The British Film Industry

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

A film could be considered British due to the fact that it was made in Britian, the people making the film are British, it is funded from within Britain, the cast is British or if the film's subject matter is about Britain or Britain culture. 

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

Hollywood production context means that films tend to have high budgets, heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew and spectacle driven stories. Whereas British production context can be large budget, high concept films or they can be character driven, small budget films and will in some way reflect British culture. 

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

The James Bond franchise started in the 1960s. 

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

In the 1970s the British Film industry was dominated by the subject of censorship that continued into the video nasties banning of the 1980s. The 1970s also seen a rise in British Films of sexual content, both the act of sex and sex linked to violence. The 1980s seen the rise of videos and the 'video nasty scare where filmaking was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created in which film censorship and classification in the UK has happened since the 1980s that sees all films released in the UK to have one of 7 classifications awarded to it. 

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

Typically in British films we tend to see that they focus on issues that concern British society such as politics, social change and education. Often in British films we see certain representations of youth, films such as "A Clockwork Orange" where the film's focus is on violence, anti-establishment and a compulsion to act in an anarchic way where we see the stereotype of the youth being rule breaking rebels that are more violent being reinforced. However in films such as "Attack the Block" we see a more realistic portrayal of the youth that challenges the stereotype of rebellious, threatening teenagers. 

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

In the factsheet it suggested that the audience appeal of British films are the British actors due to the fact that British actors tend to be more identifiable as British and will be associated with a genre of British film. In addition, the social theme is also very appealing to a British audience as they are more keen in British films that focus on class,social strife, education. 

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

The cultural test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of 31 points to be classified as British. 

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

The Sweeney- A hardened detective in the Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan police. Based on the 70s UK TV show. This film meets the cultural test as it is set in London, based on a 70s UK TV show, the director Nick Love is also british, as well as most of the cast is also British. 

Attack The Block-  A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion. This film meets the cultural test as it is set in South London, features a British cast as well as a British director and writer.

Skyfall- Again this film meets the cultural test due to the fact it features British main characters, was filmed all around England, has a British director and is part of a famous British franchise. 

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

The main problem for the British film industry is to actually distribute the film as filmmakers sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the film to a distribution company. After that, all revenue from cinema screenings, DVD and Blu-ray sales are lost, even if the British film is successful it is not necessarily making money that would be reinvested in British filmmaking. In addition, the British film industry find it hard to compete with the Hollywood based studios as the British film industry is small-scale, employing fewer than 10 people compared to Hollywood based studios who are part of wider conglomerates, employing thousands of people. 

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

One strength of the British film industry is that they have outstanding facilities which attract investment from filmmakers all around the world. Another strength of the British film industry is the very good creative skills of practicioners such as the film "Love Actually" which has grossed billions of dollars worldwide. Finally, another strength of the British film industry is that they focus on social realism which many people around the UK seem to enjoy as it focuses on realistic events happening in everyday society which may allow audiences to feel personal identity. 

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

One of the options for the future of the British film industry is to rely upon co-productions with American studios to keep the industry running. The second option for the future of the British film industry is to attempt making low-budget films targeted at a niche, British audience. 

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

In my opinion i believe the second option is much better as it will still keep that British culture going as filmmakers would be able to retain what makes British films so distinctive. Whereas with the first option i believe the attributes of what makes British films British would get lost and would not have that cultural significance to their audience in the UK.