Founded in 1933, theBritish Film Institute(BFI) is an organization meant to encourage the growth and prosperity of film and television throughout the United Kingdom. With a collection of 50,000 fiction movies, over 100,000 factual productions, and 625,000 television shows, the BFI boasts the world’s largest cinema archive, the BFI National Archive (previously the National Film Library).The collection mainly includes British productionsand a few foreign projects featuring British actors and directors.
In 1999, the institute surveyed 1,000 experts to produce a list of the greatest British films. Unsurprisingly, the list has films that are also highly appreciated by the public. So, what does the ranking look like?100 films were selected, but we will narrow them down to the top 10.Hopefully, there will be a revision soon to include films from the 21st century, but, in the meantime, here is what the top of the heap looks like.
10Trainspotting (1996)
Old habits die hard, especially when you cling to the same circle of friends. InTrainspotting,Edinburgh resident Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) desires to quit heroin, but he finds it hard because his friends enjoy it. He also happens to be dating 14-year-old, Diane, who doesn’t mind the drug lifestyle. After much contemplation, he moves to London, hoping to escape his past life, only for his buddies to show up.
Trainspotting
Running Away From Addiction
Trainspottingis a disgusting film, but in as much as it triggers multiple “ewwws,”it paints a perfect picture of life for British lower-class members. This is the kind of movie where someone is shown sticking his head down a filthy toilet to retrieve opium. The dialogue, though masked in heavy accents, is also beautiful.
“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f***ing big television,” Renton says, before adding, “But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?” While watching all this, audiences get the message loud and clear: substance abuse is the worst thing ever.
9The Red Shoes (1948)
Love or career? Both are important for the aspiring ballerina Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), inThe Red Shoes. Based on the literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen, the film follows the dancer as she struggles between pleasing the impresario, Boris Lermontov, who wants her to focus only on her job, and pleasing the composer Julian Craster, who she is deeply in love with.
The Red Shoes
Dancing to the Tune of Love
WatchingThe Red Shoes,one cannot help but be impressed by how director Michael Powell handles the irreconcilable discord between matters of the heart and matters of the pocket.The dilemma pushes the film to great emotional heights, and as the protagonist weighs her choices, audiences are treated to breathtaking dance numbers.
The film’s focal point is an uninterrupted 18-minute ballet dance that feels like a live performance at the Bolshoi Theater. This is hardly surprising considering that most roles went to real-world dancers, including the lead, Monet Shearer, who performed for the Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company.
8Don’t Look Now (1973)
The dead can communicate with us, according to the nuns inDon’t Look Now. After the death of their daughter, grief-stricken parents, Christine (Sharon Williams), and John (Donald Sutherland), head to Venice, where the latter has been commissioned to build a church. There Laura bumps into two clairvoyant nuns who claim to be in communication. John is skeptical, but after spotting what looks like the deceased girl, he starts doing some digging.
Groundbreaking Aspects and Donald Sutherland at His Best
As a Canadian actor, Sutherland was an unusual choice for a British film about family tragedy, but he brilliantly channeled his character’s desire to strike a delicate balance between professional focus and family drama.
Apart from Sutherland’s great performances,Don’t Look Nowexcels by exploring the facets of grief better than other movies. This is achieved through the use of creative editing techniques that intercut flashforwards and flashbacks to alter the viewer’s discernment of reality. And to push the boundaries a little bit, the film has a very explicit sex scene, the kind that had never been seen in the era. Unsurprisingly, a censorship row ensued.
Stream it on Apple TV+ or Kanopy
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7Kes (1969)
Life is initially unbearable for the teenager, Billy, inKes,a coming-of-age drama based on the 1968 novelA Kestrel for a Knave.Considered a no-hoper, he gets abused both at school and at home. Thankfully, he finds a purpose in the form of a bird. After bumping into a fledgling kestrel, he adopts it and trains it in falconry using methods he learned from a book he stole at a second-hand store.
A Biting Critique of Britain’s Education System
Kesis a 112-minute brutal indictment of the United Kingdom’s education system in the mid-20th century. Most of the teachers in the film are compassionless, instilling fear rather than hope in children like Billy.
Away from the commentary, 16-year-old actor David Bradley emerges as the film’s other strong pillar. Having never acted before, he simply sinks into his character rather than attempting to portray him, and it works perfectly.
Rent it on Apple TV+ or Amazon
6Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Among themost recommendable royal family screen talesisKind Hearts and Coronets. Set in Edwardian England, the events revolve around Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini, who becomes furious after his mother gets disowned by the royal family for marrying someone below her social class. After she dies, a vengeful Louis plots to take the dukedom by dispatching all the eight relatives ahead of him in the line of succession.
The Alec Guinness Show
Kind Hearts and Coronetsis Alec Guiness’ world. Everyone else just lives in it, including the lead, Dennis Price (who plays Louis). The famed British actor portrays all eight damned relatives that are ahead of the antagonist in the D’Ascoyne succession line. From banker to admiral, each of them has a different career, and Guinness channels all of their professionally-tied mannerisms easily.
