Best Of The British

From T. E. Lawrence's memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the Majestic adventure and character drama - the epic story of T. E. Lawrence played to perfection by Peter O'Toole. The cinematography is unequaled by anything I have seen. Winner of my Best of the British Films.

Rated as the greatest British film by the BFI, I would hav to agree. One of the greatest villians ever to grace the screen Harry Lime (Welles) is the center of this twisty-turny mystery notable for its Academy Award-winning cinematography and distinctive, recurring strange music. A giant ferris wheel and a spectacular last chase scene in the sewers highlight this tale of intrigue. Set in a really tragic post-World War II Vienna. Winner of my Top Film Noir Films.

It may not look it but this is a Dark World War II drama. The Matter Of Principal. With the famous bridge that embodies the absurdities of war. Guiness seals himself as one of the greatest British actors. One of the best war films made.

Breif Encounter is a beautiful film. One of the great love stories of the everyday which as the title suggest can happen in a brief moment and last a lifetime. This film involves one of the most heart-brakingly sad and yet stringly up-lifting endings ever. A classic in every sense.

Best Of The British. Ranked as an all time greatest British film. Alec Guinness stars as a remarkable 8 characters, in this black comedy of a young man's startling rise to the top of his family tree, by means of murder. Terribly British, terribly black, terribly funny and terribly brilliant. A masterpeice of comedy and remarkable story. Winner of my Top Ealing Comedy. Winner of my Best Revenge Films.

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my Arrows of Desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my Chariot of Fire! A Historic Epic of monumental proportions. Music is unforgettable. Winner of my Top Sports Films.

Alfred Hitchcock's best film from his British Period, although he had already directed 18 films this is my favourite of the early films. His later films especially North by Northwest clearly have their roots in this early highlight. Great action scenes, chase scenes, with witty dialogue and riveting suspense.

From Pasternak's sweeping epic novel, set in the World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution It's strenght lies in it's portraal of the realities of life in Russia after the 1917 Communist Revolution. The most memorable thing of all is the romantic score.

Shocking, violent, controversial and at times brilliant.

The one and only Great Expectations movie all the rest do not live up to the book.

The best Hamlet adaptation after Laurence Olivier's edition.

The definitive cinematic rendition of Hamlet. However, Kenneth Branagh's film version of the complete Hamlet does bring out the faults of the Olivier Hamlet by including everything that Olivier had omitted. But still despite all this, the performances, the photography, the art direction and the musical score of the Olivier Hamlet are perfect. I still consider Olivier's performance to be the best performance of Hamlet I have ever seen. Winner of my Top Shakespeare Films.

Extreemly enjoyable musical, perfectly casted with great songs and a great story from Dickens.

As always Old Fashioned Hollywood Superb portrait of India's great political and spiritual leader comes to life in Ben Kingsley's authoritative yet sensitive performance. Director Richard Attenborough's epic-scale production re-creates Gandhi's life and times, especially his use of non-violence and hunger strikes to bring together the diverse peoples of India and unify them as a nation. The funeral sequence was filmed on January 31, 1981, 33 years to the day after Gandhi's real funeral. Approximately 300,000 extras were used in that scene, the most for any filmepic Winner of my Top Biopic Films.

Antonioni's greatest work. His amazing visual and verbal emphasis on the environment surrounding Thomas, Without a great deal of action, mystery, or explosive dialogue, this film is riveting and fascinating. A must see.

A Monumental Cinematic Triumph. A character study, a poltical intrigue, a human drama a masterpeice. Helen Mirren gives not only the performance of the year or even the decade but of a lifetime, as a complex woman of duty and our beloved Queen. A tale that shows both sides of the drama surrounding Princess Diana's death so full of emotion. Diana was dearly loved by myself and I was devestated when she died, the film captures the deep saddness, and conflict. Set to the background of the best written screenplay I have seen this year and with a smashing cast particularly Micheal Sheen, the Queen has restrained understated power and emotional impact. You will not see a better directed, written, acted film this year. Best film of the year. Classic Cinema.

Completely encasing and entoxicating with it's beauty and simplicity. However the praise should go to Jane Austen

Another great Ealing Comedy, with the star of the studio, Alec Guiness always teriffic in the productions. Not as great as previoious ealing productions, such as Kind Hearts and Coronets, but still a must see, for British comedy and Ealing fans.

The Blind, The Lost And The Found: "I once was blind but now I see, was lost but now am found?" goes the grand hymn Amazing Grace, written by an ex-slave trader John Newton, played by Albert Finney, who was haunted by the twenty thousand slaves he traded, left his life of sin and wrote one of Christianity?s greatest hymn. The hymn and the film Amazing Grace are a testimony to the power of grace to transform everything it touches, blindness to sight, the lost to the found, the slave to the free man. As is the life of William Wilberforce (played by Ioan Gruffold) a man of amazing grace who changed the world through his crusade to abolish the slave trade in England. It is this transformation of English law from enforcing the slave trade to abolishment by the grace and perseverance of one man that the film focuses on, delving into the details and nature of the slave trade, which made the British Empire the most powerful the world, had ever seen. However although the horrors of the slave trade are spelt out, discussed and even shown through diagrams and demonstrations, the actual seeing of the slave trade in action is not shown. Wether or not this adds or detracts from the merit of the film is debatable, yet the opportunity to illuminate the full horrors of the slave trade visually is defiantly missed as the audience has only an idea of the slave trade really was. We follow Wilberforce not through the bowels of the slave ships in trade, or through the plantations they worked or the jungles of Africa, from where most of the slaves came from but through the jungle of politics in the British parliament. A reoccurring theme in this struggle of Wilberforce is the clash between his spiritual life and political life, his idealism and the harsh realism of politics. His ability is blend his spiritual grace and political ability, his idealism and political realism ultimately lead to his victory, in which as Lord Fox (Michael Gambon) most admirably speaks of the true measure of a man, measured not by glory or power but by noble struggle in the cause of bettering the world, by which measure William Wilberforce is a truly great man. An edifying spiritual testimony to the power of grace.

Adapted from a play, the historical authenticity of the this film seems questionable. If the audience is to believe everything they see in this film about King George and his madness, it is simply incredible the way the King of England acted and the resulting consequences. Played by Nigel Hawthorn in his Academy Award nomminated role, the pinnicale of his career, the character and performance are extraordinary. The mood is so murky you don't know wether it is a comedy or tragedy, to laugh or cry. Rupert Everett adds some needed humor and Helen Mirren supplys the forceful tragedy, but Hawthorn steals the show. Overall the film is worth watching for it's astounding story, a lesson in history or hollywood we'll never know.