The bfi 100
A selection of the favourite British films of the 20th century
It is one of those classic pub or dinner party arguments. "What is the best British film ever?" "Easy. Either Dr. No or Brief Encounter." "But what about Withnail and I and The 39 Steps?"
The debate is, of course, never-ending.
But the turn of the millennium is surely the ideal time to reflect on a full century of British film-making. Not to try to answer the unanswerable question of which is the best, but rather to poll the opinions of those involved in British film, who have seen more movies than most, for an indication of where their professional tastes lie, what their favourites are.
Early in 1999, the BFI produced a selection booklet and sent copies to 1,000 people embracing all strands of the film, cinema and television industries throughout the UK - producers, directors, writers, actors, technicians, academics, exhibitors, distributors, executives and critics. Participants were asked to consider (and vote for up to 100) 'culturally British' feature films, released in cinemas during the twentieth century, which they felt had made a strong and lasting impression. Altogether, more than 25,700 votes were cast, covering 820 different films.
The final selection makes compulsive reading. It spans seven decades, from 1935 to 1998, accommodates the work of 70 film directors and much international talent. Topping the list is Carol Reed's classic The Third Man, a very British film, though its two key stars - Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles - are American. Coming second is Brief Encounter, sublime repressed romance that could only have come from the UK. The two films share an actor (Trevor Howard stars in both) and interestingly both were shot by the same cinematographer, the talented Australian-born Robert Krasker.
The 'top 10' of favourites certainly features some names to be reckoned with. Three films from David Lean, others by Alfred Hitchcock (whose centenary was celebrated in 1999), Nic Roeg, Ken Loach, Carol Reed, Robert Hamer, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, while fascinatingly in tenth spot is that very 1990s film Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle.
Acclaimed classics dominate the 'top 10'. The Third Man, Brief Encounter, Lawrence of Arabia, The 39 Steps, Great Expectations, Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Red Shoes - these are all well-loved British favourites and deserve their plaudits, but joining them, as well as Trainspotting, are Ken Loach's Kes and Nic Roeg's Don't Look Now. These are edgier pieces of film-making, and it is to the voters' credit that they have received such support. It is that wonderful balance between comfortable security and a quirkier sharpness that makes the 'top 10' so fascinating.
The spread of films throughout the bfi 100 is equally fascinating. No silent films. Just one documentary. Three from the 1930s (the earliest chosen is Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, made in 1935); 16 from the 1940s; 10 from the 1950s; 26 from the 1960s; 10 from the 1970s; 18 from the 1980s and 17 from the 1990s. Unsurprisingly, literary adaptations feature strongly - ranging from Shakespeare and Dickens to Roddy Doyle and Irvine Welsh - and the highbrow mixes easily with the low, as one favourite Carry On lurches into the list.
Those 1960s icons, Michael Caine and Julie Christie, each star in seven and six films respectively, of the bfi 100, though 'top' of the performer pile comes Sir Alec Guinness, who appears in an impressive nine, with three of those - Lawrence of Arabia, Great Expectations and Kind Hearts and Coronets - in the 'top 10'. David Lean directed six of the 100 films and co-directed (with Noel Coward) another, while Coward, Richard Attenborough, Laurence Olivier, Lindsay Anderson and two of the Monty Python team are there as actor and director.
That films from the 1960s feature so strongly points to an appreciation of the great changes in British cinema during that decade, when angrier voices like those of Lindsay Anderson, Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson, John Schlesinger and Joseph Losey led the way and were allowed to focus on social issues as well as pure drama. Schlesinger, in fact, has four films in the 100 (along with the Powell and Pressburger combination) while Tony Richardson has three.
Some might argue that 17 films from the 1990s points more to the fact that these are closer and therefore better remembered. Perhaps so, but it is surely easy to advocate that titles like Elizabeth, Nil By Mouth, My Name is Joe, Secrets & Lies and Shakespeare in Love should feature in any British 100. Just as the list reflects the shifting patterns of British life and times, so British cinema itself is constantly evolving. New film-makers emerge, break fresh ground, express their own points of view.
The key to the bfi 100, though, is that it does provoke an argument. Of course one person might urge that one title should be included or another not. Of course there may be films that are not on this list which one could argue passionately merit a place. Any selection of 100 titles can only encompass around one per cent of all British films produced during the last 100 years. The bfi 100 serves as a wonderful reminder to us all that some truly great and timeless British films have been created. Collectively, it presents a diverse palette of experiences, memories, imaginations and emotions.
The list is intended, and offered, as a starting-point for any discussion, rather than as an end to one.
