| Cinema of the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 4,720 (2022)[1] |
| • Per capita | 7.0 per 100,000 (2022)[1] |
| Main distributors | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Warner Bros. StudioCanal Universal Pictures Pathé Entertainment One[2] |
| Produced feature films (2017)[3] | |
| Total | 285 |
| Fictional | 213 (74.7%) |
| Animated | 5 (1.8%) |
| Documentary | 66 (23.2%) |
| Number of admissions (2022)[1] | |
| Total | 117,300,000 |
| • Per capita | 1.7 |
| Gross box office (2022)[1] | |
| Total | £904 million |
| National films | £267 million (29.5%) |
British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the19th century. The oldest known surviving film in the world,Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), was shot in England by French inventorLouis Le Prince. Earlycolour films were also pioneered in the UK. Film production reached an all-time high in1936,[4] but the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, which saw the release of the most critically acclaimed works by filmmakers such asDavid Lean,Michael Powell, andCarol Reed.[5][6][7]
Many British actors have accrued critical success and worldwide recognition, includingAlec Guinness,Patrick Stewart,Julie Andrews,Michael Caine,Joan Collins,Sean Connery,Olivia Colman,Benedict Cumberbatch,Daniel Craig,Daniel Day-Lewis,Judi Dench,Helen Mirren,Olivia de Havilland,Audrey Hepburn,Anthony Hopkins,Glynis Johns,Vivien Leigh,Ian Mckellen,Peter O'Toole,Gary Oldman,Laurence Olivier,John Gielgud,Maggie Smith,Joan Plowright,Emma Thompson,Rachel Weisz,Kate Winslet andKeira Knightley.[8][9][10][11][12][13] Some of the films with the largest ever box office profits have been made in the United Kingdom, includingHarry Potter andJames Bond, the fourth and fifthhighest-grossing film franchises of all time.[14]
The identity of British cinema, particularly in relation to thecinema of the United States, has been the subject of various debates over the years. Its history includes competition as well as collaboration with the United States cinema in production of a huge number of film projects. British filmmakers such asAlfred Hitchcock,Christopher Nolan, andRidley Scott achieved success combining their work with the United States filmmakers as well,[15] as did British performers such asCharlie Chaplin andCary Grant.[16]
In 2009, British films grossed around $2 billion worldwide and achieved a market share of around 7% globally and 17% in the United Kingdom.[17] UK box office earnings totalled £1.1 billion in 2012,[18] with 172.5 million admissions.[19] TheBritish Film Institute has produced a poll ranking what it considers to be the100 greatest British films of all time.[20] The annualBAFTA Awards hosted by theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts are considered to be the British equivalent of theAcademy Awards.[21]
The world's first moving picture was shot inLeeds byLouis Le Prince in 1888[22][23] and the first moving pictures developed oncelluloid film were made inHyde Park, London in 1889 by British inventorWilliam Friese Greene,[24] who patented the process in 1890.
The first people to build and run a working35 mmcamera in Britain wereRobert W. Paul andBirt Acres. They made the first British filmIncident at Clovelly Cottage in February 1895, shortly before falling out over the camera's patent. Soon several British film companies had opened to meet the demand for new films, such asMitchell and Kenyon inBlackburn.The Lumière brothers first brought their show to London in 1896. In 1898, American producerCharles Urban expanded the London-basedWarwick Trading Company to produce British films, mostly documentary and news.
Although the earliest British films were of everyday events, the early 20th century saw the appearance of narrative shorts, mainly comedies and melodramas. The early films were often melodramatic in tone, and there was a distinct preference for story lines already known to the audience, in particular, adaptations ofShakespeare plays andDickens novels.
In 1898,Gaumont-British Picture Corp. was founded as a subsidiary of the FrenchGaumont Film Company, constructingLime Grove Studios inWest London in 1915 in the first building built in Britain solely for film production. Also in 1898,Hepworth Studios was founded inLambeth, South London byCecil Hepworth, theBamforths began producing films inYorkshire, andWilliam Haggar began producing films inWales.
Directed byWalter R. Booth in 1901,Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost is the earliest film adaptation of Charles Dickens's festive novellaA Christmas Carol.[25] Booth'sThe Hand of the Artist (1906) has been described as the first British animated film.[26][27]
In 1902,Ealing Studios was founded byWill Barker. It has become the oldest continuously operating film studio in the world.
In 1902, the earliest colour film in the world was made; capturing everyday events. In 2012, it was found by theNational Science and Media Museum inBradford after lying forgotten in an old tin for 110 years. The previous title for earliest colour film, using Urban's inferiorKinemacolor process, was thought to date from 1909. The re-discovered films were made by pioneerEdward Raymond Turner from London who patented his process on 22 March 1899.[28]
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In 1909, Urban formed theNatural Color Kinematograph Company, which produced early colour films using his patented Kinemacolor process. This was later challenged in court by Greene, causing the company to go out of business in 1914.[29]
In 1903,Cecil Hepworth andPercy Stow directedAlice in Wonderland, the first film adaptation ofLewis Carroll's children's bookAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.[30] Also in 1903,Frank Mottershaw ofSheffield produced the filmA Daring Daylight Robbery, which launched the chase genre.
In 1911, theIdeal Film Company was founded inSoho, London, distributing almost 400 films by 1934, and producing 80.
In 1913, stage directorMaurice Elvey began directing British films, becoming Britain's most prolific film director, with almost 200 by 1957.
In 1914,Elstree Studios was founded, and acquired in 1928 by German-bornLudwig Blattner, who invented a magnetic steel tape recording system that was adopted by theBBC in 1930.
In 1915, the Kinematograph Renters’ Society of Great Britain and Ireland was formed to represent thefilm distribution companies. It is the oldest film trade body in the world. It was known as the Society of Film Distributors until it changed its name again to the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA).[31]
During the1918-1920 Spanish Influenza pandemic, cinema was seen as a way to take ameliorative action, causing many health professionals to see cinema as one of the primary ways the flu spread, as there was an absence of ventilation in the cinemas. There was an outcry to "Shut the Kinemas," and uneven, localized restrictions were put in place, primarily focusing on children and servicemen, including barring them from the theatre outright or requiring a 2.5 hour break each day.[32]
In 1920, Gaumont openedIslington Studios, whereAlfred Hitchcock got his start, selling out toGainsborough Pictures in 1927. Also in 1920Cricklewood Studios was founded by SirOswald Stoll, becoming Britain's largest film studio, known forFu Manchu andSherlock Holmes film series.
