BFI Top 100 British films

In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce the BFI 100 list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were 'culturally British'.[1] The list also includes two Irish films, namely My Left Foot and The Commitments.

List breakdown

  • The 1960s led the pack with 26 films of merit for the decade. Four films made the list from each of the years 1949, 1963, and 1971. The earliest film selected was The 39 Steps (1935). Only two other 1930s films made the list, and after 1935, the only years not represented are 1936–1937, 1940–1941, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1972 and 1974–78.
  • David Lean, with seven films, is the most-represented director in the list, followed by Michael Powell (five films, of which four were collaborations with Emeric Pressburger). Powell and Pressburger ("The Archers") and John Schlesinger had four films each, while Alexander Mackendrick and Tony Richardson each had three. Seven of the films were produced by Ealing Studios during the years 1949–55.
  • The most-represented actor is Alec Guinness with nine films of merit, although three appearances were in supporting roles. Michael Caine is the most represented living actor, starring in seven films.
  • Julie Christie is the most represented actress, with six films on the list.
  • All of the directors in the list are male.

Full list

RankTitleYearDirector
1The Third Man1949Carol Reed
2Brief Encounter1945David Lean
3Lawrence of Arabia1962David Lean
4The 39 Steps1935Alfred Hitchcock
5Great Expectations1946David Lean
6Kind Hearts and Coronets1949Robert Hamer
7Kes1969Ken Loach
8Don't Look Now1973Nicolas Roeg
9The Red Shoes1948Powell and Pressburger
10Trainspotting1996Danny Boyle
11The Bridge on the River Kwai1957David Lean
12if....1968Lindsay Anderson
13The Ladykillers1955Alexander Mackendrick
14Saturday Night and Sunday Morning1960Karel Reisz
15Brighton Rock1947John Boulting
16Get Carter1971Mike Hodges
17The Lavender Hill Mob1951Charles Crichton
18Henry V1944Laurence Olivier
19Chariots of Fire1981Hugh Hudson
20A Matter of Life and Death1946Powell and Pressburger
21The Long Good Friday1980John Mackenzie
22The Servant1963Joseph Losey
23Four Weddings and a Funeral1994Mike Newell
24Whisky Galore!1949Alexander Mackendrick
25The Full Monty1997Peter Cattaneo
26The Crying Game1992Neil Jordan
27Doctor Zhivago1965David Lean
28Monty Python's Life of Brian1979Terry Jones
29Withnail and I1987Bruce Robinson
30Gregory's Girl1980Bill Forsyth
31Zulu1964Cy Endfield
32Room at the Top1959Jack Clayton
33Alfie1966Lewis Gilbert
34Gandhi1982Richard Attenborough
35The Lady Vanishes1938Alfred Hitchcock
36The Italian Job1969Peter Collinson
37Local Hero1983Bill Forsyth
38The Commitments1991Alan Parker
39A Fish Called Wanda1988Charles Crichton
40Secrets & Lies1996Mike Leigh
41Dr. No1962Terence Young
42The Madness of King George1994Nicholas Hytner
43A Man for All Seasons1966Fred Zinnemann
44Black Narcissus1947Powell and Pressburger
45The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp1943Powell and Pressburger
46Oliver Twist1948David Lean
47I'm All Right Jack1959John Boulting
48Performance1970Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell
49Shakespeare in Love1998John Madden
50My Beautiful Laundrette1985Stephen Frears
51Tom Jones1963Tony Richardson
52This Sporting Life1963Lindsay Anderson
53My Left Foot1989Jim Sheridan
54Brazil1985Terry Gilliam
55The English Patient1996Anthony Minghella
56A Taste of Honey1961Tony Richardson
57The Go-Between1970Joseph Losey
58The Man in the White Suit1951Alexander Mackendrick
59The Ipcress File1965Sidney J. Furie
60Blow Up1966Michelangelo Antonioni
61The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner1962Tony Richardson
62Sense and Sensibility1995Ang Lee
63Passport to Pimlico1949Henry Cornelius
64The Remains of the Day1993James Ivory
65Sunday, Bloody Sunday1971John Schlesinger
66The Railway Children1970Lionel Jeffries
67Mona Lisa1986Neil Jordan
68The Dam Busters1955Michael Anderson
69Hamlet1948Laurence Olivier
70Goldfinger1964Guy Hamilton
71Elizabeth1998Shekhar Kapur
72Goodbye, Mr Chips1939Sam Wood
73A Room with a View1985James Ivory
74The Day of the Jackal1973Fred Zinnemann
75The Cruel Sea1953Charles Frend
76Billy Liar1963John Schlesinger
77Oliver!1968Carol Reed
78Peeping Tom1960Michael Powell
79Far from the Madding Crowd1967John Schlesinger
80The Draughtsman's Contract1982Peter Greenaway
81A Clockwork Orange1971Stanley Kubrick
82Distant Voices, Still Lives1988Terence Davies
83Darling1965John Schlesinger
84Educating Rita1983Lewis Gilbert
85Brassed Off1996Mark Herman
86Genevieve1953Henry Cornelius
87Women in Love1969Ken Russell
88A Hard Day's Night1964Richard Lester
89Fires Were Started1943Humphrey Jennings
90Hope and Glory1987John Boorman
91My Name Is Joe1998Ken Loach
92In Which We Serve1942Noël Coward and David Lean
93Caravaggio1986Derek Jarman
94The Belles of St Trinian's1954Frank Launder
95Life Is Sweet1990Mike Leigh
96The Wicker Man1973Robin Hardy
97Nil By Mouth1997Gary Oldman
98Small Faces1995Gillies Mackinnon
99Carry On... Up the Khyber1968Gerald Thomas
100The Killing Fields1984Roland Joffé

See also

References

  1. BBC. 23 September 1999. Entertainment: Best 100 British films – full list. Accessed 30 January 2014.
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