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.
- Lawrence Of Arabia
- Monty Python’s Life Of Brian
- The Red Shoes
- Don’t Look Now
- Brief Encounter
- Shaun of the Dead
- Kind Hearts And Coronets
- Trainspotting
- Local Hero
- Withnail & I
- A Clockwork Orange
- This Is England
- Distant Voices, Still Lives
- The Third Man
- Bridge On The River Kwai
- Goldfinger
- Billy Elliot
- Monty Python And The Holy Grail
- The Long Good Friday
- A Matter Of Life And Death
- Four Weddings And A Funeral
- Saturday Night And Sunday Morning
- Rebecca
- Moon
- The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp
- Shallow Grave
- Dead Man’s Shoes
- Borat
- Kes
- The Ladykillers
- Performance
- Sense And Sensibility
- Zulu
- A Man For All Seasons
- A Fish Called Wanda
- If…
- 28 Days Later
- The Descent
- The Italian Job
- Sweet Sixteen
- Monsters
- The Man Who Fell To Earth
- Great Expectations
- Sexy Beast
- Black Narcissus
- The English Patient
- The Wicker Man
- Topsy Turvy
- Look Back In Anger
- Hot Fuzz
- Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit
- The 39 Steps
- Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Tom Jones
- Shakespeare In Love
- My Name Is Joe
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Peeping Tom
- A Hard Day’s Night
- The Full Monty
- Secrets And Lies
- Chariots Of Fire
- The Lavender Hill Mob
- Hunger
- Man On Wire
- In The Loop
- Went The Day Well?
- Blow-Up
- Casino Royale
- Control
- The Man In The White Suit
- Atonement
- Brighton Rock
- Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
- Naked
- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
- Henry V
- The King’s Speech
- Goodbye, Mr Chips
- The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Runner
- The Lady Vanishes
- A Room With A View
- Hamlet
- Billy Liar
- The Killing Fields
- Hope And Glory
- Gandhi
- The Railway Children
- Dracula
- The Remains Of The Day
- Four Lions
- Brazil
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Gregory’s Girl
- Nil By Mouth
- 24 Hour Party People
- Oh! What A Lovely War
- The Ipcress File
- Darling
