"Don't threaten me with a dead fish"

August 14, 2015 6:57 PM

"Hollywood brings glitz, glamour and big budgets to movie-making; France has avant-garde artistry. But what about Britain? Looking at our selection of the 75 greatest British movies of the past century, you'll find that Britain excels at genres you'd expect (kitchen sink and period drama, class-obsessed satire) and plenty you wouldn't (strange sci-fi, blood-freezing contemporary horror). Here are the essential home-grown films to watch, listed in the order they were made..." [SLTelegraph]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome (62 comments total)

Even though this list is chronological, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp should still go higher.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:13 PM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

American movie lists are always easy to argue with, but the British ones are at worst only incomplete. I always end up just going, "Yep."

Only one Lynne Ramsay movie in there, though? The right one, if you're only gonna go with one, but still. They're all worthy.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:16 PM on August 14, 2015

Yes, oh god is Ratcatcher ever gorgeous. I would love to see Morvern Callar on here.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:25 PM on August 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Great list. There isn't a bad one in there (save, maybe, for Full Monty. I always felt that one was very overrated.)

That said...
No Guy Ritchie? C'monnnn...
posted by Thorzdad at 7:30 PM on August 14, 2015

An interesting list - and a better film list than most.

The still from Lawrence of Arabia is actually from Man of La Mancha (I think - it's certainly not from Lawrence.
posted by Death and Gravity at 7:31 PM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

"The image is wrong, orence"

..."No Citationers!"
posted by clavdivs at 7:41 PM on August 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

How could you say strange Sci-Fi is unexpected from the country that brought you Doctor Who and Red Dwarf (not to mention HHGttG).
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:54 PM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

To be honest I did not expect to see Ken Loach on a Torygraph list of best films.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:21 PM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you haven't seen Kind Hearts and Coronets, fix that. Such a great film.

Surprised at the lack of Hot Fuzz or Midwinter's Tale. The former is a perfect screenplay with nary a wasted line, and the latter is one of my favorite adaptations of Hamlet ever, where Branagh films an attempt to produce the play in a church under extenuating circumstances.

"Hamlet is this desk. Hamlet is every thought you've ever had about geography."
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:32 PM on August 14, 2015 [8 favorites]

To be honest I did not expect to see Ken Loach on a Torygraph list of best films.

Yeah, but that would be a hell of an omission.

The odder thing is seeing, in a list titled "75 films that could only have been made in Britain," Bridge on the River Kwai (for obvious reasons), and Barry Lyndon (directed by an American, filmed mostly in Ireland).
posted by Sys Rq at 8:50 PM on August 14, 2015

Requesting the addition of Local Hero, please.
posted by matildaben at 8:55 PM on August 14, 2015 [8 favorites]

If ... but no O Lucky Man.

Feels incomplete.
posted by philip-random at 8:59 PM on August 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

"Don't threaten me with a dead fish"

I'd been hoping for this.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:11 PM on August 14, 2015

Withnail and I was the first thing I looked for -- before I saw your headline! (Althought I might have led with "We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here, and we want them now!")
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:26 PM on August 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

No "Tom Jones" or "The Collector". A little surprising.
posted by bcarter3 at 9:32 PM on August 14, 2015

Funnily enough, I'm fine with everyone from Tourneur to Losey to Altman being classed as British, but the inclusion of several canonical Scottish films strikes me as a touch... imperialist? But it is the Telegraph, so.
posted by thetortoise at 11:40 PM on August 14, 2015

Speaking of O'Toole, I'd drop any Powell-Pressburger for The Ruling Class. Come at me, bro.
posted by thetortoise at 11:55 PM on August 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

If ... but no O Lucky Man. Feels incomplete.

Damn straight.
posted by oluckyman at 12:36 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Donald Cammell/Nick Roeg's Performance at #35. What? Why? Wait a moment! The list disqualifies itself with that film's low rating.
posted by Mister Bijou at 12:43 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's a very good list, but come on, no Dr. Strangelove?
posted by oluckyman at 12:46 AM on August 15, 2015

OK... it is a good list. And I take back my comment above... the list presents the films in chronological order. My fail!
posted by Mister Bijou at 1:00 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

The list is fine, but would have been much better if it had included Brazil, Boorman's Hope and Glory, Alan Parker's The Commitments and at least one of Neil Jordan's films.
posted by abakua at 1:03 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

We've gone on holiday by mistake. We're in this cottage here. Are you the farmer?
posted by Dumsnill at 1:25 AM on August 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

Little vote here for Sexy Beast.
posted by Wolof at 3:53 AM on August 15, 2015 [6 favorites]

A bit sad that A Field In England isn't there, it's exceptionally good at portraying the terror of the landscape, and a very odd time in England's history.
posted by kalimac at 4:21 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Sexy Beast, Local Hero and Morvern Callar are three of my favourite films, period.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:21 AM on August 15, 2015

