HARRY POTTER
Contemporary British Cinema: 2000 – present day
Since the turn of the century, British cinema has achieved great success in international distribution, and many contemporary releases, such as the HARRY POTTER series (2001-present), have been financially backed by American studios.
Romantic comedies such as the BRIDGET JONES films (2001 and 2004) and Richard Curtis’ LOVE ACTUALLY [...]

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL
Renaissance: 1990-1999
Following the difficult 1980s, reinvestment in British cinema was encouraged by the success of the Merchant Ivory productions HOWARDS END (1992) and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993, both James Ivory).
A successful return to traditional costume drama was represented by SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Ang Lee, 1995), THE WINGS OF THE [...]

THE DUELLISTS
The Crisis years: 1980-1989
The beginning of the decade saw an unprecedented recession for British cinema; during 1980, 31 British films were produced, the lowest output since 1914, and this figure fell to 24 during the following year. Producer David Puttnam encouraged the talents of a range of upcoming directors, Ridley Scott (THE DUELLISTS, 1977), [...]

MISS MARPLE
Recession and the Impact of Television: 1970 – 1979
At the beginning of the decade, the popularity of television threatening cinema’s dominance as primary entertainment medium, the British film industry experienced a recession. Despite some successful productions, such as the Agatha Christie adaptation MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (Sidney Lumet, 1974), and Alfred Hitchcock’s final [...]

ALFIE
Sex, spies and social realism: 1961 – 1969

The 1960s witnessed another boom for British cinema, as the image of ‘swinging
London’ inspired releases such as DARLING (John Schlesinger, 1965) and ALFIE (Lewis
Gilbert, 1966). The bounds of censorship were tested by controversial films depicting an
unprecedented sexual explicitness; most notably WOMEN IN LOVE (Ken Russell, [...]