'' (1965), and two sequels in the next few years. Other more downbeat espionage films were adapted from

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

novels, such as '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1965) and '' The Deadly Affair'' (1966).

American directors were regularly working in London throughout the decade, but several became permanent residents in the UK. Blacklisted in America, Joseph Losey had a significant influence on British cinema in the 1960s, particularly with his collaborations with playwright

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

and leading man Dirk Bogarde, including '' The Servant'' (1963) and '' Accident'' (1967). Voluntary exiles Richard Lester and

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

were also active in the UK. Lester had major hits with

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

film '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965) and Kubrick with '' Dr. Strangelove'' (1963) and '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968). While Kubrick settled in Hertfordshire in the early 1960s and would remain in England for the rest of his career, these two films retained a strong American influence. Other films of this era involved prominent filmmakers from elsewhere in Europe, '' Repulsion'' (1965) and ''Blowup'' (1966) were the first English language films of the Polish director Roman Polanski and the Italian Michelangelo Antonioni respectively. Historical films as diverse as '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

'' (1963), and '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966) benefited from the investment of American studios. Major films like '' Becket'' (1964), ''

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

'' (1966) and ''

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...

'' (1968) were regularly mounted, while smaller-scale films, including '' Accident'' (1967), were big critical successes. Four of the decade's

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

winners for best picture were British productions, including six Oscars for the film musical '' Oliver!'' (1968), based on the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

novel '' Oliver Twist''. After directing several contributions to the BBC's ''

Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of ficti ...

'' anthology series, Ken Loach began his feature film career with the social realist '' Poor Cow'' (1967) and '' Kes'' (1969). Meanwhile, the controversy around Peter Watkins '' The War Game'' (1965), which won the Best Documentary Film Oscar in 1967, but had been suppressed by the BBC who had commissioned it, would ultimately lead Watkins to work exclusively outside Britain.

1970s

American studios cut back on British productions, and in many cases withdrew from financing them altogether. Films financed by American interests were still being made, including

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

's '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970), but for a time funds became hard to come by. More relaxed censorship also brought several controversial films, including Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell's '' Performance'', Ken Russell's '' The Devils'' (1971), Sam Peckinpah's '' Straw Dogs'' (1971), and

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's '' A Clockwork Orange'' (1971) starring Malcolm McDowell as the leader of a gang of thugs in a

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

n future Britain. Other films during the early 1970s included the Edwardian drama ''

The Go-Between ''The Go-Between'' is a novel by L. P. Hartley published in 1953. His best-known work, it has been adapted several times for stage and screen. The book gives a critical view of society at the end of the Victorian era through the eyes of a na� ...

'' (1971), which won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, Nicolas Roeg's Venice-set supernatural thriller '' Don't Look Now'' (1973) and Mike Hodges' gangster drama '' Get Carter'' (1971) starring Michael Caine.

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

returned to Britain to shoot '' Frenzy'' (1972), Other productions such as Richard Attenborough's '' Young Winston'' (1972) and '' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977) met with mixed commercial success. The British

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

cycle associated with Hammer Film Productions,

Amicus Amicus is Latin for 'friend' or 'comrade'. The word may refer to: Organizations * Amicus (trade union), the former British trade union, now merged with the TGWU to form Unite * Amicus Bank, a former bank based in Canada * Amicus Books, an inde ...

and Tigon drew to a close, despite attempts by Hammer to spice up the formula with added nudity and gore. Although some attempts were made to broaden the range of British horror films, such as with '' The Wicker Man'' (1973), these films made little impact at the box office, In 1976, British Lion, who produced ''The Wicker Man'', were finally absorbed into the film division of EMI, who had taken over ABPC in 1969. The duopoly in British cinema exhibition, via Rank and now EMI, continued. Sir Peter Ustinov Allan Warren

