The bfi 100: 71-80
71. Elizabeth (1998)
Directed by Shekhar Kapur
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston, Geoffrey Rush, Richard Attenborough, Eric Cantona
Dark, engrossing film, shot on location at the castles of north-east England, with a towering central performance by Australian actress Cate Blanchett in the title role. Elizabeth's ascendancy to the throne is a story of palace intrigues, executions and attempted assassinations, as she tries to find balance, in a country divided by faith, between Protestant and Catholic. Shekhar Kapur does a wonderful job in creating a rich, potent atmosphere and extracting fine performances from his varied cast. Watch out for footballer Eric Cantona as a French courtier.
72. Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
Directed by Sam Wood
Cast: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Paul Henreid, Lyn Harding, Austin Trevor, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Milton Rosmer, Judith Furse
Robert Donat won a well deserved Oscar® for his performance as the shy schoolmaster Mr. Chips, whose whole life is teaching 'his boys' until in later life he encounters love in the form of Greer Garson. Based on James Hilton's novel, the film manages to balance sentiment with drama, and Garson, making her film debut, became an overnight star. Re-made as a musical in 1969 with Peter O'Toole in the lead role.
73. A Room With A View (1985)
Directed by James Ivory
Cast: Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Rosemary Leach, Rupert Graves
An elegantly presented adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel about a young woman's awakening while on a chaperoned trip to Florence, while at heart dealing with British manners. Helena Bonham Carter impresses as the young woman, Miss Honeychurch, though the strength of the film is the superb band of supporting players, ranging from Judi Dench, Denholm Elliott and Maggie Smith, through to Daniel Day-Lewis's hilarious performance as Bonham Carter's prissy suitor. The film won three Oscars®: Best Screenplay (by Merchant-Ivory regular Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), Art Direction and Costume Design.
74. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Edward Fox, Michel Lonsdale, Alan Badel, Eric Porter, Cyril Cusack, Delphine Seyrigg, Tony Britton, Donald Sinden, Timothy West, Olga Georges-Picot, Barrie Ingham, Maurice Denham, Anton Rodgers
A densely plotted, adult thriller with an almost documentary quality. Fox is the 'Jackal', a professional killer whose real identity is unknown, hired to assassinate the French President de Gaulle. As he meticulously plans the execution, the French police learn that an attempt is to be made and have to track the possible killer with precious little information. Based on Frederick Forsyth's best-seller, the film contains some marvellous performances, including Cyril Cusack's as a gunman who produces a very special weapon and then pays a very heavy price.
75. The Cruel Sea (1952)
Directed by Charles Frend
Cast: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Stanley Baker, John Stratton, Denholm Elliott, John Warner, Bruce Seton, Virginia McKenna, Moira Lister, June Thorburn, Alec McCowen
Based on Nicholas Monsarrat's best-seller (published the previous year), with an Oscar®-nominated screenplay by Eric Ambler, this is an exceptionally well made drama about the battles in the Atlantic during World War II. The crew are brave and determined but, as the film ably presents, war is dreadful and the ultimate enemy is the cruel sea. A great box-office success, with fine performances from Hawkins, Sinden and Baker.
76. Billy Liar (1963)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Cast: Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles, Mona Washbourne, Ethel Griffies, Finlay Currie, Rodney Bewes, Leonard Rossiter
Tom Courtenay is terrific as Billy, the ambitious but intently lazy young man who escapes from the dull routine of his job by entering a fantasy world, making some comments along the way about Britain's middle class life. Based on the novel by Keith Waterhouse, and scripted by Waterhouse and Willis Hall (who also wrote the stage version together), this remains tremendous, well-acted entertainment.
77. Oliver! (1968)
Directed by Carol Reed
Cast: Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Mark Lester, Jack Wild, Harry Secombe, Shani Wallis, Hugh Griffith, Joseph O'Conor, Leonard Rossiter, Hylda Baker, Peggy Mount, Megs Jenkins
Rousing, constantly enjoyable musical version of Dickens's Oliver Twist from Lionel Bart, with a memorable central performance by Ron Moody as Fagin. In fact, every part is well cast, with Mark Lester and Jack Wild also excellent as Oliver and the Artful Dodger respectively, and Oliver Reed finding a perfect role as the vicious Bill Sikes in a film directed by his uncle. Oliver! won six Oscars®, including Best Picture and Director, along with a special prize to Oona King for her inspired choreography. The marvellous sets are by John Box, who designed several films for David Lean.
78. Peeping Tom (1960)
Directed by Michael Powell
Cast: Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley, Esmond Knight, Michael Goodliffe, Shirley Anne Field, Jack Watson
Michael Powell's notorious Peeping Tom was so vilified by the British critics when first released that it was swiftly withdrawn and the episode almost ended Powell's career. It was later re-evaluated and perceived as a creepy, frightening picture about a very disturbed mind. Carl Boehm (whose cool Teutonic looks work very well for the title role) plays the cameraman who films his victims' murders, while Anna Massey is the innocent girl downstairs who becomes his confidant. It is certainly disturbing cinema, perhaps ahead of its time, and remains a powerful visual document.
79. Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Cast: Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp, Prunella Ransome
Beautifully shot film version of Thomas Hardy's much-loved (and much-studied) novel about Bathsheba Everdene (the excellent Julie Christie) and her three suitors - wonderfully played by Peter Finch (as the wealthy landowner), Alan Bates (as the lowly but honest farmer) and Terence Stamp (as the dashing officer). This is thoroughly enjoyable, classic cinema, packed full of incident, intelligently directed by Schlesinger, who displays his ability to get the best out of his actors.
80. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
Directed by Peter Greenaway
Cast: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne Louise Lambert, Neil Cunningham, Hugh Fraser, Dave Hill
Writer-director Peter Greenaway's clever, mannered film is set on an English estate in the summer of 1694. A draughtsman (Higgins) is working on images of the landscape, but gets attacked by those whose love is property. He is teased and tormented by the excellent Janet Suzman, while as usual Greenaway constructs his images with clinical precision. Made by the bfi, the film was a popular and critical success.
