British Film Industry Factsheet

Factsheet #132: British Film

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

A British film needs to meet specific criteria such as: Having a British directors, producers, actors and being filmed in Britain.

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.

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 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 film making was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created and finding its way to Britain.

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

Young people are normally portrayed in British films as violent and aggressive and anti social behaviour. Films such as Eden Lake (Rollercoaster Films, 2008) include this group and portray them in a negative manor through typical stereotypes when they may be false and incorrectly used.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

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. This suggests that British audiences appeal to films where they can relate to and share a common interest. Films where normal everyday people's lives are shown can be related back to a British native audience.

Factsheet #100: British Film Industry

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

A Cultural test is a test a film takes which determines if a film can be considered British.

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet, researching the films listed and finding out what they score on the cultural test: Sweeney, Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

British films are normally production led rather then distribution led, this means that filmmakers have to sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the film to a distribution company resulting in less profit due to the need to pay the distribution company. 

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

• Outstanding Creative Skills of Practitioners
• Outstanding Facilities
• Funding.

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

Due to British films not being able to pay distribution themselves and other aspects, British films could chose to rely on American studios to stay afloat. However the drawback to this method means potentially losing the title 'British Film'.

The second option which British film industries may consider is making a low budget niche film targeted at a small target audience. Production for the film would be lower and box-office taking and profits will necessarily be lower however this way they maintain all the aspects having a British Film.

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

In my opinion if a British film industries want to create a larger profit and gain more recognition then the first option would be the best option as it allows the film makers to focus more of their budget on improving the quality of the film and potentially hire better actors. However the second option would most likely be the best option for a British Film Industry as they won't fail the cultural test. However if they chose this method then they will result in less profit and may fall of and lose their business due to the increase in popular films and bigger budgets. Continually creating low budget films means the business may not create enough money to continue in the long term.