In the early 1970s, the government reduced its funding of the National Film Finance Corporation so the NFFC started to operate as a consortium, including with banks, which led to them using more commercial criteria for funding British films rather than focusing on quality or new talent, moving to fund films based on TV shows such as '' Up Pompeii'' (1971). Some other British producers, including Hammer, turned to television for inspiration, and big screen versions of popular sitcoms like '' On the Buses'' (1971) and '' Steptoe and Son'' (1972) proved successful with domestic audiences, the former had greater domestic box office returns in its year than the Bond film, '' Diamonds Are Forever'' and in 1973, an established British actor Roger Moore was cast as Bond in, '' Live and Let Die'', it was a commercial success and Moore would continue the role for the next 12 years. Low-budget British

sex comedies Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

included the ''Confessions of ...'' series starring Robin Askwith, beginning with '' Confessions of a Window Cleaner'' (1974). More elevated comedy films came from the

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over fo ...

team, also from television. Their two most successful films were '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975) and '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979), the latter a major commercial success, probably at least in part due to the controversy at the time surrounding its subject. Some American productions did return to the major British studios in 1977–79, including the original '' Star Wars'' (1977) at Elstree Studios, '' Superman'' (1978) at Pinewood, and '' Alien'' (1979) at

Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD an ...

. Successful adaptations were made in the decade of the

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

novels ''

Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the ...

'' (1974) and ''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at ...

'' (1978). The entry of Lew Grade's company ITC into film production in the latter half of the decade brought only a few box office successes and an unsustainable number of failures

1980s

In 1980, only 31 British films were made, a 50% decline from the previous year and the lowest number since 1914, and production fell again in 1981 to 24 films. The industry suffered further blows from falling cinema attendances, which reached a record low of 54 million in 1984, and the elimination of the 1957 Eady Levy, a tax concession, in the same year. The concession had made it possible for an overseas based film company to write off a large amount of its production costs by filming in the UK – this was what attracted a succession of big-budget American productions to British studios in the 1970s. These factors led to significant changes in the industry, with the profitability of British films now "increasingly reliant on secondary markets such as video and television, and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

... ecamea crucial part of the funding equation." With the removal of the levy,

multiplex cinemas A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...

were introduced to the United Kingdom with the opening of a ten-screen cinema by AMC Cinemas at The Point in Milton Keynes in 1985 and the number of screens in the UK increased by around 500 over the decade leading to increased attendances of almost 100 million by the end of the decade. The 1980s soon saw a renewed optimism, led by smaller independent production companies such as Goldcrest, HandMade Films and Merchant Ivory Productions. Terry Gilliam 01

Handmade Films, which was partly owned by George Harrison, was originally formed to take over the production of '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'', after EMI's Bernard Delfont (Lew Grade's brother) had pulled out. Handmade also bought and released the gangster drama ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...

'' (1980), produced by a Lew Grade subsidiary, after its original backers became cautious. Members of the Python team were involved in other comedies during the decade, including

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

's fantasy films '' Time Bandits'' (1981) and ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' (1985), the black comedy '' Withnail & I'' (1987), and

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

's hit '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), while

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin ...

starred in '' A Private Function'' (1984), from

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's first screenplay for the cinema screen. Goldcrest producer David Puttnam has been described as "the nearest thing to a mogul that British cinema has had in the last quarter of the 20th century." Under Puttnam, a generation of British directors emerged making popular films with international distribution. Some of the talent backed by Puttnam — Hugh Hudson,

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

,

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

, and

Adrian Lyne Adrian Lyne (born 4 March 1941) is an English film director, writer and producer. Having begun his career directing 1970s television commercials, Lyne made well-received short films which were entries in the London Film Festival. He started ma ...

— had shot commercials; Puttnam himself had begun his career in the advertising industry. When Hudson's '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) won 4 Academy Awards in 1982, including Best Picture, its writer Colin Welland declared "the British are coming!". When '' Gandhi'' (1982), another Goldcrest film, picked up a Best Picture Oscar, it looked as if he was right. It prompted a cycle of period films – some with a large budget for a British film, such as

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...