In 1920, the short-lived companyMinerva Films was founded in London by the actorLeslie Howard (also producer and director) and his friend and story editorAdrian Brunel. Some of their early films include four written byA. A. Milne includingThe Bump, starringC. Aubrey Smith;Twice Two;Five Pound Reward; andBookworms.[33]
By the mid-1920s the British film industry was losing out to heavy competition from the United States, which was helped by its much larger home market – in 1914 25% of films shown in the UK were British, but by 1926 this had fallen to 5%.[34] A slump in 1924 caused many British film studios to close,[citation needed] resulting in the passage of theCinematograph Films Act 1927 to boost local production, requiring that cinemas show a certain percentage of British films. The act was technically a success, with audiences for British films becoming larger than the quota required, but it had the effect of creating a market for poor quality, low cost films, made to satisfy the quota. The "quota quickies", as they became known, are often blamed by historians for holding back the development of the industry. However, some British film makers, such asMichael Powell, learnt their craft making such films. The act was modified with theCinematograph Films Act 1938 assisted the British film industry by specifying only films made by and shot in Great Britain would be included in the quota, an act that severely reduced Canadian and Australian film production.
The biggest star of the silent era, English comedianCharlie Chaplin, wasHollywood-based.[16]
Scottish solicitorJohn Maxwell foundedBritish International Pictures (BIP) in 1927. Based at the formerBritish National Pictures Studios in Elstree, the facilities original owners, including producer-directorHerbert Wilcox, had run into financial difficulties.[35] One of the company's early films,Alfred Hitchcock'sBlackmail (1929), is often regarded as the first British sound feature.[36][37] It was a part-talkie with a synchronised score and sound effects. Earlier in 1929, the first all-talking British feature,The Clue of the New Pin was released. It was based on a novel byEdgar Wallace, starring Donald Calthrop, Benita Home and Fred Raines, which was made byBritish Lion at theirBeaconsfield Studios. John Maxwell's BIP became the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) in 1933.[38] ABPC's studios in Elstree came to be known as the "porridge factory", according to Lou Alexander, "for reasons more likely to do with the quantity of films that the company turned out, than their quality".[39]Elstree (strictly speaking almost all the studios were in neighbouringBorehamwood) became the centre of the British film industry, withsix film complexes over the years all in close proximity to each other.[40]
By 1927, the largest cinema chains in the United Kingdom consisted of around 20 cinemas but the following yearGaumont-British expanded significantly to become the largest, controlling 180 cinemas by 1928 and up to 300 by 1929. Maxwell formedABC Cinemas in 1927 which became a subsidiary of BIP and went on to become one of the largest in the country, together withOdeon Cinemas, founded byOscar Deutsch, who opened his first cinema in 1928. By 1937, these three chains controlled almost a quarter of all cinemas in the country. A booking by one of these chains was indispensable for the success of any British film.[34]
With the advent of sound films, many foreign actors were in less demand, with Englishreceived pronunciation commonly used; for example, the voice of Czech actressAnny Ondra inBlackmail was substituted by an off-cameraJoan Barry during Ondra's scenes.
Starting withJohn Grierson'sDrifters (also 1929), the period saw the emergence of the school of realistDocumentary Film Movement, from 1933 associated with theGPO Film Unit. It was Grierson who coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film, and he produced the movement's most celebrated early films,Night Mail (1936), written and directed byBasil Wright andHarry Watt, and incorporating the poem byW. H. Auden towards the end of the short.
Music halls also proved influential incomedy films of this period, and a number of popular personalities emerged, includingGeorge Formby,Gracie Fields,Jessie Matthews andWill Hay. These stars often made several films a year, and their productions remained important for morale purposes duringWorld War II.
Many of the British films with larger budgets during the 1930s were produced byLondon Films, founded byHungarianemigreAlexander Korda. The success ofThe Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), made atBritish and Dominions Elstree Studios, persuadedUnited Artists andThe Prudential to invest in Korda'sDenham Film Studios, which opened in May 1936, but both investors suffered losses as a result.[41] Korda's films before the war includedThings to Come,Rembrandt (both 1936) andKnight Without Armour (1937), as well as the earlyTechnicolour filmsThe Drum (1938) andThe Four Feathers (1939). These had followed closely on fromWings of the Morning (1937), the UK's first three-strip Technicolour feature film, made by the local offshoot of20th Century Fox. Although some of Korda's films indulged in "unrelenting pro-Empire flag waving", those featuringSabu turned him into "a huge international star";[42] "for many years" he had the highest profile of any actor of Indian origin.[43]Paul Robeson was also cast in leading roles when "there were hardly any opportunities" for African Americans "to play challenging roles" in their own country's productions.[44]
In 1933, theBritish Film Institute was established as the lead organisation for film in the UK.[45] They set up theNational Film Library in 1935 (now known as the BFI National Archive), withErnest Lindgren as its curator.
In 1934,J. Arthur Rank became a co-founder ofBritish National Films Company and they helped createPinewood Studios, which opened in 1936. Also in 1936, Rank took overGeneral Film Distributors and in 1937, Rank foundedThe Rank Organisation. In 1938, General Film Distributors became affiliated with Odeon Cinemas.
Rising expenditure and over-optimistic expectations of expansion into the American market caused a financial crisis in 1937,[46] after an all-time high of 192 films were released in 1936. Of the 640 British production companies registered between 1925 and 1936, only 20 were still active in 1937. Moreover, theCinematograph Films Act 1927 was up for renewal. The replacementCinematograph Films Act 1938 provided incentives, via a "quality test", for UK companies to make fewer films, but of higher quality, and to eliminate the "quota quickies". Influenced by world politics, it encouraged American investment and imports. One result was the creation ofMGM-British, an English subsidiary of the largest American studio, which produced four films before the war, includingGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1939).
