The Top 100 Best British Films Ever… According to Empire Magazine

Empire Magazine has issued the a list of what they determine to be the 100 Best British Films of All-Time and as far as how they decided “What was a British film?” it seems sort of arbitrary in some cases as the Terry Gilliam-directed Brazil and Michelangelo Antonioni-directed Blow-Up both make the list despite the helmers being of American and Italian descent. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 appears on the list as well, despite being a big Hollywood production. I’m not sure if you’ll be nitpicking on those facts too hard though as I’m sure the overall placement of the films will bother you more in some cases.

Personally, looking over the list there are a few films I just plain don’t like. I know it’s not popular to say it, but I don’t like Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now and it’s ranked number four and you will never catch me watching Tom Jones ever again. That film bored me to death. I’m also not generally a fan of the Monty Python films so you won’t catch me touting them too highly and I also find it fascinating to find Gareth Edwards’ 2010 sci-fi Monsters ranked above films such as Black Narcissus, Topsy-Turvy, The 39 Steps… I give up, I could go on forever as I wasn’t all that impressed by that film.

Of course, that’s the whole point of these lists, to stir up debate and get people talking about films. Whether you like a film or not is the reason sites like this and magazines like Empire exist. Without debates over taste what is left?

So with that in mind, check out the top 100 below and if you’d like to scroll through their ten page gallery you can begin right here.

There are a few on this list I have still yet to see including Withnail & I, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp and, of course, one entry that has yet to hit domestic theaters, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I will, as it happens, be seeing their #1 choice, Lawrence Of Arabia, again this coming weekend at the close of the 70mm Film Festival at the Seattle Cinerama and I cannot wait to finally see it on the giant screen, where I’ve always wanted to.

  1. Lawrence Of Arabia
  2. Monty Python’s Life Of Brian
  3. The Red Shoes
  4. Don’t Look Now
  5. Brief Encounter
  6. Shaun of the Dead
  7. Kind Hearts And Coronets
  8. Trainspotting
  9. Local Hero
  10. Withnail & I
  11. A Clockwork Orange
  12. This Is England
  13. Distant Voices, Still Lives
  14. The Third Man
  15. Bridge On The River Kwai
  16. Goldfinger
  17. Billy Elliot
  18. Monty Python And The Holy Grail
  19. The Long Good Friday
  20. A Matter Of Life And Death
  21. Four Weddings And A Funeral
  22. Saturday Night And Sunday Morning
  23. Rebecca
  24. Moon
  25. The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp
  26. Shallow Grave
  27. Dead Man’s Shoes
  28. Borat
  29. Kes
  30. The Ladykillers
  31. Performance
  32. Sense And Sensibility
  33. Zulu
  34. A Man For All Seasons
  35. A Fish Called Wanda
  36. If…
  37. 28 Days Later
  38. The Descent
  39. The Italian Job
  40. Sweet Sixteen
  41. Monsters
  42. The Man Who Fell To Earth
  43. Great Expectations
  44. Sexy Beast
  45. Black Narcissus
  46. The English Patient
  47. The Wicker Man
  48. Topsy Turvy
  49. Look Back In Anger
  50. Hot Fuzz
  51. Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit
  52. The 39 Steps
  53. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
  54. Sunday Bloody Sunday
  55. Tom Jones
  56. Shakespeare In Love
  57. My Name Is Joe
  58. Slumdog Millionaire
  59. Peeping Tom
  60. A Hard Day’s Night
  61. The Full Monty
  62. Secrets And Lies
  63. Chariots Of Fire
  64. The Lavender Hill Mob
  65. Hunger
  66. Man On Wire
  67. In The Loop
  68. Went The Day Well?
  69. Blow-Up
  70. Casino Royale
  71. Control
  72. The Man In The White Suit
  73. Atonement
  74. Brighton Rock
  75. Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
  76. Naked
  77. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
  78. Henry V
  79. The King’s Speech
  80. Goodbye, Mr Chips
  81. The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Runner
  82. The Lady Vanishes
  83. A Room With A View
  84. Hamlet
  85. Billy Liar
  86. The Killing Fields
  87. Hope And Glory
  88. Gandhi
  89. The Railway Children
  90. Dracula
  91. The Remains Of The Day
  92. Four Lions
  93. Brazil
  94. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  95. Gregory’s Girl
  96. Nil By Mouth
  97. 24 Hour Party People
  98. Oh! What A Lovely War
  99. The Ipcress File
  100. Darling
Movie News
Marvel and DC
X