1. British Cinema Parker Hall & Steve Fohey

2. The Beginning The first British Film produced was called “Roundhay Garden Scene” and was produced in 1888. It was recorded at 12 frames per second and ran approximately two seconds. It was filmed in Yorkshire and starred Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Whitley, Joseph Whitley, and Harriet Hartley in the garden walking around and laughing. Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail (1929) was considered the first British sound feature.

3. Tough Times In the 20’s British cinema was seeing tough competition from Hollywood. Only 5% of the films being shown in the mid 20’s were British The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 was passed requiring cinemas to have at least 20% of the films they show be British. The first film to be considered a documentary was produced by John Grierson, whom was a Scottish filmmaker whom is often considered the father of British documentary film. Drierson coined the term “documentary” to describe a non-fiction film.

4. Popular People of British Cinema Sean Connery Audrey Hepburn Laurence Olivier Alfred Hitchcock Anthony Hopkins Terry Gilliam Ian Mckellen Christian Bale KeiraKnightley

5. British Humor in Film British relies heavily on Irony. British uses a lot of Black Humor. Relies less on slapstick humor like American comedy and more on the understatement of what is being said. British Humor is generally toned down where as American Humor is generally considered over the top and ridiculous.

6. British Comedy Films Monty Python Shaun of the Dead The Ladykillers Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Mr. Bean Pink Panther Jabberwocky Death at a Funeral

7. British Action Films Crank Transporter James Bond Snatch Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Bank Job RockNRolla Revolver Football Factory Green Street Hooligans Robin Hood

8. Decline of British Film After a brief boom in the 60’s for British Cinema saw a large decline. The late 60’s through the mid to late 90’s were very rough for British Cinema. The US and UK were both entering a recession so film production became more difficult. Many of the American studios financing British films were withdrawn all together. It was around this time that Monty Python became successful because studios were turning to television, and Monty Python was successful first on television and them in the Cinema.

9. Decline of British Film (cont.) 80’s began one of the worst recessions in British film history. Much of the popular British had moved on to Hollywood in the 80’s because of the recession. The mid-to late 80’s saw a little bit a of a boom with the continued Monty Python series, as well as other Terry Gilliam productions like Time Bandits, and Brazil. Puttnam’s Chariots of Fire won 4 Academy Awards in 1982, which provided some hope for British Cinema. Even with this in 89’ British Cinema hit another all-time low even though cinema audiences were climbing.

10. New Hope In the late 80’s many British Actors whom were working in the US came back to Britain. A series of film companies consolidated to later be known as the Rank Organisation. The Eady tax was elimatedin 1984 which served a blow to the film industry. The Eady Tax stated that foreign film companies could write off a large amount of its production costs by filming in the UK.

11. Rank Organisation This company was formed in 37’ and absorbed by The Rank Group Plc in 96’. The logo show below was very popular, especially in British Culture. Gilligan’s Island and Bugs Bunny both parodied this logo .

12. Modern British Cinema Beginning of the 21st century has seen much more success for the for British Cinema. Bridget Jones, Love Actually, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Harry Potter Series New Bond films British Horror films are beginning to stand out (i.e. Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, and The Descent)

13. Effect on British Culture Creates a lot of Tourism Movies like Robin Hood, the Harry Potter Series, V for Vendetta, The Bond Series provide great money makes for Britain. Many people enjoy visiting places where many films are shot. British Film evolves with British Society. The recession paved the way for creativity in the realm of cinema. New production companies in the 80’s provided a bit of hope for the struggling market. American cinema has influenced British cinema and British Culture.

14. Effect on British Culture To this day British influence can be seen in the American film industry. Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book, Robin Hood, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, etc. Many films in the 70’s and 80’s were filmed in the UK because of the reputation for great special effects. (Superman, Alien, Batman, Star Wars, James Bond Series, and Harry Potter) The availability of high speed internet has allowed the British Film industry to work closer with U.S. studios with Global distributions of films.