by Sam Juliano
Unless we count some relinquished worldwide possessions, it would be difficult to find a proper British desert island for the hermetic movie fan to indulge in the most cherished of all moving pictures made within the shores of the “other Eden.” Indeed the closest in temperament if not geographical kinship would be the British Crown Territory known as the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina, inhabited by a scant 3,100 or so kelpers, who recently voted overwhelmingly to maintain Queen Elizabeth as their monarch of choice. The mountainous archipelago includes two larger islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, with the latter the home of the capital, Stanley. British movie fans will be boated in from Stanley to one of the smallest islands in the chain, Sea Lion Island, which measures 5 by 1.5 miles, and is presently home to only seven residents all year round. The relatively harsh Winter runs from late April to early October, and it is during this time that sequestered British movie fans will be staying in separate screening rooms at the Sea Lion Lodge for an entire Winter, watching the same twenty-five films repeatedly, with sharing expressly forbidden. Before flying in to Stanley from the USA, UK and a few other countries fans must submit their choices of the twenty-five films that they will be watching over and over during the time they will be spending at the lodge, exclusive of some outdoor breathers and the time needed for dining and rest. Indeed, it will also be the responsibility of the traveler movie buff to bring DVD or blu-ray copies of the films he or she has chose. Rules are simple enough: any film made in the U.K exclusively or in co-production is eligible to be chosen. The question that needed to be correctly answered in settling on a choice is simple if it is a personal favorite not necessarily a film that would be identified as what is generally regarded as great. A good part of the time a favorite is also ‘great’ and vice-versa, but the final criteria to come to a fair compromise within own’s own tastes and perceptions is to ask oneself: is this the kind of film I can honestly watch repeatedly. Usually the answer will come down to what dozen British films are that viewer’s personal favorites.

Sea Lion Lodge on Falkland Islands
Any or all readers who will be flying down to Stanley are urged to hereby identify the twenty-five films that will be joining them at the Sea Lion Lodge on April 21. The list must be presented alphabetically, so as to avoid any rating of the group of films that would be nearly impossible to list in order of preference.
The proprietor of the lodge, Edwin Redgrave is a good-hearted bloke, and he announced last week that he feels for all those who will be spending almost six months at his establishment, and has decided to allow each customer 25 choices after an earlier guideline that had permitted less.
This writer/viewer has named his own 25 favorite British films or the 25 films that are hereby chosen to be watched repeatedly over a six month time frame. Needless to say, so many other great British films had to be left behind until I get back stateside after by time at the lodge. Particularly depressing was having to leave out several masterworks by Joseph Losey, mainly because I was torn as to which film I would choose. Will Hay’s classic comedy Oh Mr. Porter! is another that really deserved to make the trip, as did the classic Alistair Sim A Christmas Carol and Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out and P & P’s The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death. Several Hammer studios releases were in the running too. I was also divided on whether to go for Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes or The 39 Steps, but decided to choose neither, knowing that when I spend some time on an American possession in the Pacific, I’d have my fill of Hitch! And I established a rule that no film after 2010 could be chosen, as a selection needs the “perspective” of at least two to three years. Heck I might have chosen the recent musical Les Miserables without that self-imposed rule in place! Ah well, perhaps Mr. Redgrave will extend his generosity a bit more!
Atonement (2007) Joe Wright
Barry Lyndon (1975) Stanley Kubrick
Beckett (1964) Peter Glanville
Black Narcissus (1947) Powell and Pressberger
Brief Encounter (1945) David Lean
Caravaggio (1986) Derek Jarman
City of the Dead (1961) John Moxey
Chariots of Fire (1981) Hugh Hudson
A Clockwork Orange (1971) Stanley Kubrick
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989) Peter Greenaway
The Devils (1971) Ken Russell
Great Expectations (1946) David Lean
Henry V (1989) Kenneth Branagh
Hope and Glory (1987) John Boorman
Kes (1969) Ken Loach
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) Robert Hamer
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) David Lean
Night and the City (1950) Jules Dassin
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1942) Powell and Pressberger
The Long Day Closes (1992) Terence Davies
The Masque of the Red Death (1964) Roger Corman
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Stanley Kubrick
Oliver! (1968) Carol Reed
Richard III (1955) Laurence Olivier
The Third Man (1949) Carol Reed
I have posted ten screen caps from the 25 films randomly:

Roger Corman’s 1964 “Masque of the Red Death”

John Boorman’s 1987 “Hope and Glory”

Carol Reed’s “The Third Man”

Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 “Barry Lyndon”

Robert Hamer’s 1949 “Kind Hearts and Coronets”

Peter Greenaway’s 1989 “The Cook, the Thief His Wife and Her Lover”

David Lean’s 1945 “Brief Encounter”

John Moxey’s 1961 “City of the Dead”

Powell and Pressberger’s 1942 “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp”

Ken Loach’s 1969 “Kes”
Please add your own choices for your upcoming stay at the Sea Lion Lodge: (and have a great time! Be on penguin watch though!)
