My Top 20 British Features
I define a British movie here as a primarily British-financed production - disqualifying Never Let Me Go (Fox Searchlight), A Clockwork Orange (WB), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Fox), Georgy Girl (Columbia), Breaking the Waves, Aberdeen (the last two both Scandinavian), Merchant-Ivory productions, etc.
One thing I notice right away: more than half of these movies feature a female protagonist, and most of the rest feature a strong female character.
One thing I notice right away: more than half of these movies feature a female protagonist, and most of the rest feature a strong female character.
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20 titles
- DirectorMike LeighStarsTimothy SpallBrenda BlethynPhyllis LoganFollowing the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleKatharine HepburnAnthony Hopkins1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.
- DirectorShona AuerbachStarsEmily MortimerJack McElhoneGerard ButlerAfter having responded to her son's numerous letters in the guise of his father, a woman hires a stranger to pose as his dad when meeting him.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsAnthony HopkinsDebra WingerJulian FellowesC.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham from the U.S.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsMichael CaineShelley WintersMillicent MartinAn unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.
- DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
- DirectorSandra GoldbacherStarsAnna FrielMichelle WilliamsElla JonesTwo best friends grow up on the Isle of Wight and in Brighton in the 1970s and 1980s.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsWendy HillerRoger LiveseyPamela BrownA young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsLaurence HarveySimone SignoretHeather SearsAn ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter despite falling in love with a married older woman.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderCarey MulliganJames Badge DaleA sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsSally HawkinsAlexis ZegermanSamuel RoukinA look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsAlison SteadmanJim BroadbentClaire SkinnerA shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters go about their lives in a working-class London suburb.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantDeborah KerrRobert MitchumVictor and Hilary have guided tours in their English mansion. A US oil tycoon "bumps" into Hilary during a tour and charms his way into her heart. Meanwhile, Hattie pursues Victor.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJohn MillsValerie HobsonTony WagerA humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- DirectorTim FywellStarsRomola GaraiRose ByrneBill NighyA love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain and the fortunes of her eccentric family struggling to survive in a decaying English castle.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsCatherine DeneuveIan HendryJohn FraserA sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.
- DirectorNigel ColeStarsSally HawkinsBob HoskinsAndrea RiseboroughA dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsAnton WalbrookMarius GoringMoira ShearerA young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.