's final film '' A Passage to India'' (1984), alongside the lower-budget Merchant Ivory adaptations of the works of E. M. Forster, such as '' A Room with a View'' (1986). But further attempts to make 'big' productions for the US market ended in failure, with Goldcrest losing its independence after ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' (1985) and '' Absolute Beginners'' (1986) were commercial and critical flops. Another Goldcrest film, Roland Joffé's '' The Mission'' (also 1986), won the 1986

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

, but did not go into profit either. Joffé's earlier '' The Killing Fields'' (1984) had been both a critical and financial success. These were Joffé's first two feature films and were amongst those produced by Puttnam. Mainly outside the commercial sector, film makers from the new commonwealth countries had begun to emerge during the 1970s. Horace Ové's ''

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

'' (1975) had been funded by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

as was '' A Private Enterprise'' (1974), these being the first Black British and Asian British films, respectively. The 1980s however saw a wave of new talent, with films such as Franco Rosso's '' Babylon'' (1980), Menelik Shabazz's '' Burning an Illusion'' (1981) and Po-Chih Leong's '' Ping Pong'' (1986; one of the first films about Britain's Chinese community). Many of these films were assisted by the newly formed

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, which had an official remit to provide for "minority audiences." Commercial success was first achieved with '' My Beautiful Laundrette'' (1985). Dealing with racial and gay issues, it was developed from Hanif Kureishi's first film script. ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' features Daniel Day-Lewis in a leading role. Day-Lewis and other young British actors who were becoming stars, such as Gary Oldman, Colin Firth,

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

and Rupert Everett, were dubbed the Brit Pack. With the involvement of Channel 4 in film production, talents from television moved into feature films with

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

(''My Beautiful Laundrette'') and Mike Newell with '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985).

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank (1967 film), Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), ''Exorcist I ...

, who had been working in the US, was encouraged back to the UK to make '' Hope and Glory'' (1987). Channel Four also became a major sponsor of the British Film Institute's Production Board, which backed three of Britain's most critically acclaimed filmmakers: Derek Jarman ('' The Last of England'', 1987), Terence Davies ('' Distant Voices, Still Lives'', 1988), and

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are t ...

; the latter of whom gained surprising commercial success with '' The Draughtsman's Contract'' (1982) and '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989).

Stephen Woolley Stephen Woolley (born 3 September 1956) is an English film producer and director, whose prolific career has spanned over three and a half decades, for which he was awarded the BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in Febr ...

's company Palace Pictures also produced some successful films, including Neil Jordan's '' The Company of Wolves'' (1984) and ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...

'' (1986), before collapsing amid a series of unsuccessful films. Amongst the other British films of the decade were Bill Forsyth's '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981) and '' Local Hero'' (1983), Lewis Gilbert's '' Educating Rita'' (1983), Peter Yates' '' The Dresser'' (1983) and

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...

's directorial debut, '' Henry V'' (1989).

1990s

Compared to the 1980s, investment in film production rose dramatically. In 1989, annual investment was a meagre £104 million. By 1996, this figure had soared to £741 million. Nevertheless, the dependence on finance from television broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4 meant that budgets were often low and indigenous production was very fragmented: the film industry mostly relied on Hollywood inward investment. According to critic Neil Watson, it was hoped that the £90 million apportioned by the new National Lottery into three franchises (The Film Consortium, Pathé Pictures, and DNA) would fill the gap, but "corporate and equity finance for the UK film production industry continues to be thin on the ground and most production companies operating in the sector remain hopelessly under-capitalised." These problems were mostly compensated by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, a film studio whose British subsidiary

Working Title Films Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Ti ...

released a Richard Curtis-scripted comedy '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994). It grossed $244 million worldwide and introduced Hugh Grant to global fame, led to renewed interest and investment in British films, and set a pattern for British-set romantic comedies, including '' Sliding Doors'' (1998) and ''

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Roa ...