Barry Lyndon
Black Narcissus
Brief Encounter
Brighton Rock
A Clockwork Orange
Deep End
The Devils
Doctor Strangelove
Don’t Look Now
Great Expectations
Henry V
In a Land of Plenty
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Listen to Britain
The Long Day Closes
A Matter of Life and Death
Odd Man Out
Oh Mr Porter!
Oliver Twist
Our Friends in the North
Red Riding Trilogy
The Singing Detective
The Third Man
The 39 Steps
I’m leaving 2001 out as it’s a contentious one. And I’m mourning Rembrandt, Comrades, Penda’s Fen, The Man in the White Suit, Dead of Night, The Red Shoes, so many others.
Terrific list in every sense of course.
Not a fan of the British New Wave/angry young men/kitchen sink films?
Off the top of my head in no particular order:
Brighton Rock
The Third Man
The 39 Steps
A Clockwork Orange
Night and the City
Christ in Concrete
Billy Liar
This Sporting Life
Local Hero
Brassed Off
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
The Servant
Brazil
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Black Narcissus
Withnail and I
If
Lord of the Flies
Distant Voices, Still Lives
Don’t Look Now
The Singing Detective
Our Friends in the North
Hazel (Season 1)
The Chinese Detective (Seasons 1 and 2)
When The Boat Comes In (Seasons 1 – 3)
CHRIST IN CONCRETE is a brilliant addition Tony!!! And though I included another Davies, DISTANT VOICES is a terrific choice. As far as BILLY LIAR, BRIGHTON ROCK, THE SERVANT, THIS SPORTING LIFE, LONG DISTANCE RUNNER and especially LORD OF THE FLIES I will have to find a way to smuggle copies from your room, depending on the security at the lodge!
The way you walk you have no chance of evading security.
I cheated a bit by adding my favourite Brit TV shows. We all need a bit of comfort food when under siege. I am quite sure that not after too long all the internees would be stumbling over each other to sneak a peek at someone else’s repast, turning into a kind of hell before too long. I once conceived – and it is hardly original – that hell for cinephiles is being locked up alone in a cinema with Last Year at Marienbad flickering on the screen for all eternity…
hahahahaha Tony! They would be cheating indeed, though I have been informed they are planning on tight security to see this project through! MARIENBAD for eternity? Ha! I like that film, but to overdose on it would definitely be hellishness incarnate!!!!
and just now saw NIGHT IN THE CITY on your list as well Tony, as I responded much too quickly as I was leaving for school this morning. Will be making a change right now.
I figured that may be the case Sam 😉
Excellent Sam I love the framework as well!
My choices would be as follow:
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick…..US/UK)
28 Days Later… (2002, Danny Boyle…..UK)
A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick…..UK/US)
Alien (1979, Ridley Scott…..US/UK)
Brazil (1905, Terry Gilliam…..UK)
The Descent (2005, Neil Marshall…..UK)
The Devils (1971, Ken Russell…..UK)
Domino (2005, Tony Scott…..France/US/UK)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964, Stanley Kubrick…..US/UK)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999, Stanley Kubrick…..UK/US)
The Fly (1986, David Cronenberg…..US/UK/Canada)
Hamlet (1948, Laurence Olivier…..UK)
The Ladykillers (1955, Alexander Mackendrick…..UK)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962, David Lean…..UK/US)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones…..UK)
The Prestige (2006, Christopher Nolan…..US/UK)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Jim Sharman…..UK/US)
Shaun of the Dead (2004, Edgar Wright…..UK/France/US)
The Shining (1980, Stanley Kubrick…..US/UK)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan…..UK)
The Straight Story (1999, David Lynch…..France/UK/US)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007, Tim Burton…..US/UK)
Trainspotting (1996, Danny Boyle…..UK)
V for Vendetta (2006, James McTeigue…..US/UK/Germany)
The Wicker Man (1973, Robin Hardy…UK)
THE WICKER MAN and V FOR VENDETTA are very creative selections Jaimie! I wasn’t thinking of SWEENEY TODD as a British release even in part, so there’s another one! THE DESCENT is a cracker-jack of a horror film!
