Film Industry: British film industry factsheets

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

Other criteria to consider is, the people making the film are British, is it funded from within Britain, are the cast British, is the film’s subject matter about Britain or British culture.

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

British Film as a production context also tends to be varied but idiosyncratic to the story being told within the film. Where as, 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.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

The 1960s brought about the start of the James Bond franchise.

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

The British film industry inthe 1970s was dominated by the subject of censorship that continued into
the video nasties banning of the 1980s.

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

The youth was portrayed in a rather sick and horrifying way in 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971)

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

British films have very good socially narrative based films, this makes them the best at things like social realism.

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

If a film does not qualify as a co-production, it must pass the British Film Institute’s Cultural Test in order to be defined as British. The Cultural Test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points to be classified as British.

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet, researching the films listed and finding 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.

Sweeney ~  31 points.

Attack the block ~ 27  points.

The king's speech ~  28 points.

We need to talk about Kevin ~ 7 points.

Sky fall ~ 27 points. 

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

Historically, the British film industry has been production led rather than distribution led. This means that many UK films are made but, in order to get the film exhibited, the filmmakers have to sacrifice the
distribution rights by selling the film to a distribution company. Once sold, all revenue from cinema screenings, DVD and Blu-ray sales, plus sales to television companies, are lost.

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?
The Film Fund
Outstanding facilities
Outstanding creative skills of practitioners

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?
Firstly, British filmmakers could choose to rely upon co-productions with American studios to keep the industry afloat.
Secondly, the UK film industry’s second option is to attempt to make 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 there should be a balance of low budget films and Hollywood like movie and the industry should allow low budget movies to get recognised more and make more of a profits. Movies should have more of a creative out spark rather then a generic story line.