In the early thirties it was suggested that "film is a form of art which is fundamentally unsuited to the expression of the English character" and this bleak and negative appraisal has been echoed subsequently in various ways by critics and historians, and by distinguished international film makers such as Francois Truffaut and Satyajit Ray. This skeptical attitude towards British cinema has been reflected in the seeming reluctance of British critics and scholars to study the national cinema and less than twenty years ago it was described as "an unknown cinema" by Alan Lovell and as "utterly amorphous, unclassified, unperceived" by Peter Wollen. Such promptings have had an effect and the intervening years have seen a steady growth in publications about the British cinema although it should be said that the intending student of the subject is still faced with a relative shortage of material particularly when compared with the student of the American film. The clear and extensive profiling of the Hollywood cinema achieved during the fifties and sixties and capitalised upon with the growth of film studies in the seventies is yet to be replicated in British cinema. Among the many informative and thought provoking treatment of British film history I would like to call attention to Sarah Street’s book British National Cinema (published in 1997). Street demonstrates that "there is no such thing as a typical British film" (198) and in so doing produces a much more interesting study by demonstrating the diversity in British movie making while elucidating the distinguishable trends within its history. With her insightful arguments Street is equally successful in taking on critics who have long held that British cinema was not "particularly interesting or worthy of study" (199). The author's work on the economics of filmmaking, studios and genres, acting and stars, modernism, and counter-cinema demonstrates that British filmmaking is, indeed, a rich source of research and one that benefits the international film studies community. As a starting point we have to be aware of two things, first that British films have lived in the shadow of both the American cinema but also in the shadow of the British documentary film which has enjoyed considerable prestige amongst critics and writers both in Britain and abroad. The second point concerns the very term "British cinema" itself and it is important to bear in mind that what are known as "British films" are invariably films which have been produced in England rather than Scotland, Wales and Ireland, or to be even more precise films produced in one quite distinctive region of England-London and its outer suburbs. Another question points towards the ways "British Cinema" captures "Britishness",the historical, cultural, social and psychological factors, traditions and values which are most often associated with the British identity, that involves the task of reconstruct the British cinematic icon that signifies the national identity. Like Street my aim is not to treat the subject matter as a kind of "monumental history", and instead of organising the arguments along a strict chronological framework I shall concentrate on three possible discursive.................................................. ..The new century has so far been a relatively successful one for the British film industry. Many British films have found a wide international audience, and some of the independent production companies, such as Working Title, have secured financing and distribution deals with major American studios. Working Title scored three major international successes, all starring Hugh Grant, with the romantic comedies Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), which grossed $254 million world-wide; the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which earned $228 million; and Richard Curtis's directorial debut Love Actually (2003), which grossed $239 million. At the same time, critically-acclaimed films such as Gosford Park (2001), Pride and Prejudice (2005), The Constant Gardener (2005), The Queen (2006) and The Last King of Scotland (2006) also brought prestige to the British film industry.The new decade saw a major new film series in the US-backed but British made Harry Potter films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001. David Heyman's company Heyday Films has produced four sequels, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with three more films planned.Aardman Animations' Nick Park, 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, despite its utterly English story, setting, conception and humour. The film 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. In 2005, Vanguard Animations and Ealing Studios produced Britain's first computer animated feature film, Valiant, featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, John Cleese and Jim Broadbent.The turn of the new century saw a revival of the British horror film. Lead by Danny Boyle's acclaimed hit 28 Days Later (2002), other examples included The Hole,'Dog Soldiers, The Descent and the comedy Shaun of the Dead.By the early 2000s, the popularity of British films in the home market had also grown enough to allow a spate of television spin-offs and other comedies aimed largely at the domestic audience, including Kevin and Perry Go Large and Ali G in da House.Notable British directors emerging during this period include Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, United 93, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) and Stephen Daldry, whose debut film Billy Elliot (2000) became one of the most successful British films of its year.More established directors were also busy during this period however. In 2004, Mike Leigh directed Vera Drake, an account of a housewife who leads a double life as an abortionist in 1950s London. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and three BAFTAs. Stephen Frears directed a trilogy of films about British life, beginning with Dirty Pretty Things (about illegal migrant workers in London's black economy), Mrs Henderson Presents (dealing with the Windmill Theatre in World War II) and The Queen (based on the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana). 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.Woody Allen became a convert to British filmmaking, choosing to shoot his 2005 film Match Point entirely in London, with a largely British cast and financing from BBC Films. He followed this with two more films shot in London, Scoop (2006) and Cassandra's Dream (2007).In 2007 a number of new British films achieved criticial and commercial recognition, including a biography of the singer Ian Curtis in Control; the police comedy Hot Fuzz; the sequel to Elizabeth entitled Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Joe Wright's adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel Atonement. Set in 1935 and during the Second World War, the film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Film.Despite increasing competition from film studios in Australia and Eastern Europe (especially the Czech Republic), British studios such as Pinewood, Shepperton and Leavesden remained successful in hosting major foreign productions such as Finding Neverland, V for Vendetta, Closer, The Mummy Returns, Troy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, United 93, The Phantom of the Opera and The Golden Compass.The film industry remains an important earner for the British economy. According to a UK Film Council press release of January 15, 2007, £840.1 million was spent on making films in the UK during 2006.English actor Daniel Craig became the new James Bond with Casino Royale, the 21st entry in the official Eon Productions series. The film was nominated for nine BAFTA awards, the highest recognition for a Bond film.British actors and actresses have always been significant in international cinema. Well-known currently active performers include Catherine Zeta Jones, Clive Owen, Rachel Weisz, Paul Bettany, Kate Winslet, Ewan McGregor, Kate Beckinsale, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jude Law, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Orlando Bloom, Tilda Swinton, Daniel Day Lewis, Jason Statham and Rhys Ifans.
Myspace Layouts - Image Hosting - Forums