I think you should have stressed Sam that for a film to be UK it needs to be predominantly UK. People like the IMDb, so if the IMDb lists UK first as nationality, but not unless. I mean Sweeney Todd, Straight Story, Alien, The Prestige, The Fly, they’re as British as peanut butter.
In chronological order….(how has nobody mentioned Repulsion yet!?)
The 39 Steps
Night Train to Munich
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
I Know Where I’m Going!
Brief Encounter
Black Narcissus
Oliver Twist
The Red Shoes
Hamlet
The Third Man
Whiskey Galore!
Night and the City
A Christmas Carol
The Lavender Hill Mob
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Lawrence of Arabia
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
This Sporting Life
Repulsion
2001
Kes
A Clockwork Orange
Overlord
Barry Lyndon
Shallow Grave
Oops mine isn’t alphabetical. Also….if I can bring one extra “guilty pleasure”, it would be 2004’s Dear Frankie.
Also if we hadn’t set a cut-off, I would have included The Deep Blue Sea.
And I hope no one has the lack of understanding to mention an Irish film….we all know how dicey that could get…
Yep Jon, REPULSION is a terrific choice, as is WHISKEY GALORE, SATURDAY NIGHT, and several others here.
However, you have unveiled a MASSIVE OVERSIGHT, as I was not at all thinking properly. Yes, NIGHT IN THE CITY is indeed a BRITISH film, and YES it absolutely deserves to be on this list. Heck, it I did my list numerically I would have it near the top, as it is my favorite film noir of all time!
I will now make a change on the list, as I have not yet notified Mr. Redgrave.
Jon we will be having a Desert Island Irish post in time as well.
Sam, I was caught up by the lovely and enticing Falkland Islands premise of your posting, and I even started to scribble down a few titles. But then I realized that Lubitsch’s Angel, Lynch’s Elephant Man and von Trier’s Breaking the Waves aren’t British! I decided just to take note of the ideas others are presenting. I don’t think I could find anything close to 25 titles I’d want to watch repeatedly. But one I definitely could is the Wendy Hiller film, I Know Where I’m Going.
Ha Jim! Good points there, and be rest assured I am a big fan of I KNOW WHERE I AM GOING. I tried to avoid going with more than two selections by a single director or directors, but that film and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH really are inexcusable omissions. Certainly THE ELEPHANT MAN and BREAKING THE WAVES have a distinctly British feel to them, and the purpose of this particular list-making venture was to examine films from a national perspective, something we have yet to explore, even with our admitted list-making craze.
Yep I included I Know Where I’m Going. That’s a personal fave. I could probably have also included Pygmalion because I love Hiller so much.
Yep Jon, PYGMALION is an eternal joy.
I’d like to do this now, but I must think, and weigh all the previous selections. Will my plane fare be free?
Frank, take your time, this is admittedly an affair that is tough to firm up. Heck, I am the one who wrote this post and I actually left off my favorite film noir of all time, NIGHT AND THE CITY! Ha! I have rectified that.
Editorial comments aren’t allowed at Wonders.
Quick list of 26 in alpha order…
.A Clockwork Orange
A Hard Day’s Night
A Matter of Life and Death
Bridge on the River Kwai
Chariots of Fire
Don’tLlook Now
Dr. Stranglove
Get Carter
Goldfinger
Hope and Glory
If…
Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner
Monty Pyton and the Holy Grail
Night and the City
Oliver Twist
On Man Out
Peeping Tom
Replusion
Room at the Top
Secrets and Lies
The 39 Steps
The Lady Killers
The Lady Vanishes
The Red Shoes
The Servant
The Third Man
John—a master class list of course, and I was also thinking of A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, PEEPING TOM, THE SERVANT, THE LADYKILLERS and several others you mention. IF is another that really belongs no matter what, and GOLDFINGER is an original selection. Thanks for spending the time to compile!