The new venture was initially based at Denham Studios. Korda himself lost control of the facility in 1939 to the Rank Organisation.[47] Circumstances forced Korda'sThe Thief of Bagdad (1940), a spectacular fantasy film, to be completed in California, where Korda continued his film career during the war.
By now contracted to Gaumont British, Alfred Hitchcock had settled on the thriller genre by the mid-1930s withThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1934),The 39 Steps (1935) andThe Lady Vanishes (1938). Lauded in Britain where he was dubbed "Alfred the Great" byPicturegoer magazine, Hitchcock's reputation was beginning to develop overseas, with aNew York Times feature writer asserting; "Three unique and valuable institutions the British have that we in America have not.Magna Carta, theTower Bridge and Alfred Hitchcock, the greatest director of screen melodramas in the world."[48] Hitchcock was then signed up to a seven-year contract by Selznick and moved toHollywood.
"The idea of a nation of devoted cinema-goers is inextricably linked with the number of classic films released during the war years. This was British cinema’s ‘golden age’, a period in which filmmakers such as Humphrey Jennings, David Lean, Powell and Pressburger, and Carol Reed came to the fore."[49]
Published inThe Times on 5 September 1939, two days after Britain declared war on Germany,George Bernard Shaw’s letter protested against a government order to close all places of entertainment, including cinemas. ‘What agent of ChancellorHitler is it who has suggested that we should all cower in darkness and terror “for the duration”?’. Within two weeks of the order cinemas in the provinces were reopened, followed bycentral London within a month.[49] In 1940, cinema admissions figures rose, to just over 1 billion for the year, and they continued rising to over 1.5 billion in 1943, 1944 and 1945.[49]
Humphrey Jennings began his career as a documentary film maker just before the war, in some cases working in collaboration with co-directors.London Can Take It (withHarry Wat, 1940) detailedthe Blitz whileListen to Britain (withStewart McAllister, 1942) looked at the home front.[50] TheCrown Film Unit,[50] part of theMinistry of Information took over the responsibilities of the GPO Film Unit in 1940.Paul Rotha andAlberto Cavalcanti were colleagues of Jennings. British films began to make use of documentary techniques; Cavalcanti joinedEaling forWent the Day Well? (1942),
Many other films helped to shape the popular image of the nation at war. Among the best known of these films areIn Which We Serve (1942),We Dive at Dawn (1943),Millions Like Us (1943) andThe Way Ahead (1944). The war years also saw the emergence ofThe Archers partnership between director Michael Powell and the Hungarian-born writer-producerEmeric Pressburger with films such asThe Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) andA Canterbury Tale (1944).
Two Cities Films, an independent production company releasing their films through a Rank subsidiary, also made some important films, including theNoël Coward and David Lean collaborationsThis Happy Breed (1944) andBlithe Spirit (1945) as well asLaurence Olivier'sHenry V (1944). By this time,Gainsborough Studios were releasing their series of critically derided but immensely popular period melodramas, includingThe Man in Grey (1943) andThe Wicked Lady (1945). New stars, such asMargaret Lockwood andJames Mason, emerged in the Gainsborough films.
Towards the end of the 1940s, the Rank Organisation became the dominant force behind British film-making, having acquired a number of British studios and the Gaumont chain (in 1941) to add to its Odeon Cinemas. Rank's serious financial crisis in 1949, a substantial loss and debt, resulted in the contraction of its film production.[51] In practice, Rank maintained an industry duopoly with ABPC (later absorbed by EMI) for many years.
For the moment, the industry hit new heights of creativity in the immediate post-war years. Among the most significant films produced during this period wereDavid Lean'sBrief Encounter (1945) and his Dickens adaptationsGreat Expectations (1946) andOliver Twist (1948),Ken Annakin's comedyMiranda (1948) starringGlynis Johns,Carol Reed's thrillersOdd Man Out (1947) andThe Third Man (1949), and Powell and Pressburger'sA Matter of Life and Death (1946),Black Narcissus (1947) andThe Red Shoes (1948), the most commercially successful film of its year in the United States. Laurence Olivier'sHamlet (also 1948), was the first non-American film to win theAcademy Award for Best Picture. Ealing Studios (financially backed by Rank) began to produce their most celebrated comedies, with three of the best remembered films,Whisky Galore (1948),Kind Hearts and Coronets andPassport to Pimlico (both 1949), being on release almost simultaneously. Theirportmanteau horror filmDead of Night (1945) is also particularly highly regarded.
Under theImport Duties Act 1932,HM Treasury levied a 75%tariff on all film imports on 6 August 1947 which became known as Dalton Duty (afterHugh Dalton then theChancellor of the Exchequer). The tax came into effect on 8 August, applying to all imported films, of which the overwhelming majority came from the United States; American film studio revenues from the UK had been in excess of US$68 million in 1946. The following day, 9 August, theMotion Picture Association of America announced that no further films would be supplied to British cinemas until further notice. The Dalton Duty was ended on 3 May 1948 with the American studios again exported films to the UK though theMarshall Plan prohibited US film companies from taking foreign exchange out of the nations their films played in.[52]
Following the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, theNational Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was established as a British film funding agency.
TheEady Levy, named afterSir Wilfred Eady was a tax onbox office receipts in the United Kingdom in order to support the British Film industry. It was established in 1950 coming into effect in 1957. A direct governmental payment to British-based producers would have qualified as asubsidy under the terms of theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and would have led to objections fromAmerican film producers. An indirect levy did not qualify as a subsidy, and so was a suitable way of providing additional funding for the UK film industry whilst avoiding criticism from abroad.
In 1951, theNational Film Theatre was initially opened in a temporary building at theFestival of Britain. It moved to its present location on theSouth Bank in London for the firstLondon Film Festival on 16 October 1957 run by the BFI.[53]
During the 1950s, the British industry began to concentrate on popular comedies and World War II dramas aimed more squarely at the domestic audience. The war films were often based on true stories and made in a similar low-key style to their wartime predecessors. They helped to make stars of actors likeJohn Mills,Jack Hawkins andKenneth More. Some of the most successful includedThe Cruel Sea (1953),The Dam Busters (1954),The Colditz Story (1955) andReach for the Sky (1956).
