Use this to help answer the exam strand: • How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

1. HISTORY OF BRITISH
CINEMA
Jessica Mcguigan

2. 1920s
Background information
- Saw the introduction of Sound Films and the Cinematograph Films Act of 1972, which was an act of
Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry.
- Cameras were mounted on moveable, squeak-proofed dollies, and microphones were hung from
booms that could be held above the action.
- Films that began production as silents were quickly transformed into sound films.
Key genres
- Crime
- Drama
Who were the key directors of this time?
Adrian Brunel Alfred Hitchcock reached his peak in the
later 1920's.

3. 1920s
How successful were British Cinema in this time period?
- Their essence was entertainment; their success, financial and otherwise, was huge.
- The 1920's was largely dominated by silent movies but saw the introduction of synchronized sound
- It wasn't until 1923 that a commercially distributed film contained a synchronised sound track that
was photographically recorded and printed on to the side of the strip of motion picture film.
- Was the first real turning point for British cinema, this was the era where films developed
significantly in terms of technology used to make them.

4. Popular Films in the 1920s

5. BRITISH CINEMA IN
THE 1930’S.
By Luke Dixon

6. Brief Overview
• The 1930’s was viewed largely with disdain, it was before
the ‘Golden Age’ of British Cinema which occurred in
1940.
• Lots of films were produced with the lowest possible
budget as they were only made to fill the Cinematograph
Films Act of 1927.
• These films were known as the ‘quota quickies.’
• However, the Replacement Act in 1938 changed this as a
minimum production cost was introduced.

7. Key Genre of the Decade
• The most successful and predominant genre in the 1930’s
was Comedy.
• A team of Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham
Moffatt resulted in one of the greatest comedy teams ever
to work in cinema.
• George Formby and Gracie Fields were the two stand out
actors in this decade and as a result they endured a very
successful time in cinema.
• They became the biggest British box office attractions of the
decade.

8. Key Films of the Decade
• The 39 Steps;
• Thriller produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
• In 1999, The 39 Steps was voted 4th in the BFI Poll of the top 100
British Films.
• 35th in the list was another Hitchcock film, The Lady
Vanishes.
• This film was a comic thriller.
• It was Hitchcock’s penultimate film before his move to Hollywood.

9. Hitchcock
• Alfred Hitchcock was, by a large margin, the greatest
director in British Cinema in the 1390’s.
• He was arguably one of the greatest directors of all time in cinema
in general.
• He produced numerous films in the 30’s before he moved to
Hollywood such as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39
Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1937).

10. Sam Wood
• Sam Wood is another director who endured a fair amount
of success in the 1930’s.
• Directed the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips in 1939. The film came 72nd in
the BFI’s Greatest 100 British Film poll.
• This film was nominated and one an Oscar 1940 for the Best Actor
in the leading Role, Robert Donat and was also nominated for the
Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and more.

11. John Grierson
• John Grierson was the man who merged the term
‘documentary’ to a non-fiction film.
• He produced the iconic film Night Mail (1936) which was the most
successful and celebrated documentary of it’s time.

12. Successful?
• Overall, the 1930’s for British Film was not a time of
success. The majority of films were cheap and only
created to fulfill the Cinematographic Films Act.
• However, some directors and producers, none more so
than Alfred Hitchcock, experienced a good decade.
• Actors and actresses such as George Formby and Gracie
Fields came to the foreground as leading cast members.

13. Representation
This shot is from the film The Lady Vanishes in 1937. At this time Britain was gearing up towards
the Second World War in 1939.
This screen shot could represent and portray as Britain as a war mongering country and they are
always resorting to fighting.

14. Examples
• The 39 Steps (1935).
• The Lady Vanishes (1938).
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips. (1939).

15. 1940'S FILM
In the beginning half of the 1940's World War 2 took place which then
ended in 1945.
In the 1940's documentaries were quite popular as they were based on the
home front.

16. Key Films
-Brief Encounter (1945)
-Great Expectations (1946)
-Oliver Twist (1948)
-Odd Man Out (1947)
-The Third Man (1949)
-A Matter Of Life And Death (1946)
-Black Narcissus (1947)
-The Red Shoes (1948)
-Hamlet (1948)
-Dead of Night (1945)

17. Key Directors
-David Leane, UK film director and
producer.
-Carol Reed, was a British film
director best known for 'Odd Man
Out' (1947)
-Laurence Olivier, British actor,
director and producer.