Oh my…how could I have forgotten Bridge on the River Kwai and A Hard Day’s Night? Oops.
Jon, the beauty of making such a list is that is is ever evolving. And not having a “numerical” rating means it’s not passing judgement in the same way as lists that do. All you are being asked to do is name the films you would prefer to have in a ‘limited’ situation.
Sam, I have 25, but I am not presenting them alphabetically. Not in order of preference either. Just randomly. But it took a while to tweak it down to 25. That Sea Lion Lodge looks like a dive!
A Man For All Seasons
The Red Shoes
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Henry V (Olivier)
Victim
Great Expectations
The Criminal
The Cook, the Thief, his wife & lover
Whiskey Galore
Hamlet (Branagh)
Odd Man Out
Black Narcissus
Lawrence of Arabia
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Dead of Night
Barry Lyndon
Hope and Glory
A Fish Called Wanda
Billy Liar
The 39 Steps
Rembrandt
Secrets and Lies
Went the Day Well?
The Third Man
The Lion in Winter
Peter—
You are the first to mention A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, which does deserve serious consideration. WENT THE DAY WELL is another I saw recently at the Film Forum, and I liked it quite a bit. DEAD OF NIGHT is another all-time favorite. Thanks for compiling this splendid list my friend.
Oh and as far as the Sea Lion Lodge, this is my first visit, but some online users are saying it’s a wonderful place to stay at! The picture is admittedly unimpressive though!
I’m allergic to penguins, so I’m not sure I can make the trip. But that won’t stop me from putting together a list of British favorites. I think 25 is a fair number, considering the glorious film tradition of the U.K.
No particular order:
The Third Man
Brief Encounter
2001
Lawrence of Arabia
The 39 Steps
A Hard Day’s Night
The Red Shoes
Black Narcissus
Pygmalion
Vera Drake
Theater of Blood
The Man in the White Suit
Henry V (1944)
Oliver Twist
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
The Go-Between
Howards End
A Room With A View
Horror of Dracula
Barry Lyndon
Distant Voices, Still Lives
Black Narcissus
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Trainspotting
David, I am told the penguins are not to be found near the lodge, so you should be clear on that count. I commend you on a wonderful collection that should keep you smiling during your stay!
The Innocents
Brief Encounter
A Matter of Life and Death
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Third Man
The Lion in Winter
Night and the City
Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment
Alfie
The Bridge Over the River Kwai
Great Expectations
Lawrence of Arabia
Hope and Glory
Richard III
Black Narcissus
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Zulu
Dead of Night
The Long Good Friday
The 39 Steps
2001 A Space Odyssey
Barry Lyndon
If
This Sporting Life
Don’t Look Now
THE INNOCENTS is a masterful film, and it appears that it has missed all the prior lists including my own. I knew you’d have ALFIE and MORGAN Bob. And DEAD OF NIGHT and IF are pretty much essential, even if hard to negotiate with only 25. Great choices for the extended sojourn!
Hmm, when I isolate the British films on my 100 favorites list, it looks like this:
1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. Still Nacht I-IV
3. The Third Man
4. The “Up” Series
5. A Walk Through H
6. Civilisation
7. Barry Lyndon
…and that’s it.
For the rest of the top 25, I’ll have to wing it by glancing at the above lists to refresh my memory. Btw, I consider Kubrick’s films borderline cases. I can’t see Strangelove or 2001, with their American actors and financing, and only a few years into Kubrick’s relocation – as distinctly British. Lyndon and Clockwork I’ll grant.
Here goes, order impulsive and somewhat arbitrary:
8. Henry V
9. Brief Encounter
10. The Street of Crocodiles
11. The Life and Death of Col. Blimp
12. This Sporting Life
13. A Clockwork Orange
14. Great Expectations
15. The Wicker Man
16. Naked
17. The Comb
18. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
19. Kind Hearts and Coronets
20. Billy Liar
21. The Long Day Closes
22. A Hard Day’s Night
23. The Singing Detective
24. Monty Python & the Search for the Holy Grail
25. Whiskey Galore
I am definitely overlooking some films which I’d include but haven’t seen on others’ lists so have forgotten. I would also probably have Brideshead Revisited on there, but I’m only halfway through it so I’ll use that as an excuse to narrow the field.
