Factsheet #132: British Film
Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.
If it is has British actors, directors, producers. Is set in Britain and is about British historical events.
2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?
For instance the Hollywood production context means that most films made by Hollywood studios
have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew and spectacle driven stories. Whereas the independent production context films tend to have low budgets, character rather than spectacle driven stories and a heavier reliance on word of mouth and viral advertising. The British film production context does not have as many clearly defined characteristics. British films can be large budget, high concept films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Brothers, 2010) and Skyfall (MGM, 2012) or they can be character driven, small budgeted films such as Kill List (Optimum Releasing, 2011) or This is England (Optimum Releasing, 2006). What could be considered to be recurring characteristics of the British film production context are that films made within the British production context will in some way reflect British culture, films such as The King’s Speech (Momentum Pictures, 2010) and Son of Rambow (Optimum Releasing, 2007) have varying degrees of involvement from Hollywood or other outside agencies however they are both inherently British in their subject matter.
3) When did the James Bond franchise start?
1962
4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?
The custodian of censorship and classification in the UK for the last 100 years has been the British Board of Film Classification, (the BBFC). Although when first created in the early decade of the 20th century
the BBFC originally stood for the British Board of Film Censorship which tells you a little about how attitudes toward film have changed in the UK over time. All British and imported foreign films have been subject to
censorship and classification by the BBFC according with the social, cultural and political trends and beliefs at the times at which the films were made and considered by the BBFC. The history of British film censorship
of the 20th century is the history of social, cultural and political change as British Film being like any other art reflects the current climate of the times in which it is created. What we see over the course of the 20th
century and into the 21st century is a gradual acceptance of social taboos being included in British Film, this usually centres on the main subjects of violence, sex (the two combined being one of the last bastions of solid
censorship that films tend to see in the modern age), drug use and criminal activity. As the 20th century progresses each decade sees a willingness to allow more through to audiences than the previous decade with the tipping point being in the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. The 1950s see the rise of the teenage audience as Britain leaves rationing and starts to become more affluent, social change in America and their films helps drive similar change in the UK and British Films start to reflect this going into the 1960s. With many notorious films being linked to riots by youth movements such as mods and rockers. The 1970s sees a rise in British Films of sexual content, both the act of sex and sex linked to violence with films like A Clockwork Orange (Warner Bros, 1971) coming under a lot of scrutiny. The 1980s see the rise of videos and the ‘video nasty’s scare where filmmaking was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created and finding its way to Britain. And so a continual evolution of film censorship and classification in this country has happened since the 1980s that sees all films released in the UK to have one of 7 (possibly 8 although the R18
certificate is rarely used) classifications awarded to it. The BBFC in the last few decades has tried to engage more with British audiences, making its guidelines not only accessible to all but also engaging with the public
when reviewing these guidelines.
5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.
There are contemporary representations of youth in films such as Attack the Block (Studio Canal, 2011) that attempt to show a deeper more realistic portrayal of youth that challenges the stereotype of the threat or the
rebel. Representation of women has gone through similar changes over the years with common stereotyping of women as either, the virgin, the mother or the whore. Although British film, especially in the 1960s with the New
Wave have often treated women more through the prism of social realism Complex female characters in film have appeared in early British Film, however these were always seen as extraordinary. Women have largely
suffered in line with the current attitude towards women of the day with a gradual shift and awareness of an inequality towards women gaining ground from the 1980s onwards.
6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?
This is the first step towards targeting and appealing to a British audience as with any film made by a country for its own populace. The main characteristics that can be identified as appealing to a native British audience would include; the actors, British actors tend to be clearly identifiable as British and will often be associated with a particular genre of British film, for example Hugh Grant having an association with British romantic comedies. British locations tend to be a heavily used feature of the film, with London being the most popular, although we have seen a rise in popularity of northern towns and cities being used in many British films. However the overwhelming characteristics that will most appeal to a British audience is the social theme that provides the through line for many British film narratives. The British audience has a keen interest in British films that focus on class, social strife, education and more. Old and new British films are full of socially conscious narrative and characters, from the 1950s comedies that dealt with managing in the ravaged society
of post-war Britain, the new wave social realism of the 1960s all the way through to the post-Thatcherite Britain of the 1990s with films like Brassed off (Miramax Films, 1996) and The Fully Monty (20th Century Fox Films, 1997). Even modern day films deal with current social and political concerns, issues such as hooliganism, hoody culture and radicalism. We also should include the many ‘look back’ films that tend to focus on stories from Britain’s past where, class warfare or social difficulties were at their peak with films such as This is England (Optimum Releasing, 2006) and the new film Pride (Calamity Films, 2014) that deals with sexual equality at the peak of the miners’ strike. Producers will often inject a healthy dose of humour into even the most rigorous of social realism films so as to appeal to the British sensibility of the stiff upper lip and it isn’t
bad all the time.
Factsheet #100: British film industry
To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.
Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the Factsheet for homework. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?
If a film does not qualify as a co-production, it must pass the British Film Institute’s Cultural Test in order to be defined as British. The Cultural Test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points to be classified as British.
3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?
The British film industry has been production led rather than
distribution led. This means that many UK films are made but, in order to get
the film exhibited, the filmmakers have to sacrifice the distribution rights by
selling the film to a distribution company. Once sold, all revenue from cinema
screenings, DVD and Blu-ray sales, plus sales to television companies, are lost.
For example, though based on a novel by an Indian writer and telling a tale set
in the slums of Mumbai, Slumdog Millionaire (dir. Boyle, 2008) is classified as
a British film since its production was financed by two British companies,
Celador Films and Film 4 productions, along with Pathé Pictures International,
a French production company and distributor. In addition, the film’s
screenwriter, director and leading actor are all British. The film cost under £10
million to make but went on to take approximately £235 million at the worldwide
box-office. However, though Pathé retained the film’s international
distribution rights, North American distribution rights were purchased for $5 million
by Warner Independent Pictures, who subsequently sold half the rights to Fox
Searchlight Pictures, both American companies. This means that around £90
million in American box-office takings will benefit the US film industry rather
than the UK film industry. This production led approach to filmmaking means the
British film industry is often described as a ‘cottage industry’. This suggests
it is small-scale and, whilst making unique and distinctive products, can never
truly compete with the ‘factory industries’ of the Hollywood-based studios.
4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?
outstanding creative skills of practitioners
• outstanding facilities
the Film Export Fund
5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?
Firstly,
British filmmakers could choose to rely upon co-productions with American
studios to keep the industry afloat.
6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?
The first one as as co-producing with american companies could help british films do better with american audiences and increase their box office revenue.
