This is adapted from robertclackmedia

2. But….
WHAT IS A
BRITISH FILM?

3.  Diversity makes a defining a ‘British’
film very challenging.
 Some UK Film Council definitions:
◦ Films principally shot in the UK, using a British
crew/cast
◦ Film’s financed from within the UK
◦ Film’s that are set in the UK
◦ Film’s that address British Identity and Society

4.  Range of definitions – 32 in total, but to
qualify as a British film only 16 must be met.
 One is that the film represents/reflects a
diverse British culture, British heritage or
British creativity (so we don’t just make lots
of imitations of American films)

5. Yes:-
 Director – Paul Greengrass is
British
 Large section is filmed in
London, some studio work at
Pinewood
 Largely British crew
No:-
 Doesn’t reflect British themes or
concerns
 Lots of other locations
 Produced by Universal – Frank
Marshall and Doug Liman are
American
 Universal are American owned
company

6.  If
we can’t define, we can
recognise traits and
conventions of specific
trends and cycles:
enough to be
genres?

7. • Costume dramas: A
Room with a View
• Historical Epics: Pride
and Prejudice
• Literary Adaptation:
Remains of the Day
 Merchant-Ivory –
winning brand of Heritage
cinema created by
producer-director team.
Normally a period piece,
set in Edwardian England
featuring lavish sets and
genteel characters.

8.  ‘Kitchen sink’ stage/TV dramas of 1960s
 Ken Loach: Kes, Raining Stones, Sweet
Sixteen
 Mike Leigh: Abigail’s Party, Naked,
Meantime
 Social issues explored in complex fashion but
often shocking and depressing.

9.  First funded by television – especially
Channel 4 in 80s
 Nick Broomfield: His Big White Self, Biggie
and Tupac, Tracking Down Maggie
 Nature documentary sold around the
world – often turned into theatrical release.
E.g. Deep Blue (cinema version of The Blue
Planet) and Earth (cinema version of Planet
Earth)

10.  Specialeffects industry developed
with Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A
Space Odyssey
 Lotsof Sci-Fi filmed at Pinewood
and Shepperton studios: from
Alien to Harry Potter

11.  Hammer studios was a British
production company that led the world in
horror during the 50s and 60s (although this
was partly through distribution deals with US
owned studios such as Warner Brothers).
 Managed to have significant impact on
world market – famous for a certain style
of Horror that low budgets, but nonetheless
appeared lavish, making use of quality British
actors and cleverly designed sets.

12.  First produced by Working Title films
 Four Weddings and a Funeral – grossed £240
million worldwide
 Sliding Doors, Notting Hill, Love Actually,
Bridget Jone’s Diary.

13.  Fame of British pop music established UK as
leader in youth culture
 Films capitalised on this: Quadraphenia
(Mods), Performance (Hippies), Human Traffic
(Ravers), This is England (Skinheads) and
Control (Indie).
 Popular globally because Mods, Hippies,
Ravers, Skinheads from any country will want
to watch their own ‘subculture’.
 Youthful ennui and sense of rebellion is
universal

14.  Crime cinema has always been popular – Hell
is a City, Blue Lantern
 Films like Get Carter were able to be more
downbeat and violent than American films
 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels started
a new trend in 90s for fast-talking cockney
gangster films: Snatch, Essex Boys, Gangster
No1, Layer Cake

15. How are images of
the ‘British’ used to
market films?

16.  ‘Heritage’ cinema
 Literary adaptations
 ‘Urban Fairytale’
 UK Film used to reinforce patriotism (for
domestic audience)
 UK Film used as tourist marketing strategy
(for foreign audiences)

17.  Conforms to US market’s stereotype of the
British – ‘Anglophilia’. Like cinematic tourism.
 Reinforces nostalgic vision of Britain and
British values to domestic audience
 ‘Escapist’/positive representation of
modern Britain
 ‘Literary’ status – treated as ‘prestige’
films (for an ‘intelligent’ audience); book
franchises
 (Becoming Jane, The Jane Austen Book Club,
Clueless – Austen as a genre)

18.  Stereotypes of Britishness: polite, reserved,
aristocratic, chirpy cockney, honourable etc.
 Concentration on upper middle class lifestyles
 Nostalgic, romanticised vision of the past
 Literary associations (adaptation, biography)
 ‘Heritage’ cinema – visual pleasure of sumptuous
costume and set design
 ‘Urban fairytale’ elements – romantic comedies,
sanitised images of Britain, mostly white middle
class characters, strong women supported by
close-knit friends

