The British film industry

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

When film is set i Britain and made with British people. 

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

 British film as a production context also tends to be varied but idiosyncratic to the story being told within the film.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

1962

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

The British film industry in the 1970s was dominated by the subject of censorship that continued into the video nasties banning of the 1980s. The 1980s also saw a dramatic decline in American investment in British film that did not increase again until the 1990s.

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

Many of the representations of different groups within British film focus and change according to these issues, for instance if we take the representation of youth in British films. Film. For example if we look at the way youth is portrayed in a very singular way in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (Warner Bros., 1971), the focus

is on violence, anti-establishment and a compulsion to act in an anarchic way.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

British audience as with any film made by a country for its own populace. The main characteristics that can be identified as appealing to a native British audience would include; the actors, British actors tend to be clearly identifiable as British and will often be associated with a particular genre of British film, for example Hugh Grant having an association with British romantic comedies.

Factsheet #100: British film industry

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. You can find it on the same link as above. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

If a film does not qualify as a co-production, it must pass the British Film Institute’s Cultural Test in order to be defined as British. The Cultural Test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points to be classified as British.

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

Historically, the British film industry has been production led rather than distribution led. This means that many UK films are made but, in order to get the film exhibited, the filmmakers have to sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the film to a distribution company. Once sold, all revenue from cinema screenings, DVD and Blu-ray

sales, plus sales to television companies, are lost. Even a highly successful British film is not necessarily making money that will be reinvested in British filmmaking.

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

1. outstanding creative skills of practitioners

2. outstanding facilities

3. Britain has had a film industry since well before World War I and several important film studios are British, such      as Ealing Studios and Pinewood Studios.

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

1. Firstly, British filmmakers could choose to rely upon co-productions with American studios to keep the industry afloat. However, the drawback would be that much of what makes the film British may be lost, such as regional accents and dialects or cultural and political references. Since these features would make no sense to an audience outside of Britain, it is unlikely that an American company involved in a co-production would approve of them.

2. The UK film industry’s second option is to attempt to make low budget films targeted at a niche, British audience. Though the production costs will have to be lower and box-office taking and profits will necessarily be lower too, the filmmakers will be able to retain what it is that makes British films so distinctive without compromise.

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

Option 1 primarily as it allows bigger more mainstream films to be produced however there still should be low-budget fill being made to fill in for the niche audiences.