Some of the Best in British Film
Apr 12 '01
The Bottom Line These are some of the greatest British films of all time, in my opinion. They're just great example of a different sort of film.
I would have to say that I don't think British film gets enough recognition in the States. I live in the states and love American movies as much as anyone, but the British have crafted, I think, a different style. They craft films with a sharper sense of time and place and the dialogue seems to go down like a smooth Cognac. Well, enough talk, here are my favorite British films.
"The Remains of the Day"
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher
Reeve, Hugh Grant
Directed by: James Ivory
This film is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It's the story of Stevens (Hopkins) a butler who finds love in a fellow employee (Thompson) but is too proper to grasp it, always worrying about his duty to his master. "Remains" is a well-shot and touching story, and it does not have the happy ending that many such romances have. In the midst of World War II, the movie combines the subtle affairs of love and the bombastic ones of diplomacy. Reeve does well as the U.S. Senator and Thompson is very good as well. But the praise must fall on Hopkins who turns in a performance that truly touches the viewer. His subtle facial expressions and sense of duty are astounding and help portray a realistic and heart-breaking tale.
"84 Charing Cross Road"
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench
This is based on a true story. It's the story of a New York woman (Bancroft) and a British bookseller (Hopkins) who form a sort of romance over letters they send each other. It begins when the woman writes a letter requesting a rare book, and the man being a rare book seller agrees to find it. Well, Bancroft begins writing more and more letters and then starts sending gifts. But sadly, when she finally does reach 84 Charing Cross Road (the book store's address in London), she finds that the man has died. Another sort of romantic tale that while the ending isn't necessarily sad, it's not happy either. There is no action in the film, but it weaves its spell on the watcher with two outstanding performances and intriguing characters.
"Billy Elliot"
"Billy Elliot" is a recent film about a boy who dumps boxing for ballet. It's a truly touching story of how the boy fights with his father for his independence and his brother who is caught up in a miner's strike. Perhaps the best and most memorable character besides billy is his dance teacher who had an Academy Award nomination this year. Billy must decide in the middle of his confused life, whether to follow the ways of his father or listen to his own instinct.
"Shadowlands"
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
This is a truly heartbreaking tale of C.S. Lewis, an author who fell in love with an American woman that came to see him. She falls ill and dies of cancer. Lewis is left alone with her son. One of Hopkins' best performances ever in my opinion. Attenborough's direction is grand and sweeping, telling the tale through subtle motions and brilliant colors (especially in the country). This is a true story, one may remember C.S. Lewis to have written the famous "The Lion, the With, and the Wardrobe" among others in his Narnia Chronicles.
"The Elephant Man"
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Gielguld, John Hurt, Anne
Bancroft
The true story of John Merrick is a very good one. The movie was shot in black and white with Hurt doing extremely well as the deformed Merrick. Hopkins is very good as the doctor who fights for his patient's rights and saves him from a carnival freak show. "The Elephant Man" is very methodical, but one can truly feel the sorrow that all the characters have in the film for Merrick, especially Anne Bancroft who has a relatively small role as an actress who befriends the deformed man. The famous train station scene where the people engulf Merrick and make fun of him is very memorable: "I'm not an animal. I am a man." Wonderful storytelling.
These are my favorite British films. I know I didn't list ten, but that's because I think these deserve to stand alone. And, in case you couldn't tell, Hopkins is my favorite actor. I think most of the work he did in British film is very underrated, even up against excellent recent roles like his in "Amistad".
Other honorable mentions:
"The Wings of the Dove"
"Howards End"
"The End of the Affair"
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Gant
|
|
Member: Jason Gantenberg
Location: IL
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 12 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.