18. How successful Britain Film was in
the 1940's
In the 1940's it was thought to have been the golden era of British Cinema as
directors such as David Lean, Michael Powell & Carol Reed produced their
most highly acclaimed work.
16 of the top 100 British films polled in 1999 were from the 1940's, including
half of the top ten.
In 1940 propaganda was used a lot in cinemas and in films such as 'Eating Out
with Tommy Trinder' (1941)
During the 1940's the cinema was incredibly cheap which meant that a lot of
people went to cinemas.

19. Film Representation of Britain
In the 1940's britain was represented as being quite posh,
people were wealthy and having money.

20. Was British film successful in Key movements Popular Directors of the
the 1950's? Free cinema- documentary film Decade
movement that took place in the mid
The 1950's have been seen as 1950's 1.Charles Crighton's directed
the doldrum era for british The Lavender Hill Mob, 1951
cinema, an era of depression. Key Genres
Comedy was one of the most 2. Michael Anderson directed
the top two british cinema popular genres of the 1950's one of the Dam Busters, 1955
companies of the time rank these films was called the
organisation closed 79 Astonished heart directed by 3.Chareles Frend directed
cinemas in 1956 and Terence Fisher The Cruel Sea, 1953
Associated british pictures
Corporation closed 65 the year
later
BRITISH CINEMA 1950'S
cinema admissions had stood
at £1,365 million in britain by
1960 the figure was down to
£500 million
1. 2.
Popular Films of the 1950's
The Cruel Sea directed by Charles Frend, 1953
during the 1950's the The Dam Busters by Michael Anderson, 1955
rationing came to an
end there was the The Most Popular of the Decade was:
coronation of Queen The Bridge on the river Kwai by David Lean, 1957
Elizabeth II and the This was the cinemas biggest international success
space race began. of the decade

21. The image above was taken from the film the bridge on the river
kwai, I think that this image is reflecting the war and rationing that
had happened in the 1950's before this film was released. As you
can see an army in the picture this reflects and represents british
patriotism.
the 1950's was a low point for British Film

22. 1960'S BRITISH
CINEMA
Charlie Reynolds

23. British Cinema Overview
• American film companies started to financially support
British films again.
• The James Bond series was the first to gross over a
billion dollars, and is still the highest-grossing after
adjusting for inflation.
• Popular genre was action, based around spies.
• Popular films:
- James Bond; Dr. No, From Russia with Love,
Goldfinger and Thunderball.
- The IPCRESS File
- The spy who came in from the cold
- The Deadly Affair

24. Key Films
- Dr. No (1962), first of the James Bond series.
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962), won 5 golden globes.
- Tom Jones (1963), directed by Tony Richardson.
- Goldfinger (1964), third James Bond film.
- Help! (1965), second Beatles film.
- Accident (1967), directed by Harold Pinter.
- Kes (1969), directed by Ken Loach.

25. Key Directors
- Alfred Hitchcock - Psycho - 1960
- Billy Wilder - The Apartment - 1960
- Stanley Kubrick - Spartacus - 1960
- Stanley Kramer - Inherit the Word - 1960
- Michael Powell - Peeping Tom - 1960
- Richard Brooks - Elmer Gantry - 1960
All these directors were influential within the 1960's and
they created pieces which are still being watched till
today.

26. Key Event within British Cinema in 1960's
The key event in British cinema within in 1960, I feel is the
start of the James Bond phenomenon. It was the first film
to have become the highest-grossing movie of all time
and it is the longest continually-running series of films in
history, and its British. This shows our cinematic culture is
the most powerful in the world and we have a huge
impact on the world when it comes to the film industry.

27. This screenshot is easily recognisable and everyone around the world are able to identify it. I think
this represents Britain as being quite dangerous however it only reflects what is happening to the
film, but in the 1960's it could represent Britain in that way as it has British influences.

28. THE 1970'S AND
BRITISH FILM
Mustafa Mohamud

29. Overview of the period
The 1970's were a unique period for British
cinema.Firstly there were huge cutbacks on
American studios investing in British
productions, this meant that this decade would
not be huge for British cinema; although there
were some hit British films produced.