Superlative work here Joel. It’s true that Kubrick is borderline, except for BARRY LYNDON and CLOCKWORK, which seem safety in the British camp. BILLY LIAR is really and inexcusable omission on my own list, but I am delinquent with the kitchen sink films, which deserve sturdy representation. Another that I love, but didn’t quite fit in is THIS SPORTING LIFE, which boasts an extraordinary turn from Richard Harris. STREET OF CROCODILES is a most interesting choice! The TV choices are great ones, and I am not surprised that LAWRENCE would be sitting on top in that front flap of your traveling backpack!
Humorously, 6 1/2 of my top 25, that is more than a fifth, were directed by Americans! Albeit Americans who had relocated. (The 1/2 is for Gilliam.)
Aye Joel, I did indeed notice that! There is substantial overlap when it comes to British and American cinema, and there are several truly great films that are waving both flags.
Nice idea, Sam.
I’ve never been a great fan of British films, especially modern ones – miserabilist bores or terrible comedies. I could only get together a list of 10 British films which I would happily watch on the Falklands:
A Matter of Life and Death
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Magic Christian
The Red Shoes
Hope and Glory
The Plague Dogs
Melody
The Third Man
The Descent
Sense and Sensibility
With so many people there with their own films they want to see, it could get ugly.
Stephen I actually agree that British film over the last 30 years has not been good. I only thought of including 1-2 films since 1980.
Yeah. Of your list I’ve never heard of Night Train to Munich or Overlord (so I’ll take them as recommendations) and I am still to watch Whiskey Galore! and Kes.
Thrilled to hear from you Stephen! I know you’ve been busy of late, and I plan to head on over to your place later today to see if you are posting. A Brit that’s not a huge fan of British cinema? Ha! Well, I have always admired your honesty and unbiased convictions. This excellent shortlist includes a few surprises and some others that practically on all the lineups. As far as your final sentence I am sure we’ll be able to maintain a semblance of order. ha! Thanks so much my friend!
Thank you for the welcome back Sam! I have been busy and have subsequently lost my blogging mojo. I haven’t posted anything for months but I should be in the next week or two.
I look forward to it Stephen!
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan, WitD writers and readers…
Here goes my 25 favorite British films…after struggling to reach 25 films…that I actually, watched… Ha!ha!
A Canterbury Tale…[1944]Directed by Press-burger/Powell
A Window in London… [1940] Directed by Herbert Mason
Blithe Spirit 1945…[1945]Directed by David Lean
Candlelight in Algeria…[1944] Directed by George King
Christ in Concrete [aka “Give us this Day”]…[1949] Directed by Edward Dmytryk.
Cloudburst…[1951] directed by Francis Searle
Green for Danger…[1946] Directed by Sidney Gilliat
No Orchids for Miss Blandish…[1939] Directed by St. John Legh Clowes
Night in the City…[1950] Directed by Jules Dassin
Night Train to Munich – [(1940)] Directed by Carol Reed
Odd man out… [1947] Directed by Carol Reed
Richard III – [1955] [Sir Lawrence as in Olivier] A Classic what more can I say…Which will be released by Criterion on 04/04/2013
Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological horror film directed by Roman Polanski,
Sabotage…1936[] [Hitchcock]
The Divorce of Lady X [1938] Directed by Tim Whelan.
The Fallen Idol… 1948[] Directed by Carol Reed
The Lady Vanishes…[1938] Directed by [Hitchcock]
The Man Who Knew Too Much [1934] [Directed by Hitchcock]
The October Man…[1947] Directed by Roy Ward Baker.
The Small Back Room – The Small Back Room (1949) is a film by the British producer-writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The Third Man…[1949][ Carol Reed]
The 39 Steps… [1935] [Hitchcock]
Time Without Pity…[1957] Directed by Joseph Losey.
[A dark, unflinching film [brit] noir by Losey]
Unpublished Story… [1942] Harold French
Yellow Canary [1943] Yellow Canary is a 1943 British drama film, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Richard Greene and Albert Lieven.
[Note:
It’s obvious that I respect Hitchcock, Reed and one Of my favorite Brit actor Richard Greene.
Hat “tip” to Sam Juliano, because several titles were courtesy Of…]
Dee Dee—-
This is a master class list with many goodies and films that somehow missed some other lists, but are fully deserving of inclusion here. THE FALLEN IDOL is one that really belongs on every list (including my own! Ha!) but you have taken this project a step further with the inclusion of many that sometimes accidentally escape the radar including the underrated THE SMALL BACK ROOM and the brilliant CHRIST IN CONCRETE. Then there’s NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH, a cult favorite that I saw a few years back at the BritNoir Festival at the Film Forum! What a wonderfully original choice! As far as UNPUBLISHED STORY, you may have forgotten my friend, but you sent me an ORIGINAL COPY of this film a few years ago as a gift (one of many gifts from you in fact) and it’s another interesting choice for the discerning cineaste. GREEN FOR DANGER, released on Criterion is yet another that deserves wider acknowledgement on such cinematic surveys. And BLITHE SPIRIT is often left off because some may prefer others by the same director. Kudos too on YELLOW CANARY, Baker’s THE OCTOBER MAN (also seen at BritNoir) and Joseph Losey’s TIME WITHOUT PITY. Marvelous, marvelous cache my friend, and you will have a great time watching these at the Sea Lion Lodge!
I can’t say how delighted I am at the overwhelming response by the WitD community to this upcoming excursion in the southern hemisphere. Future trips are now a certainty! Ha!
Sam, I just wanna say this was an imaginative post that allowed us to look at British cinema as a matter of favorites that viewers would take against any kind of critical guidelines for compilation. I might think ‘The Lavender Hill Mob’ is a perfectly made British classic for example, but I wouldn’t want to have it with me when push comes to shove and there a limit on choices. Love the Sea Lion lodge setting and the delightful lead-in.
Here are my choices in random order:
Tom Jones
Whistle Down the Wind
A Man For All Seasons
Billy Liar
Becket
A Matter of Life and Death
Secrets and Lies
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Chariots of Fire
Naked
The Third Man
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
If….
Goldfinger
Brief Encounter
Monty Python on the Holy Grail
Richard III
Henry V (1989)
The Criminal
The Red Shoes
Don’t Look Now
Oliver!
Barry Lyndon
Night and the City
Hope and Glory
Frank, thanks for making the point I am trying to promote here, and thanks for the kind words and the utterly splendid list! Thanks so much for putting such careful consideration my friend!
Very hard to whittle it all down! This is a list of personal favourites I’m happy to watch time and again, rather than all-time greats as I can hopefully borrow those from everyone else… so largely geared to romance and period drama and my own era. There are also a lot of great TV mini-series and TV films I was sad to leave out, but including them would have made it even more impossible to choose.
Another Country
Brief Encounter
Chariots of Fire
Croupier
Dance with a Stranger
Educating Rita
The Entertainer
Far from the Madding Crowd (Schlesinger)
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Great Expectations (David Lean version)
Gregory’s Girl
Hamlet (Olivier version)
A Hard Day’s Night
Howards End
Letter to Brezhnev
The Life of Brian
Little Dorrit (Edzard version, though I did also like the BBC one)
Little Voice
The L-Shaped Room
A Matter of Life and Death
A Month in the Country
The Remains of the Day
Sense and Sensibility
Shirley Valentine
A Touch of Class
Judy, first off, I love ANOTHER COUNTRY and forgot to include it. But how could possibly have left off THE REMAINS OF THE DAY? I’ll be devising a way to try and get your copy over to me, but I understand it may not be easy with security tight. The Edzard LITTLE DORRIT is also the Dickens of choice for me on that novel. Great selection! Great list my friend, and yes indeed, this is a line-up of personal favorites, rather than just a listing of one’s perception of what are “great” films. It’s an inquiry of what one would do in a hypothetical situation!
Sam, glad to hear you also love ‘Another Country’ – I saw it on stage in London at least twice with Kenneth Branagh as Judd – then in the film Branagh was replaced by Colin Firth, not sure why, but both of them were excellent anyway, as was Rupert Everett in both the stage and film version. I could watch it endlessly, and might just have the opportunity to do just that!
Wow Judy! Seeing that on stage with Branagh is incredible! I agree Firth was superlative, but could also understand why and how Branagh would be as well.
Sam, I just looked up an article about the stage production and it’s a shame I didn’t also go back to see it again later in the run, when Rupert Everett was replaced by Daniel Day-Lewis, who was then in turn replaced by Colin Firth. James Wilby was also in the cast somewhere along the line, so this one play had an amazing line-up of future stars! Apparently Branagh wasn’t available for the film btw, so Firth switched to the other role to play opposite Everett.