'' (1999). Other Working Titles films included '' Bean'' (1997), '' Elizabeth'' (1998) and '' Captain Corelli's Mandolin'' (2001). PFE was eventually sold and merged with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

in 1999, the hopes and expectations of "building a British-based company which could compete with Hollywood in its home market adeventually collapsed." Tax incentives allowed American producers to increasingly invest in UK-based film production throughout the 1990s, including films such as '' Interview with the Vampire'' (1994), '' Mission: Impossible'' (1996), '' Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), ''

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...

'' (1999) and '' The Mummy'' (1999). Miramax also distributed Neil Jordan's acclaimed thriller '' The Crying Game'' (1992), which was generally ignored on its initial release in the UK, but was a considerable success in the United States. The same company also enjoyed some success releasing the BBC period drama '' Enchanted April'' (1992) and '' The Wings of the Dove'' (1997). Among the more successful British films were the Merchant Ivory productions '' Howards End'' (1992) and '' The Remains of the Day'' (1993), Richard Attenborough's '' Shadowlands'' (1993), and

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...

's Shakespeare adaptations. '' The Madness of King George'' (1994) proved there was still a market for British costume dramas, and other period films followed, including '' Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), '' Restoration'' (1995), ''

Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

'' (1996), '' Mrs. Brown'' (1997), ''

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also ...

'' (1998), ''

Shakespeare in Love ''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, ...

'' (1998) and '' Topsy-Turvy'' (1999). After a six-year hiatus for legal reasons the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

films returned to production with the 17th Bond film, '' GoldenEye''. With their traditional home Pinewood Studios fully booked, a new studio was created for the film in a former

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...

aero-engine factory at Leavesden in Hertfordshire.

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

emerged as a significant figure in British cinema in the 1990s, with a series of films financed by Channel 4 about working and middle class life in modern England, including '' Life Is Sweet'' (1991), '' Naked'' (1993) and his biggest hit '' Secrets & Lies'' (1996), which won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at Cannes. Other new talents to emerge during the decade included the writer-director-producer team of John Hodge, Danny Boyle and Andrew Macdonald responsible for '' Shallow Grave'' (1994) and '' Trainspotting'' (1996). The latter film generated interested in other "regional" productions, including the Scottish films '' Small Faces'' (1996), ''

Ratcatcher A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures rats as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Death, and to prevent dam ...

'' (1999) and '' My Name Is Joe'' (1998).

2000s

The first decade of the 21st century was a relatively successful one for the British film industry. Many British films found a wide international audience due to funding from BBC Films, Film 4 and the UK Film Council, and some independent production companies, such as Working Title, secured financing and distribution deals with major American studios. Working Title scored three major international successes, all starring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, with the romantic comedies '' Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), which grossed $254 million worldwide; the sequel '' Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'', which earned $228 million; and Richard Curtis's directorial debut ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proj ...

'' (2003), which grossed $239 million. The most successful of all, Phyllida Lloyd's ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' (2008), grossed $601 million. The new decade saw a major new film series in the Harry Potter films, beginning with ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers h ...

'' in 2001. David Heyman's company Heyday Films has produced seven sequels, with the final title released in two parts – ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...

'' in 2010 and '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' in 2011. All were filmed at Leavesden Studios in England. Aardman Animations'

Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...