Oh, but they've got Orlando which, yes. For Quentin Crisp alone, but the whole thing is exquisite.
posted by kalimac at 4:24 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is In Bruges not considered a British movie? I mean, it's got some issues, but the dialogue is frequently brilliant and the timing of plot developments is awesome.
posted by Dumsnill at 4:28 AM on August 15, 2015

As the article mentions kitchen sink 5 times, it definitely should have included Bill Forsyth's That Sinking Feeling. Not as sweet as Gregory's Girl, but the better comedy. (Full movie - alas, in wrong aspect ratio - here).
And I strongly second Sexy Beast and Local Hero.
posted by ojemine at 4:42 AM on August 15, 2015

As far as I can tell, they've avoided films pretty firmly claimed as Irish, even if they have British directors or locations. So no In Bruges, Commitments, Neil Jordan, etc.
posted by thetortoise at 4:45 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

My fave kitchen sink is Billy Liar. But Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Far from the Madding Crowd both made the list, so I can't complain too much. (Though it's sure funnier than either.)
posted by thetortoise at 4:51 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Aww, just noticed Bryan Forbes didn't make the list.
posted by thetortoise at 4:56 AM on August 15, 2015

The Wicker Man isn't on the list, and that's just appalling.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:23 AM on August 15, 2015 [8 favorites]

I think the 1973 and 2006 versions were both so brilliant that combined they would simply annihilate the rest of list.
posted by Dumsnill at 5:36 AM on August 15, 2015

So they are like matter and antimatter?
posted by Artw at 5:52 AM on August 15, 2015

The Haunting would probably be my first add to the list. Then I'd find a way to get in some Nigel Kneale despite his stuff mostly being ineligible or the film versions not being the best versions.

Taking things off the list to add new items would be the tough part but it's not looking good for Four Weddings.
posted by Artw at 5:56 AM on August 15, 2015 [5 favorites]

The bees and antibees, I think.
posted by Dumsnill at 5:57 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

A bit sad that A Field In England isn't there, it's exceptionally good at portraying the terror of the landscape, and a very odd time in England's history.

Probably Kill a List displaces it, but yes, everyone should see A Field In England.
posted by Artw at 5:58 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Barry Lyndon (directed by an American, filmed mostly in Ireland).

Kubrick lived the last forty years of his life in England, doesn't that qualify him to be a British filmmaker?
posted by octothorpe at 6:12 AM on August 15, 2015

Left off the list: Curse of the Were-Rabbit is not only the most British film ever, it is the best. It's like Pressburger and Powell with twiddling fingers and cheese.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:12 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Great list, but something's gone wrong with the negation in "Determined to shoot as few scenes as possible without electrical light, Barry Lyndon is consciously a museum piece."
posted by languagehat at 6:44 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Great list, but something's gone wrong with the negation in "Determined to shoot as few scenes as possible without electrical light, Barry Lyndon is consciously a museum piece."

Heh, I noticed that too, but then quickly thought: God that man (Kubrick) was such a genius that I don't even understand anything about his process, man.
posted by Dumsnill at 6:52 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is In Bruges not considered a British movie?
Good question, technically it is a British-American production (IMDB).
But, when you have an Irish director and the two leading actors are Irish (and a whole lot of the rest of people involved through the director, I presume), and the film itself is very Irish in many ways, despite not being set in Ireland, well, I don’t know what the official take is but I’d never considered it other than Irish myself and every Irish person I know considers it Irish. It also won Irish awards for Irish cinema.

Seems to me the "border" there in cinema is not always so clear, it often happens that even Irish films set in Ireland are co-productions with the UK, and sometimes that also happens for TV, for instance with The Fall, BBC/RTE production.

The Hunger is in this list of British movies, but I think most people consider that an Irish film as well. Or maybe both...
posted by bitteschoen at 7:06 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hunger not The Hunger.
posted by Grangousier at 7:09 AM on August 15, 2015

Great list, but something's gone wrong with the negation in "Determined to shoot as few scenes as possible without electrical light, Barry Lyndon is consciously a museum piece"

I'm pretty sure that dangling modifiers were not part of Kubrick's filming technique...

I admit to balking at The Devils, which probably could have been swapped out for any of the films ID'd in comments here.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:09 AM on August 15, 2015

But, when you have an Irish director

Yeah, but he is also British (he holds dual citizenships).

Other than that, I can understand the reasoning.
posted by Dumsnill at 7:13 AM on August 15, 2015

Referring to "David Jacobi" as one of the cast of "Gosford Park" is quite the little editing error...
posted by holborne at 7:18 AM on August 15, 2015

Just bumping Morvern Callar. One of the British films I've found most unforgettable...regrettably not seen widely here stateside.
posted by mrdaneri at 7:25 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think I'd add The Wrong Box to the list.
posted by Splunge at 7:49 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Under no circumstances should you watch "The Selfish Giant" unless you're prepared to WEEP.
posted by eugenen at 8:36 AM on August 15, 2015

I'll cop to not loving Barry Lyndon, but the cinematography is incredible. To film by candlelight, Kubrick used f/0.7 lenses that were originally developed for the Apollo program.

