Friday, March 18, 2011

Top British Films

Inspired by the Time Out list here is my personal top British list in chronological order:

The "?" Motorist (1906), D: Walter R. Booth, P: Robert W. Paul
A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929), D: Anthony Asquith
Rainbow Dance (1936), D: Len Lye
The Song of Ceylon (1937), D: Basil Wright, P: John Grierson, S: Cavalcanti
The Five Inch Bather (1942), D: Richard Massingham
Dead of Night (1944), D: Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), D: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
The Third Man (1949), D: Carol Reed
The Man in the White Suit (1951), D: Alexander Mackendrick
King and Country (1964), D: Joseph Losey
Goldfinger (1964), D: Guy Hamilton
The Devil Rides Out (1967), D: Terence Fisher
The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle (1979), D: Julien Temple
A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), D: Peter Greenaway
Prick Up Your Ears (1987), D: Stephen Frears
Trainspotting (1996), D: Danny Boyle
Chicken Run (2000), D: Peter Lord, Nick Park
About a Boy (2002), D: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Another Year (2010), D: Mike Leigh

I also love the wartime films (In Which We Serve, Went the Day Well?), the Angry Young Men (Lindsay Anderson, John Schlesinger, Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz, Jack Clayton) and the Ken Loach influence, not forgetting the eccentric and surrealistic inspiration of the Quay Brothers, the original pop visions of The Beatles, Richard Lester and David Mallet's early work with David Bowie, Kenny Everett, etc., and the quality tradition of British television (the Kevin Brownlow series, the John Le Carré series, the Dennis Potter series, and the documentaries).

PS. 26 March 2011. If I would have to name my number one favourite British film, it would be The Song of Ceylon.

No comments: