Factsheet: The British film industry

Read the whole of Factsheet #132 British Film

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

What makes a film British is hard to pinpoint but the criteria states that if a film is made in Britain, if the people making the film are British, if it is it funded from within Britain, if the cast British, if the film’s subject matter is about Britain or British culture, then it is a British film.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

Hollywood films tend to have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew and action-packed stories. On the other hand, The British film production context differs vastly. British films can be large budget, high concept films such as Harry Potter or Bond films. However, they can also be character driven, small budgeted films too. The British film production context are that films made within the British production context will in some way reflect British culture, for instance, The King’s Speech.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

The 1960s brought about the start of the James Bond franchise

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

The British film industry in the 1970s was dominated by the subject of censorship that continued into the 1980s. This could have been because of the decline in American investment in British film that did not increase again until the 1990s

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

British film tends to focus the story or characters being heavily shrouded by British culture. As such, many British films tend to centre on topics and issues that concern British society e.g Issues such as class, politics, social change and education. Many of the representations of different groups within British film focus and change according to these issues, for instance if we take the representation of youth in British films. This can be seen in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange wherein they are presented as violent but misunderstood. Also, there are contemporary representations of youth in films such as Attack the Block that present a more in depth, realistic portrayal of youth that subverts the stereotype of the youth being reckless and violent.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

These films are appealing to a broad audience. A British audience is likely to be attracted because as with any film made by a country, it targets them more specifically. However, non-British people are also likely to be attracted because of their keen interest in British culture which the films portray. They show many issues in British society such as class, social strife, education and more. This appeals to a large audience because people want to learn about Britain.