The bfi 100: 41-50
41. Dr. No (1962)
Directed by Terence Young
Cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, John Kitzmiller, Zena Marshall, Anthony Dawson, Timothy Moxon, Lester Prendergast, Eunice Gayson, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Peter Burton, Reggie Carter, Margaret LeWars
The first James Bond film, made by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman's Eon Productions, which was shot on location in Jamaica and looked far more expensive than it actually was (production budget: $1 million). The hi-tech sets (by Ken Adam), main title sequence (by Maurice Binder) and fast-paced editing style (by Peter Hunt) all became hallmarks of the 007 series and their influence on the action film genre endures today. Opinion varies, of course, as to who is the best Bond and which is the best film, but this one certainly helped to make an international star of Connery and a screen icon of Ursula Andress.
42. The Madness of King George (1994)
Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Cast: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm, Amanda Donohoe, Rupert Graves, Rupert Everett, Jim Carter, Geoffrey Palmer, John Wood, Jeremy Child, Cyril Shaps
Impressive screen version of Alan Bennett's clever play, with Nigel Hawthorne reprising his stunning performance as England's eccentrically benevolent late 18th-century King. When George becomes ill and shows signs of mental instability, Parliament and the Court start intriguing, whilst his son (a fine Rupert Everett) makes plans to usurp the throne. Bennett himself can be glimpsed in a brief cameo as a member of Parliament near the end of the film.
43. A Man For All Seasons (1966)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Paul Schofield, Wendy Hiller, Susannah York, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles, Leo McKern, Nigel Davenport, John Hurt, Corin Redgrave, Cyril Luckham, Jack Gwillim
Visually stunning film of Robert Bolt's play, tracing Sir Thomas More's conflict with Henry VIII when the King plans a split from the Pope and the formation of the Church of England. Paul Schofield gives a wonderful (Oscar®-winning) performance as More, while Robert Shaw, who developed successful careers as both an actor and an author/playwright, is no less impressive as Henry. In all, this vivid, powerful film won six Oscars (also Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Costume Design and Cinematography).
44. Black Narcissus (1947)
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Farrer, Sabu, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, Jenny Laird, May Hallatt, Jdith Furse
Sumptuous and powerful adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel about a group of nuns who struggle to establish a mission in a remote part of the Himalayas. The film is distinguished by Jack Cardiff's Oscar®-winning colour cinematography, which adds visual impact to the drama, although it was shot entirely in the studio. The nuns face emotional and physical challenges, and the final sequences remain stunning, with Deborah Kerr giving a fine performance as the Sister Superior. Art Director Alfred Junge also won an Academy Award.
45. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook, Deborah Kerr, Roland Culver, James McKechnie, Albert Lieven, Arthur Wontner, A.E. Matthews, David Hutcheson, Ursula Jeans, John Laurie, Harry Welchman
Sentimental, though exceptionally shrewd, tale of a staunch and often misguided British soldier, tracing his life from the Boer War through to World War II. The character is supposedly based on David Low's caricature buffoon, though Roger Livesey's doddery yet patriotic soldier shows only a loose connection. Best of all is Deborah Kerr's terrific performance as the three different women in Blimp's long and varied life.
46. Oliver Twist (1948)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Francis L. Sullivan, John Howard Davies, Kay Walsh, Anthony Newley, Henry Stephenson, Mary Clare, Gibb McLaughlin, Diana Dors
Wonderful version of the Dickens classic, which Lean made shortly after he completed Great Expectations. He again used Alec Guinness, still in the early stages of his acting career, heavily disguised this time as Fagin. In a similar way to Great Expectations, Lean's dramatic scenes are very powerful; especially memorable is the sequence of Sikes (the terrifying Robert Newton) killing Nancy (Kay Walsh) because she had helped Oliver, while Sikes's dog scratches at the door. An outstanding cast includes Diana Dors in an early role, and then child-star Anthony Newley as the Artful Dodger. John Howard Davies, in the title role, later enjoyed a successful career as a television producer.
47. I'm All Right Jack (1959)
Directed by John Boulting
Cast: Ian Carmichael, Peter Sellers, Irene Handl, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas, Dennis Price, Margaret Rutherford, Liz Fraser, John Le Mesurier, Sam Kydd
Splendidly entertaining and accurate comedy about the relationships in the 1950s between businessmen and their workers. Nice-but-dim Ian Carmichael goes to work for his conniving uncle and after causing all sorts of problems with industrial relations, unwittingly upsets a crooked business scheme. Sellers is outstanding as union leader Fred Kite, while Attenborough and Price are excel as the oily businessmen. Scripted by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney from Hackney's novel Private Life.
48. Performance (1970)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg, Donald Cammell
Cast: James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Michele Breton, Stanley Meadows, Allan Cuthbertson
Roeg and Cammell's extraordinary Performance has received cult status for its portrayal of a strange and dark London underworld of gangsters and pop stars. Jagger, of course, is the pop star who has 'retired' to a hedonistic world of sex and drugs, while Fox is the gangster who initially hides out in Jagger's house, but gets drawn into a psychedelic whirlpool. Often disconnected and at times edited in a jagged manner, this remains a fascinating glimpse into a bizarre world.
49. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Directed by John Madden
Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Affleck, Colin Firth, Mark Williams, Judi Dench
Popular and thoroughly enjoyable tale of William Shakespeare (Fiennes) suffering from writer's block. He just can't finish his latest play, Romeo and Ethel - the Sea Pirate's Daughter, but when he meets Viola de Lesseps (Paltrow), who appears disguised as a man to act on stage, he is inspired to write again. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Actress for Paltrow, Best Supporting Actress for Dame Judi Dench's Queen Elizabeth, and Best Original Screenplay, rewarding Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard's marvellously witty script. Rupert Everett appears unbilled as rival playwright Christopher Marlowe.
50. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985
Directed by Stephen Frears
Cast: Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, Shirley Anne Field, Rita Wolf
Low-budget film-making from a young Channel Four that helped to inspire the British film industry and show that small pictures could work in a larger market place. Daniel Day-Lewis, then still in his 20s, appears in his first major role as the punk Johnny who eventually falls for Omar (Warnecke). An entertaining and shrewd look at both race relations and the economy of Britain in the mid-1980s from the young playwright Hanif Kureishi.