, the creator of Wallace and Gromit and the Creature Comforts series, produced his first feature-length film, '' Chicken Run'' in 2000. Co-directed with Peter Lord, the film was a major success worldwide and one of the most successful British films of its year. Park's follow up, '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' was another worldwide hit: it grossed $56 million at the US box office and £32 million in the UK. It also won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. KeiraKnightleyByAndreaRaffin2011 (cropped)

KeiraKnightleyByAndreaRaffin2011 (cropped)

However it was usually through domestically funded features throughout the decade that British directors and films won awards at the top international film festivals. In 2003,

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—'' Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland'' and '' 24 Hour Party People''� ...

won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for '' In This World''. In 2004, Mike Leigh directed '' Vera Drake'', an account of a housewife who leads a double life as an abortion provider in 1950s London. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In 2006 Stephen Frears directed '' The Queen'' based on the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana, which won the Best Actress prize at the Venice Film Festival and Academy Awards and the BAFTA for Best Film. In 2006, Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival with his account of the struggle for Irish Independence in '' The Wind That Shakes the Barley''. Joe Wright's adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel '' Atonement'' was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Film and won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Film. ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pat ...

'' was filmed entirely in Mumbai with a mostly Indian cast, though with a British director ( Danny Boyle), producer (

Christian Colson Christian Colson (born 15 September 1968) is a British film producer. He is best known as the producer of the 2008 film ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which he received numerous awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture, Golden Globe ...

), screenwriter (

Simon Beaufoy Simon Beaufoy (; born 26 December 1966) is a British screenwriter. Born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, he was educated at Malsis School in Cross Hills, Ermysted's Grammar School and Sedbergh School, he read English at St Peter's Coll ...

) and star (Dev Patel)—the film was all-British financed via Film4 and Celador. It has received worldwide critical acclaim. It has won four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA Awards and eight Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Film. '' The King's Speech'', which tells the story of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

's attempts to overcome his speech impediment, was directed by Tom Hooper and filmed almost entirely in London. It received four Academy Awards (including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay) in 2011. The start of the 21st century saw Asian British cinema assert itself at the box office, starting with '' East Is East'' (1999) and continuing with '' Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002). Other notable British Asian films from this period include '' My Son the Fanatic'' (1997), '' Ae Fond Kiss... (2004)'', '' Mischief Night (2006)'', '' Yasmin'' (2004) and '' Four Lions'' (2010). Some argue it has brought more flexible attitudes towards casting Black and Asian British actors, with Robbie Gee and Naomie Harris take leading roles in ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld ...

'' and '' 28 Days Later'' respectively. 2005 saw the emergence of The British Urban Film Festival, a timely addition to the film festival calendar, which recognised the influence of urban and black films on UK audiences and consequently began to showcase a growing profile of films in a genre previously not otherwise regularly seen in the capital's cinemas. Then, in 2006, '' Kidulthood'', a film depicting a group of teenagers growing up on the streets of West London, had a limited release. This was successfully followed up with a sequel '' Adulthood'' (2008) that was written and directed by actor Noel Clarke. The success of ''Kidulthood'' and ''Adulthood'' led to the release of several other films in the 2000s and 2010s such as '' Bullet Boy'' (2004), '' Life and Lyrics'' (2006), '' The Intent'' (2016), its sequel '' The Intent 2: The Come Up'' (2018), '' Blue Story'' and ''

Rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

'' (both 2019), all of starred Black-British actors. Like the 1960s, this decade saw plenty of British films directed by imported talent. The American

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

shot '' Match Point'' (2005) and three later films in London. The Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón helmed '' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004) and '' Children of Men'' (2006); New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion made '' Bright Star'' (2009), a film set in 19th century London; Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn made '' Bronson'' (2008), a biopic about the English criminal

Michael Gordon Peterson Charles Arthur Salvador (formerly Charles Ali Ahmed; born Michael Gordon Peterson on 6 December 1952), better known as Charles Bronson, is a British criminal who has been referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Brita ...

; the Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directed ''

28 Weeks Later ''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote it with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. The sequel to the 2002 film ''28 Days Later'', it stars Robert Carlyle, ...

