British Critics Pick Best British Films
Total Film magazine recently asked twenty-five British film critics to come up with their choices of the best British films ever made. The result is somewhat surprising, with the 1971 Mike Hodges-directed thriller Get Carter chosen as Britain’s very best movie ever. Other top-ten surprises include Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the James Bond actioner From Russia with Love, and Mike Leigh’s Naked. No pre-1945 film made it to the top ten.
Here’s the list:
1. Get Carter (1971)
2. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
3. Trainspotting (1996)
4. The Third Man (1949)
5. Life of Brian (1979)
6. The Wicker Man (1973)
7. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
8. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
9. From Russia With Love (1963)
10. Naked (1993)
Among the surprising omissions among the top ten were:
- David Lean’s Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957);
- Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938) and The 39 Steps (1935), or any other British-made Hitchcock film, for that matter;
- Alexander Mackendrick’s The Man in the White Suit (1951);
- Laurence Olivier’s Henry V (1945) and the Oscar-winning Hamlet;
- John Schlesinger’s Darling (1965) and Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971);
- Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Black Narcissus (1946) and The Red Shoes (1948);
- Stephen Frears‘ My Beautiful Laundrette (1985).
According to the BBC News, besides Get Carter three other Michael Caine films made it to the top 50: Zulu, The Italian Job, and Alfie (its 2004 remake starring Jude Law will open later this month in the United Kingdom).
The full list will be published in this month’s edition of Total Film.
Subscribe / Syndicate
Leave a Comment
Tags: A Matter of Life and Death, Best British Films, Critics Choices, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Life of Brian, Mike Hodges, Naked, The Man in the White Suit, The Third Man, The Wicker Man
Comments
Leave a Reply
NOTE:
All comments are moderated and may take some time before they are posted. Different views and opinions are welcome, but courtesy is imperative. Rude/crass/bigoted comments and name-calling of any sort will be immediately deleted.
Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has no contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog and no information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
