BFI Top 100 British films
In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce the BFI 100 list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were 'culturally British'.[1] The list also includes two non-British films, namely My Left Foot and The Commitments.
Contents
1 List breakdown
2 Full list
3 See also
4 References
List breakdown
- The 1960s led the pack with 26 films of merit for the decade. Four films made the list from each of the years 1949, 1963, and 1971. The earliest film selected was The 39 Steps (1935). Only two other 1930s films made the list, and after 1935, the only years not represented are 1936–1937, 1940–1941, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1972 and 1974–78.
David Lean, with seven films, is the most-represented director in the list, followed by Michael Powell (five films, of which four were collaborations with Emeric Pressburger). Powell and Pressburger ("The Archers") and John Schlesinger had four films each, while Alexander Mackendrick and Tony Richardson each had three. Seven of the films were produced by Ealing Studios during the years 1949–55.- The most-represented actor is Alec Guinness with nine films of merit, although three appearances were in supporting roles. Michael Caine is the most represented living actor, starring in seven films.
Julie Christie is the most represented actress, with six films on the list.- All of the directors in the list are male.
Full list
| Rank | Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Third Man | 1949 | Carol Reed |
| 2 | Brief Encounter | 1945 | David Lean |
| 3 | Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | David Lean |
| 4 | The 39 Steps | 1935 | Alfred Hitchcock |
| 5 | Great Expectations | 1946 | David Lean |
| 6 | Kind Hearts and Coronets | 1949 | Robert Hamer |
| 7 | Kes | 1969 | Ken Loach |
| 8 | Don't Look Now | 1973 | Nicolas Roeg |
| 9 | The Red Shoes | 1948 | Powell and Pressburger |
| 10 | Trainspotting | 1996 | Danny Boyle |
| 11 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1957 | David Lean |
| 12 | if.... | 1968 | Lindsay Anderson |
| 13 | The Ladykillers | 1955 | Alexander Mackendrick |
| 14 | Saturday Night and Sunday Morning | 1960 | Karel Reisz |
| 15 | Brighton Rock | 1947 | John Boulting |
| 16 | Get Carter | 1971 | Mike Hodges |
| 17 | The Lavender Hill Mob | 1951 | Charles Crichton |
| 18 | Henry V | 1944 | Laurence Olivier |
| 19 | Chariots of Fire | 1981 | Hugh Hudson |
| 20 | A Matter of Life and Death | 1946 | Powell and Pressburger |
| 21 | The Long Good Friday | 1980 | John Mackenzie |
| 22 | The Servant | 1963 | Joseph Losey |
| 23 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | 1994 | Mike Newell |
| 24 | Whisky Galore! | 1949 | Alexander Mackendrick |
| 25 | The Full Monty | 1997 | Peter Cattaneo |
| 26 | The Crying Game | 1992 | Neil Jordan |
| 27 | Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | David Lean |
| 28 | Monty Python's Life of Brian | 1979 | Terry Jones |
| 29 | Withnail and I | 1987 | Bruce Robinson |
| 30 | Gregory's Girl | 1980 | Bill Forsyth |
| 31 | Zulu | 1964 | Cy Endfield |
| 32 | Room at the Top | 1959 | Jack Clayton |
| 33 | Alfie | 1966 | Lewis Gilbert |
| 34 | Gandhi | 1982 | Richard Attenborough |
| 35 | The Lady Vanishes | 1938 | Alfred Hitchcock |
| 36 | The Italian Job | 1969 | Peter Collinson |
| 37 | Local Hero | 1983 | Bill Forsyth |
| 38 | The Commitments | 1991 | Alan Parker |
| 39 | A Fish Called Wanda | 1988 | Charles Crichton |
| 40 | Secrets & Lies | 1996 | Mike Leigh |
| 41 | Dr. No | 1962 | Terence Young |