This is a great list, and I wouldn't change anything, but I don't think a list of kitchen-sink dramas is complete without 1966's The Family Way, adapted by Alfie author Bill Naughton from his own play. It's got an incredible cast (Hywel Bennett! Hayley Mills! John Mills!) and a great score by George Martin (writing as "Paul McCartney"). Check it out!
posted by Zeinab Badawi's Twenty Hotels at 9:26 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Another vote here for Morvern Callar, it was a happy random discovery for me too. I love Samantha Morton, I think she’s one of the most amazing non-celebrity actors around.

Of those in the list, among recent ones, happiest discoveries for me were Fish Tank and Weekend, both very poetic in their own realistic gritty way.

And yes I did mean Hunger, with no "The", sorry. For me it belongs up there with "masterpieces of all time" but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone, it’s brutal. I was prepared, I knew the story too well, but it was still extremely painful and sad to watch.

Other recent films that are not in the list but I feel should be, or anyway, very British films from recent years I would personally put in that list and recommend to anyone: Jane Eyre, Bright Star (ok Jane Campion but it is a British-Australian production and the subject is very British so I guess it qualifies), Shadow Dancer (more Irish maybe? but another another British-Irish production), An Education, Boy A, Still Life (from the same director of The Full Monty but not really a comedy, a lot more melancholic as a story, beautiful though).
On a much more lighthearted note, Submarine I thought was absolutely lovely.
posted by bitteschoen at 9:30 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Taking things off the list to add new items would be the tough part but it's not looking good for Four Weddings.

one of maybe five movies I've ever walked out of, so I could happily see it gone. I've made this comment here before but it bears repeating. Four Weddings and a Funeral could only work for me if it were set in Nazi Germany, with all the main characters members of the Nazi party.
posted by philip-random at 9:59 AM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

MONA LISA.
MAMMA MIA.
posted by alasdair at 2:00 PM on August 15, 2015

...The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp should still go higher.

I'm as much a fan of The Archers as anyone here, but I would probably swap that one out for A Canterbury Tale. 'Colonel Blimp' is an interesting film in it's own right, but it's way too long and has a rather muddled middle section. Of course, The Archers do make a decent showing on this list.

There is a lot of interesting cinema on this list, and also a lot to quibble about if one is so inclined. '4 Weddings...' obviously attracts haters because it's timed on the peak of an anti-Hugh-Grant backlash, but if you can get past that, it is a distinctively English quirky piece of work.

On a personal note, a lot of the indie films on this list from the last 15 years since 2000 I've never heard of before. Either they haven't been promoted and distributed very much where I live, or I'm getting more out of touch these days.
posted by ovvl at 4:50 PM on August 15, 2015

The Lion in Winter, perhaps?
posted by Thorzdad at 5:04 PM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

"Hear My Song".
Up there with Hot Fuzz and Local Hero.
Small gems of delight.
posted by Mesaverdian at 5:57 PM on August 15, 2015

Are the (wholy available to watch here) supposed to be links? even in a browser without any plugins, they aren't clickable.
posted by gryftir at 1:30 AM on August 16, 2015

It seems an uneven list to me, much too weighted toward lesser fare from the 2000s and beyond: for example, although Berberian Sound Studio is decent, reverent stuff, it's no Don't Look Now. The definition feels vague too - '75 films that could only have been made in Britain' – which appears to qualify Barry Lyndon but not (the equally US-funded) 2001. Surely the same criteria (North American director and so on) should touch on the still-marvelous An American Werewolf in London – and the kind of dismal, provincial horror that Kill List gropes toward was effortlessly nailed by Sidney Lumet's The Offence in 1974. Thinking of Lumet, I don't think The Hill makes the grade which virtually totals the list right there.

Also off the top of my head, no real love for any of the Ealing comedies (Passport to Pimlico and the like) which seems surprising, particularly given the nature of the Telegraph, and I'd certainly include the likes of The Shout or Patrick Keiller's dissections of the UK (i.e. Robinson in Space) over much of the latter half of the list (Gregory's Girl and The Full Monty are largely I feel parochial nonsense, but there you go).
posted by specialbrew at 10:21 AM on August 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Lion in Winter, perhaps?

Seconded!
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 1:22 PM on August 16, 2015

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations everybody! Tonnes of great sounding stuff to look into.
posted by wyndham at 12:38 PM on August 17, 2015

Gonna have to throw in Little Voice and Kinky Boots as well.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:55 AM on August 20, 2015