The Rank Organisation produced some comedy successes, such asGenevieve (1953). The writer/director/producer team of twin brothersJohn and Roy Boulting also produced a series of successful satires on British life and institutions, beginning withPrivate's Progress (1956), and continuing with (among others)Brothers in Law (1957),Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1958), andI'm All Right Jack (1959). Starring inSchool for Scoundrels (1960), theBritish Film Institute thoughtTerry-Thomas was "outstanding as a classic Britishbounder".[54]
Popular comedy series included the "Doctor" series, beginning withDoctor in the House (1954). The series originally starredDirk Bogarde, probably the British industry's most popular star of the 1950s, though later films hadMichael Craig andLeslie Phillips in leading roles. TheCarry On series began in 1958 with regular instalments appearing for the next twenty years. The Italian director-producerMario Zampi also made a number of successfulblack comedies, includingLaughter in Paradise (1951),The Naked Truth (1957) andToo Many Crooks (1958).Ealing Studios had continued its run of successful comedies, includingThe Lavender Hill Mob (1951) andThe Ladykillers (1955), but the company ceased production in 1958, after the studios had already been bought by theBBC.
Less restrictive censorship towards the end of the 1950s encouraged film producerHammer Films to embark on their series of commercially successful horror films. Beginning with adaptations ofNigel Kneale'sBBCscience fiction serialsThe Quatermass Experiment (1955) andQuatermass II (1957), Hammer quickly graduated toThe Curse of Frankenstein (1957) andDracula (1958), both deceptively lavish and the first gothic horror films in colour. The studio turned out numerous sequels and variants, with English actorsPeter Cushing andChristopher Lee being the most regular leads.Peeping Tom (1960), a now highly regarded thriller, with horror elements, set in the contemporary period, was badly received by the critics at the time, and effectively finished the career of Michael Powell, its director.
TheBritish New Wave film makers attempted to producesocial realist films (see also 'kitchen sink realism') attempted in commercial feature films released between around 1959 and 1963 to convey narratives about a wider spectrum of people in Britain than the country's earlier films had done. These individuals, principallyKarel Reisz,Lindsay Anderson andTony Richardson, were also involved in the short lived Oxford film journalSequence and the "Free Cinema" documentary film movement. The 1956 statement of Free Cinema, the name was coined by Anderson, asserted: "No film can be too personal. The image speaks. Sounds amplifies and comments. Size is irrelevant. Perfection is not an aim. An attitude means a style. A style means an attitude." Anderson, in particular, was dismissive of the commercial film industry. Their documentary films included Anderson'sEvery Day Except Christmas, among several sponsored byFord of Britain, and Richardson'sMomma Don't Allow. Another member of this group,John Schlesinger, made documentaries for the BBC'sMonitor arts series.
Together with future James Bond co-producerHarry Saltzman, dramatistJohn Osborne and Tony Richardson established the company Woodfall Films to produce their early feature films. These included adaptations of Richardson's stage productions of Osborne'sLook Back in Anger (1959), withRichard Burton, andThe Entertainer (1960) withLaurence Olivier, both from Osborne's own screenplays. Such films as Reisz'sSaturday Night and Sunday Morning (also 1960), Richardson'sA Taste of Honey (1961), Schlesinger'sA Kind of Loving (1962) andBilly Liar (1963), and Anderson'sThis Sporting Life (1963) are often associated with a new openness about working-class life or previously taboo issues.
The team ofBasil Dearden andMichael Relph, from an earlier generation, "probe[d] into the social issues that now confronted social stability and the establishment of the promised peacetime consensus".[55]Pool of London (1950).[56] andSapphire (1959) were early attempts to create narratives about racial tensions and an emerging multi-cultural Britain.[57] Dearden and Relph'sVictim (1961), was about the blackmail of homosexuals. Influenced by theWolfenden report of four years earlier, which advocated the decriminalising of homosexual sexual activity, this was "the first British film to deal explicitly with homosexuality".[58] Unlike the New Wave film makers though, critical responses to Dearden's and Relph's work have not generally been positive.[55][59]
As the 1960s progressed, American studios returned to financially supporting British films, especially those that capitalised on the "swinging London" image propagated byTime magazine in 1966. Films likeDarling,The Knack ...and How to Get It (both 1965),Alfie andGeorgy Girl (both 1966), all explored this phenomenon.Blowup (also 1966), and laterWomen in Love (1969), showed female and then male full-frontal nudity on screen in mainstream British films for the first time.
At the same time, film producers Harry Saltzman andAlbert R. Broccoli combined sex with exotic locations, casual violence and self-referential humour in the phenomenally successfulJames Bond series withSean Connery in the leading role. The first filmDr. No (1962) was asleeper hit in the UK and the second,From Russia with Love (1963), a hit worldwide. By the time of the third film,Goldfinger (1964), the series had become a global phenomenon, reaching its commercial peak withThunderball the following year. The series' success led to aspy film boom with many Bond imitations. Bond co-producer Saltzman also instigated a rival series of more realistic spy films based on the novels ofLen Deighton.Michael Caine starred as bespectacled spyHarry Palmer inThe Ipcress File (1965), and two sequels in the next few years. Other more downbeat espionage films were adapted fromJohn le Carré novels, such asThe Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) andThe Deadly Affair (1966).
American directors were regularly working in London throughout the decade, but several became permanent residents in the UK. Blacklisted in America,Joseph Losey had a significant influence on British cinema in the 1960s, particularly with his collaborations with playwrightHarold Pinter and leading manDirk Bogarde, includingThe Servant (1963) andAccident (1967). Voluntary exilesRichard Lester andStanley Kubrick were also active in the UK. Lester had major hits withThe Beatles filmA Hard Day's Night (1964) andThe Knack ...and How to Get It (1965) and Kubrick withDr. Strangelove (1963) and2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). While Kubrick settled inHertfordshire in the early 1960s and would remain in England for the rest of his career, these two films retained a strong American influence. Other films of this era involved prominent filmmakers from elsewhere in Europe,Repulsion (1965) andBlowup (1966) were the first English language films of the Polish directorRoman Polanski and the ItalianMichelangelo Antonioni respectively.