'' (2007), a sequel to a British horror film; and two

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

adaptations were also directed by foreigners—'' The Constant Gardener'' by the Brazilian Fernando Meirelles and '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' by the Swedish Tomas Alfredson. The decade also saw English actor Daniel Craig became the new James Bond with '' Casino Royale'', the 21st entry in the official Eon Productions series. Despite increasing competition from film studios in Australia and Eastern Europe, British studios such as Pinewood,

Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD an ...

and Leavesden remained successful in hosting major productions, including '' Finding Neverland'', '' Closer'', '' Batman Begins'', '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', '' United 93'', '' The Phantom of the Opera'', '' Sweeney Todd'', '' Fantastic Mr. Fox'', ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

'', '' X-Men: First Class'', '' Hugo'' and '' War Horse''. In February 2007, the UK became home to Europe's first DCI-compliant fully digital multiplex cinemas with the launch of Odeon Hatfield and Odeon Surrey Quays (in London), with a total of 18 digital screens. In November 2010, Warner Bros. completed the acquisition of Leavesden Film Studios, becoming the first Hollywood studio since the 1940s to have a permanent base in the UK, and announced plans to invest £100 million in the site. A study by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

published in December 2013 found that of the 613 tracked British films released between 2003 and 2010 only 7% made a profit. Films with low budgets, those that cost below £500,000 to produce, were even less likely to gain a return on outlay. Of these films, only 3.1% went into the black. At the top end of budgets for the British industry, under a fifth of films that cost £10million went into profit.

2010s

On 26 July 2010 it was announced that the UK Film Council, which was the main body responsible for the development of promotion of British cinema during the 2000s, would be abolished, with many of the abolished body's functions being taken over by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. Actors and professionals, including James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Pete Postlethwaite, Damian Lewis, Timothy Spall, Daniel Barber and Ian Holm, campaigned against the Council's abolition. The move also led American actor and director Clint Eastwood (who had filmed '' Hereafter'' in London) to write to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...

in August 2010 to protest the decision to close the Council. Eastwood warned Osborne that the closure could result in fewer foreign production companies choosing to work in the UK. A grass-roots online campaign was launched and a petition established by supporters of the Council. Countering this, a few professionals, including Michael Winner and Julian Fellowes, supported the Government's decision. A number of other organisations responded positively. At the closure of the UK Film Council on 31 March 2011, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' reported that "The UKFC's entire annual budget was a reported £3m, while the cost of closing it down and restructuring is estimated to have been almost four times that amount."Ben Child
"Fade out from the UK Film Council ... to the British Film Institute"
''The Guardian'', 1 April 2011. One of the UKFC's last films, '' The King's Speech'', is estimated to have cost $15m to make and grossed $235m, besides winning several

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. UKFC invested $1.6m for a 34% share of net profits, a valuable stake that will pass to the British Film Institute. Christopher Nolan Cannes 2018

In June 2012, Warner opened the re-developed Leavesden studio for business. The most commercially successful British directors in recent years are

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

, Mike Newell,

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&n ...

,

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

and

David Yates David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the ''Harry Potter'' ser ...

. In January 2012, at Pinewood Studios to visit film-related businesses, UK Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

said that his government had bold ambitions for the film industry: "Our role, and that of the BFI, should be to support the sector in becoming even more dynamic and entrepreneurial, helping UK producers to make commercially successful pictures that rival the quality and impact of the best international productions. Just as the British Film Commission has played a crucial role in attracting the biggest and best international studios to produce their films here, so we must incentivise UK producers to chase new markets both here and overseas." The film industry remains an important earner for the British economy. According to a UK Film Council press release of 20 January 2011, £1.115 billion was spent on UK film production during 2010. A 2014 survey suggested that British-made films were generally more highly rated than Hollywood productions, especially when considering low-budget UK productions.

2020s

In November 2022, director Danny Boyle expressed a negative sentiment of the British film industry in recent years, stating that "I am not sure we are great filmmakers, to be absolutely honest. As a nation, our two artforms are

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, in a middle-class sense, and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

, because we are extraordinary at it."