30. Key film of the decade?
Despite these investment issues British
producers still managed to produce key films
that could be argued to be some of the best
British films ever produced.Examples of such
films include the james bond film "Diamonds
are forever 1972", "Don't look now-1973" and
"Monty pythons life of Brian-1979".

31. What were the key directors of this
decade?
Although some British directors did produce
great films during this period, for example
Ridley Scott produced he's Sci-Fi hit "Alien-
1979" and John Boorman produced he's epic
thriller "Deliverance-1972" ; however if one
director should be accredited with the title of
best British director of the 70's it has to be
Nicolas Roeg, who produced three iconic films
during this decade those being "Performance-
1970", "Walkabout-1971" and "Don't look now-
1973".

32. How successful was British film at
this time?
British film during this period was moderately
successful but this depends on how you
define success as their were very few great
British films during this period. Britain faced
stiff competition from abroad examples include
many great productions such as "The
Godfather-1972" and "Apocalypse Now-1979"

33. How did this reflect what was going
on in Britain in the 1970s?
The 1970's was a decade of strikes.During 1972 a three
day week was imposed to save on electricity during the
miners strikes.These series of strikes ended in 1979 with
the "winter of discontent".Surprisingly these strikes were
not really represented in British Cinema at the time and
these strikes are covered in more modern films such as
"The iron lady" which includes scenes of mass strikes.

34. Screen grab
Screen grab from "Deliverance-1972"
This screenshot represents Britishness in a positive way as the person above is aiming an
arrow at an armed individual attempting to kill him, so he is acting in self defence. This
represents Britishness as being defensive and self reliant.

35. High or low point for British film?
In general this was a high point in British cinema as there
were many great British films produced during the
decade.
•"Diamonds are forever-1972"
•"Monty pythons life of Brian-1979"
•"Alien-1979"
•"Deliverance-1972"
•"Sunday Bloody Sunday-1971"
•"A Clockwork orange-1971"
•Note-Both "Deliverance" and "A Clockwork orange" won
academy awards for best picture.

36. HISTORY OF BRITISH
CINEMA – 1980S
By Hannah Woods

37. Brief Overview
• At the 1982 Oscars, Colin Welland announced ‘the British
are coming’
• British film won many awards
• Channel 4 funded British Cinema giving others voices, not
just London based producers.
• Many independent production companies were made.

38. Key Films and Directors
FILMS
• Babylon
DIRECTORS
• Gregory’s Girl
• Ping Pong
• Bill Forsyth
• Educating Rita • Hugh Hudson
• Licence To Kill • Roland Joffe

39. How successful was British Film at this
time?
• There weren’t a lot of successful films made in the 80’s
with a few (such as Chariots of Fire) winning many
awards and rising cinema attendance.
• USA had an amazing year of film with films such as Back
To The Future, E.T, Ghostbusters, The Breakfast Club.
This may have been the reason why British films weren’t
as popular.
• Many Hollywood blockbusters relied on special effects
made at the British studio Pinewood, including Superman
and Star Wars

40. Representation of British Film
Gregory’s Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naGZvVVSynM

41. BRITISH CINEMA
1990S
The Decade of Money, Mega-Spending and Special Effects

42. What happened to british film in the 90s
Key events Key genres 1990s - 1999s Film movement
Investment in film production rose The key genres that was seen The Decade of Money, Mega-
dramatically compared to the within the 90s was Comedy Spending and Special Effects
1980s. Investments had gone up With home viewing start and
and Dramas. Every year there
by over 600 million by 1994. people being able to watch
was more Drama and comedy
Tax incentives allowed americans films at home, Film makes had
films than any other genres.
producers to invest in british film. to keep people insteaded.
This help to fund big british films
Special effects helped to keep
like "Shakespeare in love" and
people interested into going to
"Topsy-Turvy"
watch a film and with higher
In 1995 the british film board had to
costs films need more funding.
start putting on information about
films (e.g sec,violence, bad
language).
DVD was introduce into the UK
market. they was the most
successful domestic media
format since the compact dice in
1983,
New acted intoduced for the writing
off production to a film and
expenditure of british film
qualifying as british. they also
have to meet the 1985 Film act.