Historical films as diverse asLawrence of Arabia (1962),Tom Jones (1963), andA Man for All Seasons (1966) benefited from the investment of American studios. Major films likeBecket (1964),Khartoum (1966) andThe Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) were regularly mounted, while smaller-scale films, includingAccident (1967), were big critical successes. Four of the decade'sAcademy Award winners for best picture were British productions, including sixOscars for the film musicalOliver! (1968), based on theCharles Dickens novelOliver Twist.
After directing several contributions to the BBC'sWednesday Play anthology series,Ken Loach began his feature film career with the social realistPoor Cow (1967) andKes (1969). Meanwhile, the controversy aroundPeter WatkinsThe War Game (1965), which won the Best Documentary Film Oscar in 1967, but had been suppressed by the BBC who had commissioned it, would ultimately lead Watkins to work exclusively outside Britain.
American studios cut back on British productions, and in many cases withdrew from financing them altogether. Films financed by American interests were still being made, includingBilly Wilder'sThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), but for a time funds became hard to come by.
More relaxed censorship also brought several controversial films, includingNicolas Roeg andDonald Cammell'sPerformance,Ken Russell'sThe Devils (1971),Sam Peckinpah'sStraw Dogs (1971), andStanley Kubrick'sA Clockwork Orange (1971) starringMalcolm McDowell as the leader of a gang of thugs in adystopian future Britain.[60]
Other films during the early 1970s included the Edwardian dramaThe Go-Between (1971), which won thePalme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival, Nicolas Roeg's Venice-set supernatural thrillerDon't Look Now (1973) andMike Hodges' gangster dramaGet Carter (1971) starringMichael Caine.Alfred Hitchcock returned to Britain to shootFrenzy (1972), Other productions such asRichard Attenborough'sYoung Winston (1972) andA Bridge Too Far (1977) met with mixed commercial success. The Britishhorror film cycle associated with Hammer Film Productions,Amicus andTigon drew to a close, despite attempts by Hammer to spice up the formula with added nudity and gore. Although some attempts were made to broaden the range of British horror films, such as withThe Wicker Man (1973), these films made little impact at the box office, In 1976, British Lion, who producedThe Wicker Man, were finally absorbed into the film division ofEMI, who had taken over ABPC in 1969. The duopoly in British cinema exhibition, via Rank and now EMI, continued.
In the early 1970s, the government reduced its funding of the National Film Finance Corporation so the NFFC started to operate as a consortium, including with banks, which led to them using more commercial criteria for funding British films rather than focusing on quality or new talent, moving to fund films based on TV shows such asUp Pompeii (1971).[61]
Some other British producers, including Hammer, turned to television for inspiration, and big screen versions of popular sitcoms likeOn the Buses (1971) andSteptoe and Son (1972) proved successful with domestic audiences, the former had greater domestic box office returns in its year than the Bond film,Diamonds Are Forever and in 1973, an established British actor Roger Moore was cast as Bond in,Live and Let Die, it was a commercial success and Moore would continue the role for the next 12 years. Low-budget Britishsex comedies included theConfessions of ... series starringRobin Askwith, beginning withConfessions of a Window Cleaner (1974). More elevated comedy films came from theMonty Python team, also from television. Their two most successful films wereMonty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) andMonty Python's Life of Brian (1979), the latter a major commercial success, probably at least in part due to the controversy at the time surrounding its subject.
Some American productions did return to the major British studios in 1977–79, including the originalStar Wars (1977) atElstree Studios,Superman (1978) atPinewood, andAlien (1979) atShepperton. Successful adaptations were made in the decade of theAgatha Christie novelsMurder on the Orient Express (1974) andDeath on the Nile (1978). The entry ofLew Grade's companyITC into film production in the latter half of the decade brought only a few box office successes and an unsustainable number of failures
In 1980, only 31 British films were made,[4] a 50% decline from the previous year and the lowest number since 1914, and production fell again in 1981 to 24 films.[4] The industry suffered further blows from falling cinema attendances, which reached a record low of 54 million in 1984, and the elimination of the 1957Eady Levy, a tax concession, in the same year. The concession had made it possible for an overseas based film company to write off a large amount of its production costs by filming in the UK – this was what attracted a succession of big-budget American productions to British studios in the 1970s.[citation needed] These factors led to significant changes in the industry, with the profitability of British films now "increasingly reliant on secondary markets such as video and television, andChannel 4 ... [became] a crucial part of the funding equation."[62]
With the removal of the levy,multiplex cinemas were introduced to the United Kingdom with the opening of a ten-screen cinema byAMC Cinemas atThe Point inMilton Keynes in 1985 and the number of screens in the UK increased by around 500 over the decade leading to increased attendances of almost 100 million by the end of the decade.[63][64]
The 1980s soon saw a renewed optimism, led by smaller independent production companies such asGoldcrest,HandMade Films andMerchant Ivory Productions.
Handmade Films, which was partly owned byGeorge Harrison, was originally formed to take over the production ofMonty Python's Life of Brian, after EMI'sBernard Delfont (Lew Grade's brother) had pulled out. Handmade also bought and released the gangster dramaThe Long Good Friday (1980), produced by a Lew Grade subsidiary, after its original backers became cautious. Members of the Python team were involved in other comedies during the decade, includingTerry Gilliam's fantasy filmsTime Bandits (1981) andBrazil (1985), the black comedyWithnail & I (1987), andJohn Cleese's hitA Fish Called Wanda (1988), whileMichael Palin starred inA Private Function (1984), fromAlan Bennett's first screenplay for the cinema screen.[65]
Goldcrest producerDavid Puttnam has been described as "the nearest thing to a mogul that British cinema has had in the last quarter of the 20th century."[66] Under Puttnam, a generation of British directors emerged making popular films with international distribution. Some of the talent backed by Puttnam —Hugh Hudson,Ridley Scott,Alan Parker, andAdrian Lyne — had shot commercials; Puttnam himself had begun his career in the advertising industry. When Hudson'sChariots of Fire (1981) won 4 Academy Awards in 1982, including Best Picture, its writerColin Welland declared "the British are coming!".[67] WhenGandhi (1982), another Goldcrest film, picked up a Best Picture Oscar, it looked as if he was right.
