What is a British film?

Activity 1:

The King's Speech:
Story and plot - In 1925, the Duke of York is stammerer and has troubles to speak to the public. His wife Elizabeth seeks the treatment of the speech therapist Lionel Logue that follows unconventional methods and relationship, and Bertie gives up the treatment on the first day. However, after listening to the session that was recorded by Lionel, the Bertie returns to the treatment. In the mid 30's, the Duke of York is forced to assume the throne of England as King George VI due to the abdication of his older brother King Edward VIII. Immediately after, there is a crisis in the government and England declares war to Germany. King George VI needs to make a speech to his compatriots, and his friend Lionel helps him using an unorthodox technique.
For obvious reasons this is in my opinion a very british film as it was filmed n the UK, and is also most obviouly about Britain's history as a naton.

Actors - I think all of the acotrs in the this film are British, and also there are tars such as Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffery Rush.

Director - The director of this film was Tom Hooper who is also British and also directed The Damned United another very British film.

Style - It's hard to say what the style of this film is when I haven't seen it myself.

Genre - The genre of this films looks like it's more of a historical drama, it's just a bit too young to be called a period drama.

Production Company - Made by See-Saw Films which is a British company.

Distribution - I think that it was distributed by Bedlam Productions which is also a british film, company.

Exhibition - The film was released on the 7th of January 2011.

127 Hours:
Story and plot - 127 Hours is the story of Aron Ralston, a climber/adverturer who becomes stuck in a crevasse with his arm lodged under a boulder. Over the next 5 days he looks at his life and his sourroundings and finds a way to free himself from his prison but at a cost.
The film is about an American, in America, getting lodged under a boulder in the desert. This film has nothing mildly British about it in its subject matter.

Actors - All of the actors in this are also American with the big name of set being James Franco, a well known but American star.

Director - Director Danny Boyle is British though, but seems to have a habit of making films in foreign countries, for example Slumdog Millionaire.

Style - The style of the film seems to be biographic in the sense that the camera for 90% of the film is just on Aron (Franco) and doesn't take a vew on anyone else unless it's in a flashback.

Genre - The genre of the film looks like an Adventure/Drama crossover, it cannot really be called an action film because there is only one very obvious "action" scene but this obviously isnt enough to class the entire movie as it.

Production Company - Pathe, and Everest Entertainment. As far as I am aware Pathe is a British production company.

Exhibition - the film was released on the 7th January 2011.

Another Year:
Story and plot - A married couple who have managed to remain blissfully happy into their autumn years, are surrounded over the course of the four seasons of one average year by friends, colleagues, and family who all seem to suffer some degree of unhappiness. This film seems traditionally British with an all British cast and traditional British location.

Actors - Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen are the main characters who are both British. While not as high profile as Tom Cruise they are still popular among many people.

Director - Mike Leigh, a British Director who also directed other films such as Vera Drake, a very British film.

Style - It is hard to say what kind of style the film has having not seen it before.

Genre -  The film appears to be a cross between Drama and Comedy.

Production Company - Thin Man Films and Film4, Im assuming both of these companies are British as Film4 is linked with the now disbanded British Film council.

Exhibition - The film was released on the 5th of November 2010.

4 Lions:
Story and plot - Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots.
 While set in Britain the film is also spread across a different culture entirely. So this film could very easily be classed as a British film.

Actors - The film uses Kayvan Novac, Nigel Lindsay and Riz Ahmed, three British actors, to portray three foreign wannabe terrorists the most famous of these three in my opinion is Kayvan Novac who most people know as the "Fonejacker".

Director - Christopher Morris a British director who has had his first popular film with the Four Lions seems to also just make British Films.

Style - It is hard to say what kind of style the film has having not seen it before.

Genre - the film is a comedy drama crossover.

Production company - Film4, which is again heavily involved with the Uk Film council.

Exhibition - 7th May 2010

Made In Dagenham:
Story and plot - A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination. This film is similar to The King's Speech in that it is part of the history of Britian as well as just being set there.

Actors - Sally Hawkins and Bob Hoskins are both big British stars that are two of the main roles in this film.

Director - Directed by Nigel Cole a British director who was also involved in Calendar Girls another classicly British film.

Style - As this is a dramatization the film looks much more like a historical event than a piece of entertainment.

Genre - In my opinion this film fits into the characteristics of three genres which are comedy, drama and history.

Production Company - Audley Films and BBC Films, it seems the finance came from BBC Films as Audley Films sound like a much smaller (and British) production company.

Exhibition - Released on the 1st of October 2010.