Overall, the tension remains high, andamidst the murderous mayhem exists hilarious wordplay guaranteed to wow literature fans. The title comes from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, Lady Clara Vere de Vere: “Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood.”
Stream it on Kanopy
5Great Expectations (1946)
Widely regarded as one ofthe best Charles Dickens adaptations,Great Expectationspresents a summarized version of the 1861 novel’s plot. The story focuses on the orphan Phillip “Pip” Pirrip as he tries to make the most out of life. Soon, he receives good news informing him that a mysterious benefactor is willing to move him to London and transform him into a gentleman. Once he is there, more wild twists pop up.
Great Expectations
The Difference Between Poverty and Success
Great Expectationsnever aims to achieve much.It only highlights the major differences between success and poverty, leaving everyone craving for the former. The basic plot is compensated for by peculiar characters.
For example, the wealthy spinster, Miss Havinsham, still wears the white dress from the day her fiancé left her at the altar, and still keeps the wedding cake, unbothered by the mold. Most themes are kept as they are in the source material, making this the barometer for adapting Dickens.
Stream it on Prime Video or rent it on Apple TV+
4The 39 Steps (1935)
Alfred Hitchcock’s breakout film,The 39 Steps,brilliantly utilizes theman-on-the-run formulawhile covering the predicament of the tourist, Richard Hannay (Robert Donart). While in London, the Canadian man is approached by a woman claiming to be a spy. Before he can figure out if her claims are real, she ends up dead, and he gets accused of the murder.
He soon realizes he has been caught up in a controversy revolving around “The 39 Steps,” a mysterious organization aiming to steal military secrets.
The 39 Steps
A Favorite for Many
The 39 Stepsturned Hitchcock into a global star and put him on a plane to Hollywood. Today, it remains a favorite for many. Orson Welles labeled it a “masterpiece,” while Roger Corman’s go-to screenwriter, Robert Towne, stated, “It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that all contemporary escapist entertainment begins with the movie.”
Given such glowing reviews,it’s hardly surprising that Hitchcock used the same “falsely accused” template in future movies, particularly his most popular spy film,North by Northwest.
Here, the filmmaker relies more on visuals than dialogue. Whether it’s Hannay getting chased across the Scottish moors, or a train arriving from a distance, there is plenty of communication through imagery. Above all, the film is extremely fast-paced, encouraging viewers to punish their bladders and postpone all bathroom breaks.
Stream it on Max
3Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lawrence of Arabiais a familiar title even to those who care little about World War I movies, and it’s asintriguing now as it was when it came out. It chronicles the adventures of British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), who, due to his familiarity with the native Bedouin tribe’s culture is sent to the Arabian Peninsula to serve as a liaison between the British and the Arabs in their war against the Turks. There, he chooses to defy orders and attack a Turkish port.
Lawrence of Arabia
Universal Acclaim
Few films unite critics, likeLawrence of Arabia. One would have to look hard to find any flaw. Its super Panavision 70 cinematography, boosted by the sweeping desert vistas, is the kind that makes cinephiles appreciate color, while its plot is the kind that influences pacifists to enjoy war.The movie won seven out of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for. It would probably do a clean sweep if was submitted for an Academy Award ceremony of the past decade.
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2Brief Encounter (1945)
A Brief Encounteris the story of an extramarital affair between the unhappy suburban housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) and the doctor Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard). The two meet each other at a train station when Laura goes to shop in a nearby town. Realizing they have a lot in common, they start seeing each other frequently, but their romance has plenty of implications for their family lives.
An Absorbing Will-They-Won’t-They Tale
The romance film remains from instantly granting audiences what they want. There are no quick jumps to kisses and canoodling. The lovers take their time getting to know each other, while also putting their doubts into consideration. It all makes sense since this is the 1930s when society sentenced you to a lifetime of shame if you cheated on your spouse.
No other film explores the titillation, worry, and tenderness of forbidden romance better thanA Brief Encounter.Over the years, it has influenced the creation of many other productions of its kind.
1The Third Man (1949)
Set shortly after WWII,The Third Manfollows the penurious American pulp Western author Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), who arrives in Allied-occupied Vienna to accept a job with his childhood friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find him dead. He sticks around to investigate Lime’s death, and while at it, he falls for Lime’s girlfriend Anna.
The Third Man
A Coup De Maître
Shot entirely on location in the war-wrecked scraps of Vienna,The Third Manhas some of the most bewildering cinematography ever witnessed. The Dutch angles and sharp lighting highlight the cynicism, while the reliance on German-expressionist techniques helps showcase English director Carol Reed’s expertise. Better yet, there are many memorable moments, chief among them the iconic chase in the sewers, and the revelation that Lime is the movie’s villain.
He goes on to give one of the most thought-provoking speeches, claiming that anarchy breeds creativity and that it’s because of the chaotic 30-year-old rule of the Borgias that legends like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. For that reason, Switzerland also needs an instigator of chaos, someone like him.