It prompted a cycle of period films – some with a large budget for a British film, such asDavid Lean's final filmA Passage to India (1984), alongside the lower-budgetMerchant Ivory adaptations of the works ofE. M. Forster, such asA Room with a View (1986). But further attempts to make 'big' productions for the US market ended in failure, with Goldcrest losing its independence afterRevolution (1985) andAbsolute Beginners (1986) were commercial and critical flops. Another Goldcrest film,Roland Joffé'sThe Mission (also 1986), won the 1986Palme d'Or, but did not go into profit either. Joffé's earlierThe Killing Fields (1984) had been both a critical and financial success. These were Joffé's first two feature films and were amongst those produced by Puttnam.
Mainly outside the commercial sector, film makers from the new commonwealth countries had begun to emerge during the 1970s.Horace Ové'sPressure (1975) had been funded by theBritish Film Institute as wasA Private Enterprise (1974), these being the firstBlack British andAsian British films, respectively. The 1980s however saw a wave of new talent, with films such asFranco Rosso'sBabylon (1980),Menelik Shabazz'sBurning an Illusion (1981) andPo-Chih Leong'sPing Pong (1986; one of the first films about Britain's Chinese community). Many of these films were assisted by the newly formedChannel 4, which had an official remit to provide for "minority audiences." Commercial success was first achieved withMy Beautiful Laundrette (1985). Dealing with racial and gay issues, it was developed fromHanif Kureishi's first film script.My Beautiful Laundrette featuresDaniel Day-Lewis in a leading role. Day-Lewis and other young British actors who were becoming stars, such asGary Oldman,Colin Firth,Tim Roth andRupert Everett, were dubbed theBrit Pack.[68]
With the involvement of Channel 4 in film production, talents from television moved into feature films withStephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette) andMike Newell withDance with a Stranger (1985).John Boorman, who had been working in the US, was encouraged back to the UK to makeHope and Glory (1987). Channel Four also became a major sponsor of the British Film Institute's Production Board, which backed three of Britain's most critically acclaimed filmmakers:Derek Jarman (The Last of England, 1987),Terence Davies (Distant Voices, Still Lives, 1988), andPeter Greenaway; the latter of whom gained surprising commercial success withThe Draughtsman's Contract (1982) andThe Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989).Stephen Woolley's companyPalace Pictures also produced some successful films, includingNeil Jordan'sThe Company of Wolves (1984) andMona Lisa (1986), before collapsing amid a series of unsuccessful films. Amongst the other British films of the decade wereBill Forsyth'sGregory's Girl (1981) andLocal Hero (1983),Lewis Gilbert'sEducating Rita (1983),Peter Yates'The Dresser (1983) andKenneth Branagh's directorial debut,Henry V (1989).
Compared to the 1980s, investment in film production rose dramatically. In 1989, annual investment was a meagre £104 million. By 1996, this figure had soared to £741 million.[69] Nevertheless, the dependence on finance from television broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4 meant that budgets were often low and indigenous production was very fragmented: the film industry mostly relied on Hollywood inward investment. At parliamentary committee hearing in 1994, the directors Alan Parker, Ken Loach and Mike Leigh criticised the government's lack of support to the British film industry.[70] They also called for a levy on cinema admissions to support film production along with a quota on multiplexes to show British and European made films. According to critic Neil Watson, it was hoped that the £90 million apportioned by the newNational Lottery into three franchises (The Film Consortium, Pathé Pictures, and DNA) would fill the gap, but "corporate and equity finance for the UK film production industry continues to be thin on the ground and most production companies operating in the sector remain hopelessly under-capitalised."[71]
These problems were mostly compensated byPolyGram Filmed Entertainment, a film studio whose British subsidiaryWorking Title Films released aRichard Curtis-scripted comedyFour Weddings and a Funeral (1994). It grossed $244 million worldwide and introducedHugh Grant to global fame, led to renewed interest and investment in British films, and set a pattern for British-set romantic comedies, includingSliding Doors (1998) andNotting Hill (1999). Other Working Titles films includedBean (1997),Elizabeth (1998) andCaptain Corelli's Mandolin (2001). PFE was eventually sold and merged withUniversal Pictures in 1999, the hopes and expectations of "building a British-based company which could compete with Hollywood in its home market [had] eventually collapsed."[72]
Tax incentives allowed American producers to increasingly invest in UK-based film production throughout the 1990s, including films such asInterview with the Vampire (1994),Mission: Impossible (1996),Saving Private Ryan (1998),Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) andThe Mummy (1999). Miramax also distributedNeil Jordan's acclaimed thrillerThe Crying Game (1992), which was generally ignored on its initial release in the UK, but was a considerable success in the United States. The same company also enjoyed some success releasing theBBC period dramaEnchanted April (1992) andThe Wings of the Dove (1997).
Among the more successful British films were theMerchant Ivory productionsHowards End (1992) andThe Remains of the Day (1993),Richard Attenborough'sShadowlands (1993), andKenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations.The Madness of King George (1994) proved there was still a market for Britishcostume dramas, and other period films followed, includingSense and Sensibility (1995),Restoration (1995),Emma (1996),Mrs. Brown (1997),Basil (1998),Shakespeare in Love (1998) andTopsy-Turvy (1999).
After a six-year hiatus for legal reasons theJames Bond films returned to production with the 17th Bond film,GoldenEye. With their traditional homePinewood Studios fully booked, a new studio was created for the film in a formerRolls-Royce aero-engine factory atLeavesden inHertfordshire.[73]
Mike Leigh emerged as a significant figure in British cinema in the 1990s, with a series of films financed by Channel 4 about working and middle class life in modern England, includingLife Is Sweet (1991),Naked (1993) and his biggest hitSecrets & Lies (1996), which won thePalme d'Or at Cannes.
Other new talents to emerge during the decade included the writer-director-producer team ofJohn Hodge,Danny Boyle andAndrew Macdonald responsible forShallow Grave (1994) andTrainspotting (1996). The latter film generated interested in other "regional" productions, including the Scottish filmsSmall Faces (1996),Ratcatcher (1999) andMy Name Is Joe (1998).