19. ‘Gritty Realism’

20.  Opposite of Heritage cinema – critical of British
life, not reinforcing patriotic values
(Trainspotting: “It’s shite being Scottish!”
 Challenging to audience’s comfort zones:
unflinching portrait of harsh reality of modern
Britain
 Often shocking examination of dark side of
human behaviour; explicit sex, violence, drugs.
 Deals with social problems (drugs, poverty,
violence, child abuse) explicitly but with
complexity
 Often focuses on working or ‘underclass’
characters

21.  Rival to ‘saccharine’ sentimentality of
Hollywood films – more daring and
shocking.
 Liberal art-house audience who like cinema
to challenge their preconceptions and
comfort zones.
 Makes middle class audiences feel secure by
contrasting characters lives.
 Critical success – ‘serious’ film for more
‘intelligent’ audiences.

22.  Claire Monk’s phrase for historical dramas
that don’t just ‘display’ the past, but
‘interrogates’ the past and our relationship
to it.
 Questions how the past is represented.
 Explores contemporary themes in
historical setting.

23.  Still lots of authentic period mise-en-
scene
 Often beautifully lit and shot
 Well received by fans of historical films
 But doesn’t shy away from ‘historical realism’
and the harsh realities of the past – not
romanticised.
 So enjoyed by more ‘serious’ audiences.

24.  Elizabeth
 Atonement
 This is England

25. Case
This is
Study:
England
(Shane Meadows, 2007)

26.  Born in 1972 and lived most of his life in the
Midlands – the setting of all of his films.
 His first proper feature-length film is Twenty
Four Seven (1997) and like many of his films
this was largely autobiographical and
focussed on incidents from his past.
 His most recent films, This is England (2006)
and Somers Town (2008) have seen his
profile as a director grow and grow.

27.  Tends to make films that have similar themes
(effects of violence, revenge) or characters
(loners, impressionable-yet-strong boys) that
reflect his own upbringing.
 Similar setting – in and around the Midlands
area.
 DIY approach to filmmaking – little or no formal
training.
 Encourages actors to ad lib in order to create
the impression of real people and thus create a
better sense of reality.
 Tends to work with similar actors (Paddy
Considine, Thomas Turgoose) and
screenwriters (Paul Fraser).

28.  Originated in the late 1960’s, came from
mods who were welcomed into the reggae
clubs in London.
 Here they discovered ska music and the key
components of the skinhead look.
 The skinhead culture was taken up by black
and white working class kids working in
shipyards and factory lines.

29.  Second wave of skinheads fused ska music,
like Madness and The Specials, with a new
punk genre, called ‘OI!’ music -
romperstomper, energetic music, charged for
fighting.
 In the 80s teens from areas of high
unemployment looking for solidarity, who
were ignored by Thatcher’s ‘me’ culture, were
especially vulnerable to the advances of the
National Front.

30.  ‘The skinhead, because of their aggression and outward
appearance, they’re almost soldier-like, were I suppose
almost handpicked to become soldiers for the National
Front. You don’t see the contradiction that you’re being
indoctrinated into the National Front whilst listening to
black music. When I first heard about the National Front,
the picture that was painted to me was a Churchillian
vision of Asian families rowing into the white cliffs of
Dover on boats, and that skinheads would be on the
beaches fighting to stop them entering your country. As a
twelve-year-old kid that’s quite a romantic image. It’s
almost like ‘what your granddad did.’
 ‘When you’re twelve and no-one in your town can get a
job, and someone comes up to you and says ‘these people
are to blame’ it’s easy to believe. I did for about three
weeks, some people still believe that as adults and that’s
frightening.’

31.  ‘It’s not to do with colour so much, it’s to do
with identity and belonging.’
- Shane Meadows

32.  Watch the clip.
 How is ‘England’ being
defined? How is
‘Britishness’?

33.  How do the connotations of the flag change
for Shaun?
 What does this flag mean to you?
 Having looked at the film do you think these
associations have changed over time?
 Does the flag have specific group
association now?
 Is the flag something to which you feel any
kind of allegiance?
 Where do these ideas/feelings come from?

34. Question
Why do you think we see a
montage of the Falklands war at
the end of the film, just after
Milky has been nearly beaten to
death?

35.  How is British national identity defined?
How is it problematised?
 Is this an accurate portrayal of British life?
 Is it nostalgic?
 For a ‘historical’ film, how is it relevant to
today’s audiences?
 How does it differ from other British films?
 How ‘British’ is it?