American films have a habit of over shrouding British ones, so this seems like a good time to list 10 great British films. The most recent one is 1996 and the oldest 1946.
(not in order)
Brighton Rock (1947)
Richard Attenborough’s finest hour playing Pinkie, one of the nastiest baddies of all time, in an adaptation of Graham Greene’s great novel. One of the best endings ever.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The epitome of Epic, and Peter O’Toole is excellent. The cinematography is unsurpassed and to be properly appreciated must be seen at a cinema on film, preferably in the original 70mm.
The Servant (1963)
A dark and powerful drama starring Dirk Bogarde and James Fox. Harold Pinter’s screenplay is simply perfect, and the class system is beautifully subverted.
The Third Man (1949)
An incredibly atmospheric thriller, full of suspense and with great performances by Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton. The famous music helps set the mood.
Trainspotting (1996)
The lives of a group of Edinburgh junkies and their associates. Dark, funny, and with great music, this is a black, bleak comedy that rightly made Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle famous.
Get Carter (1971)
A gangster film that is as seedy and personal as can be imagined with pornography, family deaths and grim murders galore. Michael Caine is stunning and scary in it. Possibly the best gangster film ever made anywhere.
Withnail and I (1987)
Alcoholism, drugs, unemployed city-boy actors and a very camply aggressive homosexual add up to a grim, dark and incredibly funny comedy. Very British and with a strong subtext of class war.
Peeping Tom (1960)
A shocking and psychological film about a man with a very strange hobby. Ahead of it’s time, it positions the viewer of the film as complicit in what we see on screen. Sheer brilliance and really rather horrible.
Great Expectations (1946)
The best adaptation of Dickens I have seen. Exciting, tense, emotional and even funny in places, it is beautifully acted and the stunning cinematography almost glows on the screen.
The Wicker Man (1973)
A powerful and hypnotic film in which policeman Edward Woodward seeks a missing girl on a remote Scottish island. Paganism, mystery, thriller and a most unpleasant ending. Excellent music.
Cheers, Tom.
An excellent list. Glad you included "Peeping Tom". A truly under rated film.
I would also have squeezed in "The Witchfinder General". As I think this is an excellent example of well crafted Cinema that was perhaps a decade before it's time.
"Brighton Rock" still terrifies today in my opinion, due to Attenborough’s performance.
XoD.