Art cinema

Although it had been funding British experimental films as early as 1952, the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's foundation of a production board in 1964—and a substantial increase in public funding from 1971 onwards—enabled it to become a dominant force in developing British art cinema in the 1970s and 80s: from the first of Bill Douglas's Trilogy ''My Childhood'' (1972), and of Terence Davies' Trilogy ''Childhood'' (1978), via

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are t ...

's earliest films (including the surprising commercial success of ''The Draughtsman's Contract'' (1982)) and Derek Jarman's championing of the New Queer Cinema. The first full-length feature produced under the BFI's new scheme was Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo's ''Winstanley'' (1975), while others included ''Moon Over the Alley'' (1975), ''Requiem for a Village'' (1975), the openly avant-garde ''Central Bazaar'' (1973), ''

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

'' (1975) and ''A Private Enterprise'' (1974) – the last two being, respectively, the first British Black and Asian features. The release of Derek Jarman's '' Jubilee'' (1978) marked the beginning of a successful period of UK art cinema, continuing into the 1980s with filmmakers like Sally Potter. Unlike the previous generation of British film makers who had broken into directing and production after careers in the theatre or on television, the Art Cinema Directors were mostly the products of Art Schools. Many of these filmmakers were championed in their early career by the

London Film Makers Cooperative The London Film-makers' Co-op, or LFMC, was a British film-making workshop founded in 1966. It ceased to exist in 1999 when it merged with London Video Arts to form LUX. It grew out of film screenings at the Better Books bookstore, part of the 19 ...

and their work was the subject of detailed theoretical analysis in the journal ''Screen Education''. Peter Greenaway was an early pioneer of the use of computer generated imagery blended with filmed footage and was also one of the first directors to film entirely on high definition video for a cinema release. With the launch of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

and its Film on Four commissioning strand, Art Cinema was promoted to a wider audience. However, the Channel had a sharp change in its commissioning policy in the early 1990s and Greenaway and others were forced to seek European co-production financing.

Film technology

In the 1970s and 1980s, British studios established a reputation for great special effects in films such as '' Superman'' (1978), '' Alien'' (1979), and ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

'' (1989). Some of this reputation was founded on the core of talent brought together for the filming of '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) who subsequently worked together on series and feature films for

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

. Thanks to the Bristol-based Aardman Animations, the UK is still recognised as a world leader in the use of stop-motion animation. British special effects technicians and production designers are known for creating visual effects at a far lower cost than their counterparts in the US, as seen in '' Time Bandits'' (1981) and ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' (1985). This reputation has continued through the 1990s and into the 21st century with films such as the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

series, ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' (2000) and the

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students a ...

franchise. From the 1990s to the present day, there has been a progressive movement from traditional film opticals to an integrated digital film environment, with special effects, cutting, colour grading, and other post-production tasks all sharing the same all-digital infrastructure. The London-based visual effects company Framestore, with

Tim Webber Tim Webber is a Welsh visual effects supervisor. He is known for his work on ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005), ''The Dark Knight (film), The Dark Knight'' (2008), ''Avatar (2009 film), Av ...

the visual effects supervisor, have worked on some of the most technically and artistically challenging projects, including, '' The Dark Knight'' (2008) and ''

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...

'' (2013), with new techniques involved in ''Gravity'' realized by Webber and the Framestore team taking three years to complete.Nick Roddick
"Tim Webber: the man who put Sandra Bullock in space"
''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 17 September 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014. The availability of high-speed internet has made the British film industry capable of working closely with U.S. studios as part of globally distributed productions. As of 2005, this trend is expected to continue with moves towards (currently experimental) digital distribution and projection as mainstream technologies. The British film '' This Is Not a Love Song'' (2003) was the first to be streamed live on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

at the same time as its cinema premiere.

References

External links

British Film Institute

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)

Britmovie, Home of British Films

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinema Of The United Kingdom Cultural history of the United Kingdom

History

Origins and silent films

The early sound period

Second World War

Post-war cinema

Social realism

The 1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Art cinema

Film technology

See also

References

Further reading

External links