A Matter of Life and Death
Darling
The Third Man
Black Narcissus
Brief Encounter
Vera Drake
Kes
Rembrandt
Odd Man Out
Barry Lyndon
A Clockwork Orange
Lawrence of Arabia
The Lady Vanishes
Night and the City
The Remains of the Day
The Wicker Man
Richard III
The Red Shoes
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Hope and Glory
Whiskey Galore
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Long Day Closes
The Criminal
The Fallen Idol
A creative post, Sam.
Bill, thanks so much for stopping in. So many of your choices were reserved by me as well, and a good number are seemingly the most popular for this excursion!
Just a list of favorites (I left off films with largely USA casts and US directors both, hence the absence of Dr. Strangelove or 2001, for instance):
Lawrence of Arabia
The Innocents
Brief Encounter
A Matter of Life and Death
Barry Lyndon
Brazil
Topsy Turvy
A Man For All Seasons
O Lucky Man
Blow Up
Great Expectations
The Up Series
A Hard Day’s Night
Local Hero
Repulsion
Life is Sweet
The Remains of the Day
The Long Day Closes
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
Tess
Hope and Glory
Culloden
Quatermass and the Pit
Bedazzled
Tommy
Gregory’s Girl
MOVIES LEFT OFF THE LIST:
The Third Man, Withnail and I, The Commitments, The Man in the White Suit, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Goldfinger, Far from the Madding Crowd, Distant Voices Still Lives, Educating Rita, The Wicker Man, The Killing Fields, The Red Shoes, That Hamilton Woman, Henry V (44), Doctor Zhivago, Curse of the Demon, Limelight, Summertime, The Lavender Hill Mob, Peeping Tom, If…, Kes, Cul-de-Sac, The War Game, The Knack and How to Get It, It Happened Here, Ryan’s Daughter, Whiskey Galore, Went The Day Well, When the Wind Blows, Yellow Submarine, Two For The Road, A Shot in the Dark, The Ladykillers, High Hopes, Drowning By Numbers, Threads, Excalibur, The Elephant Man, Sid and Nancy, The Long Good Friday, A Passage to India. Oh What a Lovely War!, Naked, Secrets and Lies, Tristram Shandy, Bright Star, Don’t Look Now, This is England, Horror of Dracula, Punishment Park, Ratcatcher, The Servant, Shaun of the Dead, Trainspotting, In Bruges
Definitely The Fallen Idol and Oliver! needs to be added to the “left off” list. Toying with replacing Tommy with Oliver! on my main list, but I think I’ll leave it as it.
Dean, this is an utterly fantastic contribution to this venture! Sounds like you’ll be finding a way to sneak in a few additions when you get down there, and I’ll be accepting any kind of handout I must say! Many m asterpieces, many great films, just a glorious presentation!
CURSE OF THE DEMON is another I mistakenly framed as American, Dean. Otherwise I would have definitely reserved it in my 25! Love, love, love that film!
Gotta love CURSE OF THE DEMON! Dangit, I left off 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Dead of Night, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, This Sporting Life, Billy Liar, Fish Tank, Somers Town, The Curse of Frankenstein, a little Michael Apted comedy called Kipperbang, and Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game and The Company of Wolves. They should go on to the “left off ” list.
Sam, I somehow missed this interesting post.
Since I don’t think I’ll be able to take that trip to Falkland Islands anytime soon, I’m limiting my choice to 10 favourite British Films (and that too in order), and not including films that, despite being British co-productions, I find difficult to consider as one (movies like 2001, Dr Strangelove, The Fly, Alien, The Shining, etc.)
1. Night & the City
2. Lawrence of Arabia
3. Repulsion
4. Brazil
5. A Hard Day’s Night
6. The Third Man
7. Barry Lyndon
8. Yes Minister (TV Series)
9. Blow-Up
10. A Clockwork Orange/Trainspotting
Just Missed: Brief Encounter, The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp, Yes Prime Minister
p.s. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the following iconic British films yet: Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Kes, Darling
Thanks for joining in Shubhajit, and with such a fabulous lineup! Great to see your reservation for the incomparable noir NIGHT AND THE CITY was so quickly etched!
Didn’t Ken Russell direct this film? Wasn’t it called ‘Lisztomania’?
Indeed Mark! And a worthy choice at that! Ha!