43. WHAT WAS THE KEY FILMS OF THE 1990S?
• The Remains of the Day
• Four weddings and a Funeral
• Trainspotting
• The English Patient
• The full Monty
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking
Barrels
• Shakespeare in Love
• In The Name of The Father
• The crying game
These was key films that was made in
the 90s

44. THE KEY DIRECTORS OF THE 1990S
Nike Newell was the director of Peter Cattaneo was the director Anthony Minghella was the
"Four Weddings and a Funeral" of "The Full Monty" director of "The English Patient"

45. BRITISH FILM SUCCESS?
British film was growing and had become more popular than the 1980s. With investment going up
by over 600 million.
however many films relied on funding from television broadcasters like BBC and Channel 4.
I would say that the 90s was a success because looking at the films that was made they went
worldwide and are still watched today.

46. YOUTUBE CLIP
This is a shot from the film
Trainspotting.
I think this is a negative
representation of britishness
within the film. This is
because it shows them sitting
around smoking and drinking
loads of bear.
I don't agree that all people
did was drink and smoke in
the pub.
Overall i think that trainspotting shows a negative view of britain from this clip. However
as i have never watch the full film i wouldn't give my opinion if i think it is fully negative
or has some positive points.
This was a high year for british film in my opinion as well know films was made and are
still watched today. The decade help to bring money in the british film industry and
keep it going.

47. HISTORY OF BRITISH
CINEMA
2000's

48. Overview
The 2000's was a successful decade for the british film industry with
the first seven films in the Harry Potter series taking over
$637,700,000 alone.
British urban film festival was created, leading the way for films such as
KiDULTHOOD and AdULTHOOD to become highly successful
Daniel Craig controversially became the new James Bond
The UK Film council had its last decade producing films before it was
abolished producing cult classics within the era such as Harry Brown,
Snatch, The Business, This Is England and The Football Factory.

49. Key Films and Directors
The key films of this era were:
Harry Potter (Films 1-7)
Bridget Jones Series
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Batman Begins
Snatch
The key directors of the era were:
Noel Clarke (KiDULTHOOD, AdULTHOOD)
Nick love (Football Factory, The Business, Outlaw, The firm)
Danny Boyle (28 Days later, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours)
Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RocknRolla, Sherlock Holmes)

50. Success of the 2000's &
Reflection of on society
The British cinema admissions for 2000 - 2010 were the
highest since 1970's which indicates the British film
industry had a a very strong decade.
Films such as KidULTHOOD, AdULTHOOD, Harry Brown
and The Football Factory reflect the rising problems
britain faced during that period such as which was majorly
Street crime such as muggings, shootings and stabbings
which can be seen in many of the urban films of that era,
other problems which are depicted within british films was
the rising issue of recreational drug use. All of these
problems can also be related to the topic of the
economical downfall of the country at that time.

51. Representations within british film
This screenshot From The Football Factory depicts Britains everlasting problem
with binge drinking, which the population are notorious for because of their
poor behaviour whilst binge drinking. I believe that this is a negative
representation of Britishness as it displays the dominant ideology that the
country has created for themselves.In general most of the topics portrayed
are negative within the British film industry such as crime, violence and drugs
this shows these topics to a younger audience who them may deciede to copy
or be influenced by what they see.
This period was the best for britain since the 1970's the British film industry is
ever growing, expanding and achieving higher and was a high point for the
industry during 2000 - 2010

52. HISTORY OF BRITISH
CINEMA
Tommy Bowdery

53. 2010’s
• The 2010’s has dropped down 19 percent as the year 2011 between
the months of June to August came in at 55.1m. Making films such as
Total Recall and Battleships which were disappointed blockbusters.
During 2011 they sold 172 million cinema tickets, this is a 1.4%
increase from 2010. The key genres for the British audience are
shown to be comedies.
• The next pages show how popular the movies have got during the
year of 2011.
• http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-statistical-yearbook-reports-stand-out-
year-uk-film-2011

54. Films of 2011

55. Key films and Directors of 2012’s
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ‘part 2’
• Director; David Yates
• Distributor; Warner Brothers
• The Kings Speech
• Director; Tom Hooper
• Distributor; Momentum
• The Imbetweeners Movie
• Director; Ben Palmer
• Distributor; Entertainment

56. Examples
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_-0wqtH-Fw
• Imbetweeners Movie (2011)
This represents Britain as he is wearing a
England top in a foreign country.