The first decade of the 21st century was a relatively successful one for the British film industry. Many British films found a wide international audience due to funding from BBC Films, Film 4 and the UK Film Council, and some independent production companies, such as Working Title, secured financing and distribution deals with major American studios. Working Title scored three major international successes, all starring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, with the romantic comediesBridget Jones's Diary (2001), which grossed $254 million worldwide; the sequelBridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which earned $228 million; and Richard Curtis's directorial debutLove Actually (2003), which grossed $239 million. The most successful of all,Phyllida Lloyd'sMamma Mia! (2008), grossed $601 million.
The new decade saw a major new film series in the Harry Potter films, beginning withHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001.David Heyman's company Heyday Films has produced seven sequels, with the final title released in two parts –Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in 2010 andHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011. All were filmed at Leavesden Studios in England.[74]
Aardman Animations'Nick Park, the creator of Wallace and Gromit and the Creature Comforts series, produced his first feature-length film,Chicken Run in 2000. Co-directed with Peter Lord, the film was a major success worldwide and one of the most successful British films of its year. Park's follow up,Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was another worldwide hit: it grossed $56 million at the US box office and £32 million in the UK. It also won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
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However it was usually through domestically funded features throughout the decade that British directors and films won awards at the top international film festivals. In 2003,Michael Winterbottom won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival forIn This World. In 2004, Mike Leigh directedVera Drake, an account of a housewife who leads a double life as an abortion provider in 1950s London. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In 2006 Stephen Frears directedThe Queen based on the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana, which won the Best Actress prize at the Venice Film Festival and Academy Awards and the BAFTA for Best Film. In 2006, Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival with his account of the struggle for Irish Independence inThe Wind That Shakes the Barley.Joe Wright's adaptation of the Ian McEwan novelAtonement was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Film and won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Film.Slumdog Millionaire was filmed entirely in Mumbai with a mostly Indian cast, though with a British director (Danny Boyle), producer (Christian Colson), screenwriter (Simon Beaufoy) and star (Dev Patel)—the film was all-British financed via Film4 and Celador. It has received worldwide critical acclaim. It has won four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA Awards and eight Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Film.The King's Speech, which tells the story of KingGeorge VI's attempts to overcome his speech impediment, was directed byTom Hooper and filmed almost entirely in London. It received four Academy Awards (including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay) in 2011.
The start of the 21st century saw Asian British cinema assert itself at the box office, starting withEast Is East (1999) and continuing withBend It Like Beckham (2002). Other notable British Asian films from this period includeMy Son the Fanatic (1997),Ae Fond Kiss... (2004),Mischief Night (2006),Yasmin (2004) andFour Lions (2010). Some argue it has brought more flexible attitudes towards casting Black and Asian British actors, withRobbie Gee andNaomie Harris take leading roles inUnderworld and28 Days Later respectively.
2005 saw the emergence of TheBritish Urban Film Festival, a timely addition to the film festival calendar, which recognised the influence of urban and black films on UK audiences and consequently began to showcase a growing profile of films in a genre previously not otherwise regularly seen in the capital's cinemas. Then, in 2006,Kidulthood, a film depicting a group of teenagers growing up on the streets of West London, had a limited release. This was successfully followed up with a sequelAdulthood (2008) that was written and directed by actorNoel Clarke. The success ofKidulthood andAdulthood led to the release of several other films in the 2000s and 2010s such asBullet Boy (2004),Life and Lyrics (2006),The Intent (2016), its sequelThe Intent 2: The Come Up (2018),Blue Story andRocks (both 2019), all of starred Black-British actors.
Like the 1960s, this decade saw plenty of British films directed by imported talent. The AmericanWoody Allen shotMatch Point (2005)[75][76] and three later films in London. The Mexican directorAlfonso Cuarón helmedHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) andChildren of Men (2006); New Zealand filmmakerJane Campion madeBright Star (2009), a film set in 19th century London; Danish directorNicolas Winding Refn madeBronson (2008), a biopic about the English criminalMichael Gordon Peterson; the Spanish filmmakerJuan Carlos Fresnadillo directed28 Weeks Later (2007), a sequel to a British horror film; and twoJohn le Carré adaptations were also directed by foreigners—The Constant Gardener by the BrazilianFernando Meirelles andTinker Tailor Soldier Spy by the SwedishTomas Alfredson. The decade also saw English actorDaniel Craig became the new James Bond withCasino Royale, the 21st entry in the official Eon Productions series.
Despite increasing competition from film studios in Australia and Eastern Europe, British studios such asPinewood,Shepperton andLeavesden remained successful in hosting major productions, includingFinding Neverland,Closer,Batman Begins,Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,United 93,The Phantom of the Opera,Sweeney Todd,Fantastic Mr. Fox,Robin Hood,X-Men: First Class,Hugo andWar Horse.
In February 2007, the UK became home to Europe's first DCI-compliant fullydigital multiplex cinemas with the launch of Odeon Hatfield and Odeon Surrey Quays (in London), with a total of 18 digital screens.
In November 2010,Warner Bros. completed the acquisition ofLeavesden Film Studios, becoming the first Hollywood studio since the 1940s to have a permanent base in the UK, and announced plans to invest £100 million in the site.[77][78]
A study by theBritish Film Institute published in December 2013 found that of the 613 tracked British films released between 2003 and 2010 only 7% made a profit. Films with low budgets, those that cost below £500,000 to produce, were even less likely to gain a return on outlay. Of these films, only 3.1% went into the black. At the top end of budgets for the British industry, under a fifth of films that cost £10million went into profit.[79]
On 26 July 2010 it was announced that the UK Film Council, which was the main body responsible for the development of promotion of British cinema during the 2000s, would be abolished, with many of the abolished body's functions being taken over by theBritish Film Institute. Actors and professionals, includingJames McAvoy,Emily Blunt,Pete Postlethwaite,Damian Lewis,Timothy Spall,Daniel Barber andIan Holm, campaigned against the council's abolition.[81][82] The move also led American actor and directorClint Eastwood (who had filmedHereafter in London) to write to the BritishChancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne in August 2010 to protest the decision to close the council. Eastwood warned Osborne that the closure could result in fewer foreign production companies choosing to work in the UK.[83][84] A grass-roots online campaign was launched[85] and a petition established by supporters of the council.