| 42 | The Madness of King George | 1994 | Nicholas Hytner |
| 43 | A Man for All Seasons | 1966 | Fred Zinnemann |
| 44 | Black Narcissus | 1947 | Powell and Pressburger |
| 45 | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | 1943 | Powell and Pressburger |
| 46 | Oliver Twist | 1948 | David Lean |
| 47 | I'm All Right Jack | 1959 | John Boulting |
| 48 | Performance | 1970 | Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell |
| 49 | Shakespeare in Love | 1998 | John Madden |
| 50 | My Beautiful Laundrette | 1985 | Stephen Frears |
| 51 | Tom Jones | 1963 | Tony Richardson |
| 52 | This Sporting Life | 1963 | Lindsay Anderson |
| 53 | My Left Foot | 1989 | Jim Sheridan |
| 54 | Brazil | 1985 | Terry Gilliam |
| 55 | The English Patient | 1996 | Anthony Minghella |
| 56 | A Taste of Honey | 1961 | Tony Richardson |
| 57 | The Go-Between | 1970 | Joseph Losey |
| 58 | The Man in the White Suit | 1951 | Alexander Mackendrick |
| 59 | The Ipcress File | 1965 | Sidney J. Furie |
| 60 | Blow Up | 1966 | Michelangelo Antonioni |
| 61 | The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | 1962 | Tony Richardson |
| 62 | Sense and Sensibility | 1995 | Ang Lee |
| 63 | Passport to Pimlico | 1949 | Henry Cornelius |
| 64 | The Remains of the Day | 1993 | James Ivory |
| 65 | Sunday, Bloody Sunday | 1971 | John Schlesinger |
| 66 | The Railway Children | 1970 | Lionel Jeffries |
| 67 | Mona Lisa | 1986 | Neil Jordan |
| 68 | The Dam Busters | 1955 | Michael Anderson |
| 69 | Hamlet | 1948 | Laurence Olivier |
| 70 | Goldfinger | 1964 | Guy Hamilton |
| 71 | Elizabeth | 1998 | Shekhar Kapur |
| 72 | Goodbye, Mr Chips | 1939 | Sam Wood |
| 73 | A Room with a View | 1985 | James Ivory |
| 74 | The Day of the Jackal | 1973 | Fred Zinnemann |
| 75 | The Cruel Sea | 1953 | Charles Frend |
| 76 | Billy Liar | 1963 | John Schlesinger |
| 77 | Oliver! | 1968 | Carol Reed |
| 78 | Peeping Tom | 1960 | Michael Powell |
| 79 | Far from the Madding Crowd | 1967 | John Schlesinger |
| 80 | The Draughtsman's Contract | 1982 | Peter Greenaway |
| 81 | A Clockwork Orange | 1971 | Stanley Kubrick |
| 82 | Distant Voices, Still Lives | 1988 | Terence Davies |
| 83 | Darling | 1965 | John Schlesinger |
| 84 | Educating Rita | 1983 | Lewis Gilbert |
| 85 | Brassed Off | 1996 | Mark Herman |
| 86 | Genevieve | 1953 | Henry Cornelius |
| 87 | Women in Love | 1969 | Ken Russell |
| 88 | A Hard Day's Night | 1964 | Richard Lester |
| 89 | Fires Were Started | 1943 | Humphrey Jennings |
| 90 | Hope and Glory | 1987 | John Boorman |
| 91 | My Name Is Joe | 1998 | Ken Loach |
| 92 | In Which We Serve | 1942 | Noël Coward and David Lean |
| 93 | Caravaggio | 1986 | Derek Jarman |
| 94 | The Belles of St Trinian's | 1954 | Frank Launder |
| 95 | Life Is Sweet | 1990 | Mike Leigh |
| 96 | The Wicker Man | 1973 | Robin Hardy |
| 97 | Nil By Mouth | 1997 | Gary Oldman |
| 98 | Small Faces | 1995 | Gillies Mackinnon |
| 99 | Carry On... Up the Khyber | 1968 | Gerald Thomas |
| 100 | The Killing Fields | 1984 | Roland Joffé |
See also
- Time Out 100 best British films
- Films considered the greatest ever
BFI TV 100 – a list of the best British television programmes- BFI list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14
- 100 Italian films to be saved
- In 2004 the BFI compiled a list of the 100 biggest UK cinematic hits of all time based on audience viewing, the list was released as a book. The top 10 are available in this BBC News Online story.
References
^ BBC. 23 September 1999. Entertainment: Best 100 British films - full list. Accessed 30 January 2014.