All articles about British cinema

Object of the week

The mystery 1967 ‘music video’ for The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’

Made to accompany the Paul McCartney classic ‘Penny Lane’ in 1967, this little-seen short film avoids psychedelia in favour of a realist portrait of Liverpool’s streets and neighbourhoods.

By William Fowler

The mystery 1967 ‘music video’ for The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’

Features

“I have made so little”: what the archives of two women filmmakers tell us about the film industry

By Jessica Boyall

“I have made so little”: what the archives of two women filmmakers tell us about the film industry

10 great

10 great British heist films

By Rory Doherty

10 great British heist films

Rarities of British cinema

The saucy British comedy that sold out cinemas in post-war New York

By Josephine Botting

The saucy British comedy that sold out cinemas in post-war New York

Interviews

The Incomer: director Louis Paxton on his darkly funny tale of siblings, islands and isolation

By Lou Thomas

The Incomer: director Louis Paxton on his darkly funny tale of siblings, islands and isolation

Object of the week

Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes shots from the making of the first British Asian feature film

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes shots from the making of the first British Asian feature film

Interviews

Andrea Luka Zimmerman: “The 90s were amazing, but the brutal violence was real”

By Georgia Korossi

Andrea Luka Zimmerman: “The 90s were amazing, but the brutal violence was real”

Object of the week

Object of the week: Ealing’s poster for the classic police drama The Blue Lamp

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Ealing’s poster for the classic police drama The Blue Lamp

News

BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Tina Gharavi donates personal collection to the BFI National Archive

Object of the week

Object of the week: Original budget breakdown for Black Narcissus – who got paid what

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Original budget breakdown for Black Narcissus – who got paid what

Then and now

David Lynch in London: how The Elephant Man locations have changed today

By Adam Scovell

David Lynch in London: how The Elephant Man locations have changed today

Object of the week

Object of the week: Lotte Reiniger’s cut-out figures and backgrounds for Cinderella

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Lotte Reiniger’s cut-out figures and backgrounds for Cinderella

Rarities of British cinema

Peggy Cummins and her glitzy family melodrama My Daughter Joy

By Josephine Botting

Peggy Cummins and her glitzy family melodrama My Daughter Joy

Object of the week

Object of the week: Haunting photos of empty sets for Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Haunting photos of empty sets for Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps

Features

Faith, desire and defiance: revisiting Antonia Bird’s controversial drama Priest

By Ibrahim Azam

Faith, desire and defiance: revisiting Antonia Bird’s controversial drama Priest

10 great

10 great Sherlock Holmes films and TV adaptations

By David Parkinson

10 great Sherlock Holmes films and TV adaptations

Object of the week

Object of the week: Cecil Beaton’s costume design for Vivien Leigh as Anna Karenina

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Cecil Beaton’s costume design for Vivien Leigh as Anna Karenina

News

Imran Perretta’s award-winning debut Ish acquired by BFI Distribution

Then and now

70 years of The Ladykillers: how the locations look today

By Adam Scovell

70 years of The Ladykillers: how the locations look today

Object of the week

Object of the week: Dirk Bogarde’s annotated script for classic blackmail drama Victim

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Dirk Bogarde’s annotated script for classic blackmail drama Victim

Features

Richard Burton’s power was in his weakness

By Chloe Walker

Richard Burton’s power was in his weakness

Object of the week

Object of the week: Production design for The L-Shaped Room

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Production design for The L-Shaped Room

Then and now

The Ealing comedy that shows how the Wirral used to be: The Magnet at 75

By Adam Scovell

The Ealing comedy that shows how the Wirral used to be: The Magnet at 75

Object of the week

Object of the week: A hand-painted still for Michael Powell’s Hebridean romance The Edge of the World

By Alex Prideaux

Object of the week: A hand-painted still for Michael Powell’s Hebridean romance The Edge of the World

Object of the week

Object of the week: The oldest film in our archive

By Bryony Dixon

Object of the week: The oldest film in our archive

Where to begin

Where to begin with Lynne Ramsay

By Brogan Morris

Where to begin with Lynne Ramsay

Railway 200

Train cels: how British animators have captured the enduring appeal of railway travel

By Jez Stewart

Train cels: how British animators have captured the enduring appeal of railway travel

Object of the week

Object of the week: The Polish poster for Sidney Poitier drama To Sir, with Love

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: The Polish poster for Sidney Poitier drama To Sir, with Love

Features

“I have been rather brutal with the text”: behind the scenes on Terence Davies’s art of adaptation

By Marc David Jacobs

“I have been rather brutal with the text”: behind the scenes on Terence Davies’s art of adaptation

News

Terry Jones archive donated to the BFI