Countering this, a few professionals, includingMichael Winner andJulian Fellowes, supported the Government's decision.[86][87][88] A number of other organisations responded positively.
At the closure of the UK Film Council on 31 March 2011,The Guardian reported that "The UKFC's entire annual budget was a reported £3m, while the cost of closing it down and restructuring is estimated to have been almost four times that amount."[89] One of the UKFC's last films,The King's Speech, is estimated to have cost $15m to make and grossed $235m, besides winning severalAcademy Awards. UKFC invested $1.6m for a 34% share of net profits, a valuable stake that will pass to the British Film Institute.[90]
In June 2012, Warner opened the re-developed Leavesden studio for business.[92] The most commercially successful British directors in recent years arePaul Greengrass,Mike Newell,Christopher Nolan,Ridley Scott andDavid Yates.[93]
In January 2012, at Pinewood Studios to visit film-related businesses, UK Prime MinisterDavid Cameron said that his government had bold ambitions for the film industry: "Our role, and that of the BFI, should be to support the sector in becoming even more dynamic and entrepreneurial, helping UK producers to make commercially successful pictures that rival the quality and impact of the best international productions. Just as the British Film Commission has played a crucial role in attracting the biggest and best international studios to produce their films here, so we must incentivise UK producers to chase new markets both here and overseas."[94]
The film industry remains an important earner for the British economy. According to a UK Film Council press release of 20 January 2011, £1.115 billion was spent on UK film production during 2010. A 2014 survey suggested that British-made films were generally more highly rated than Hollywood productions, especially when considering low-budget UK productions.
In November 2022, directorDanny Boyle expressed a negative sentiment of the British film industry in recent years, stating that "I am not sure we are great filmmakers, to be absolutely honest. As a nation, our two artforms aretheatre, in a middle-class sense, andpop music, because we are extraordinary at it."[95]
The BFI's published figures reported £6.27 billion spent on film and high-end television production in 2022, with domestic UK film spend at £173.6 million. While the total spend was at a record high for the UK, the independent UK filmmaking spend decreased by 31% since 2021.[96]
The UK film industry was affected by the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike with 80% of behind-the-scenes workers surveyed stating that their jobs had been affected.[97]
Although it had been funding British experimental films as early as 1952, theBritish Film Institute's foundation of a production board in 1964—and a substantial increase in public funding from 1971 onwards—enabled it to become a dominant force in developing British art cinema in the 1970s and 80s: from the first ofBill Douglas's TrilogyMy Childhood (1972), and ofTerence Davies' TrilogyChildhood (1978), viaPeter Greenaway's earliest films (including the surprising commercial success ofThe Draughtsman's Contract (1982)) andDerek Jarman's championing of the New Queer Cinema. The first full-length feature produced under the BFI's new scheme wasKevin Brownlow andAndrew Mollo'sWinstanley (1975), while others includedMoon Over the Alley (1975),Requiem for a Village (1975), the openly avant-gardeCentral Bazaar (1973),Pressure (1975) andA Private Enterprise (1974) – the last two being, respectively, the first British Black and Asian features.
The release of Derek Jarman'sJubilee (1978) marked the beginning of a successful period of UKart cinema, continuing into the 1980s with filmmakers likeSally Potter andKen McMullen, and producers likeStewart Richards, with success at theCannes Film Festival and theAcademy Awards. Unlike the previous generation of British film makers who had broken into directing and production after careers in the theatre or on television, the Art Cinema Directors were mostly the products of Art Schools. Many of these filmmakers were championed in their early career by theLondon Film Makers Cooperative and their work was the subject of detailed theoretical analysis in the journalScreen Education. Peter Greenaway was an early pioneer of the use of computer generated imagery blended with filmed footage and was also one of the first directors to film entirely on high definition video for a cinema release.
With the launch ofChannel 4 and itsFilm on Four commissioning strand, Art Cinema was promoted to a wider audience. However, the Channel had a sharp change in its commissioning policy in the early 1990s and Greenaway and others were forced to seek European co-production financing.
In the 1970s and 1980s, British studios established a reputation for great special effects in films such asSuperman (1978),Alien (1979), andBatman (1989). Some of this reputation was founded on the core of talent brought together for the filming of2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) who subsequently worked together on series and feature films forGerry Anderson. Thanks to the Bristol-basedAardman Animations, the UK is still recognised as a world leader in the use of stop-motion animation.
British special effects technicians and production designers are known for creating visual effects at a far lower cost than their counterparts in the US, as seen inTime Bandits (1981) andBrazil (1985). This reputation has continued through the 1990s and into the 21st century with films such as theJames Bond series,Gladiator (2000) and theHarry Potter franchise.
From the 1990s to the present day, there has been a progressive movement from traditional film opticals to an integrateddigital film environment, with special effects, cutting, colour grading, and other post-production tasks all sharing the same all-digital infrastructure. The London-basedvisual effects companyFramestore, withTim Webber thevisual effects supervisor, have worked on some of the most technically and artistically challenging projects, including,The Dark Knight (2008) andGravity (2013), with new techniques involved inGravity realized by Webber and the Framestore team taking three years to complete.[98]
The availability of high-speed internet has made the British film industry capable of working closely with U.S. studios as part of globally distributed productions. As of 2005, this trend is expected to continue with moves towards (currently experimental) digital distribution and projection as mainstream technologies. The British filmThis Is Not a Love Song (2003) was the first to bestreamed live on theInternet at the same time as its cinemapremiere.
The United Kingdom is home to a variety of film festivals celebrating both national and international cinema. Major annual events include theBFI London Film Festival, the country's largest public film event, theGlasgow Film Festival, andSheffield DocFest, one of the world's leading documentary festivals.[99]
These festivals provide a platform for independent, documentary, and international filmmakers, as well as showcasing emerging British talent. In recent years, specialist festivals focusing on horror, LGBTQ+, and short films have also gained prominence in cities such as Manchester, Brighton, and Bristol.
Black British cinema has experienced significant growth in recent years[vague], with directors likeSteve McQueen (Small Axe),Dionne Edwards (Pretty Red Dress), andRapman (Blue Story) addressingcultural,social, andracial issues within the UK.[100]
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