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Watch all the winners on the student drive (gbbq.students@outlook.com, password Bristol1)

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Watch all the winners on the student drive (gbbq.students@outlook.com, password Bristol1)

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Outlook.com - Microsoft free personal email

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Instructions/brief

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Films made in our very own city: Bristol!

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Films made in our very own city: Bristol!

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We first did this list a few years ago and it certainly seems to have proven, ahem, inspirational (just google 'Films made in Bristol' to see what we mean). Anyhoo, since then considerably more features have been shot in our lovely city, thanks largely to the efforts of the Bristol Film Office.

We also spotted a few omissions from the original list, which have now been added. Corrections and additions are welcome, but we reserve the right to make fun of you on social media if you don't pay attention to the following:

To qualify for inclusion, films must include at least one scene shot in Bristol and have received a UK cinema release. Specifically excluded are TV productions, straight-to-DVD movies and films shot in Bath, Clevedon, Weston, etc, etc (that's another list for another time). We've bent these rules just once to include Java Head, because it's such an intriguing movie with a great story behind it.
1. Java Head (1934) 2. Treasure Island (1950)
So far as we know, this is the only big screen version of Robert Louis Stevenson's venerable yarn to contain scenes actually shot in Bristol, home of the fictional Long John Silver. Disney's 1950 film also serves up the definitive cinematic Long John in the OTT form of Dorset-born Robert Newton, who made a habit of playing the pirate on screen and is credited with kickstarting the convention by which piratical types speak with Bristolian accents.
Available on DVD from Walt Disney
3. The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
Lots of Bristol and Somerset locations in this Ealing comedy classic. 'Mallingford Station' is actually Temple Meads.
Available on DVD and blu-ray from Studiocanal
4. Cone of Silence (1960)
A fictionalised version of a true story about a pilot who's forced to take the blame for a passenger jet airliner crash, when a design flaw is really at fault. Because this was a low-budget production despite its relatively starry cast (Peter Cushing, Bernard Lee, George Sanders, Gordon Jackson, etc), some rather unfortunately obvious miniatures were used for many of the flying sequences and much of the rest was shot on a sound stage at Shepperton. But principal photography took place at Filton Airfield.
Available on DVD in Odeon Entertainment's Best of British series
5. Some People (1962)
6. The Beauty Jungle (1964)
The Day the Earth Caught Fire director Val Guest headed west to film this, er, searing expose of the beauty pageant game. A pretty, working class Bristol typist is seduced with dreams of glamour by a sleazy photographer from the evil Western Daily Press while on holiday in Weston-super-Mare. The Bristol scenes are all early in the film. Hapless young beauty Shirley Freeman (Janette Scott) lives in Redcliffe Parade West. As she wanders the streets with her fiance, you can see St Mary Redcliffe Church, some fascinating shots of the undeveloped docks, the Ostrich Inn, the inevitable Suspension Bridge, the Clifton Observatory and Sion Hill. Then it's off to glamorous Butlins in Minehead, Weston-super-Mare and Monte Carlo. Watch out for cameos by Sid James (as a beauty contest judge in Minehead), Sterling Moss, Lionel Blair and the Duchess of Bedford.
Available on DVD from Strawberry Media. Alas, this is a pan and scan version. Bizarrely, the only widescreen edition available anywhere is the Australian DVD. You can find this on eBay.
7. Darling (1965)
Oh, the shame! The winner of three Oscars (Best Costume Design, Best Actress for Julie Christie, Best Screenplay for Frederic Raphael), John Schlesinger's now rather dated pre-swinging sixties drama follows the misadventures of Christie's amoral starlet. In one vérité-style scene, Dirk Bogarde's reporter takes to the streets of central Bristol to solicit punters' views on what they're most ashamed of in 60s Britain. "How rife homosexuality has become," replies one gent, possibly unaware that both Bogarde and his director are gay.
Available on blu-ray and DVD in digitally restored form from Studiocanal
8. A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1972)
Temple Meads, Clifton and Hotwells (mostly Freeland Place) are among the locations for Peter Medak's adaptation of Peter Nichols' stage play: a black comedy about a couple bringing up a severely disabled child. This is also one of the very few films to include a sequence shot in Broadmead.
Available on DVD from Sony Pictures.
9. Deadly Strangers (1974)

A rare example of the British psycho-killer road movie, shot on location in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare (spot the Grand Pier!). Cast includes Hayley Mills, Simon Ward and Sterling Hayden.
Not officially available on DVD, though you can find dodgy copies on eBay.
10. The Medusa Touch (1978)
In this pleasingly misanthropic British supernatural thriller, Richard Burton plays a telekinetic catastrophe magnet whose party tricks include crashing a passenger plane into a tower block more than two decades before 9/11. His piece de resistance, however, is a plan to take revenge on the hypocrisy of god-botherers by causing 'Minster Cathedral' to collapse from the comfort of his hospital bed, where he lies in a coma after being bashed about the head by his own shrink (Lee Remick). His target is none other than Her Maj and sundry bigwigs who are due to attend a service. No amount of Routemaster buses shipped in to drive up and down past the building can disguise the fact that Minster Cathedral is actually Bristol Cathedral (back in the days when you could drive anything past it). The Council House and lower end of Park Street are clearly visible in the background and the filmmakers seem to have enjoyed remarkable access to the Cathedral, which crumbles to the ground in an entertaining shower of bouncing rubber bricks. One can only presume that the Cathedral authorities were reassured that Burton's supernatural abilities were not depicted as being in any way Satanic.
Recently reissued on DVD and blu-ray by Network Releasing.

So far as we know, this is the only road movie ever to be set on the A4 between London and Bristol. Thrill to the sights of Temple Meads station, the former Grosvenor Hotel, the Hippodrome and that rickety single-lane Victoria Street flyover which was removed in 1998. Warning: cast includes Sting!
Available on DVD from the BFI.
12. White Nights (1985)
The opening scenes of Mikhail Baryshnikov on stage were filmed at the Bristol Hippodrome.
Available on DVD from Sony Pictures.
13. Hearts of Fire (1987)
Your eyes do not deceive you: that really is Bob Dylan on stage at the Colston Hall.
Never released on DVD.
14. King of the Wind (1990)
A rare foray into feature film production by HTV (remember them?), this gave Bristol-born actor Navin Chowdhry his big break. The UK sequences were shot in Bristol, Bath and Badminton.
Only available on US Region 1 DVD.
15. Paper Mask (1990)
"All they do is wank around for four years and then get dumped on the wards." Anyone who's ever observed the Great British Medical Student at close quarters will acknowledge the essential truth of this uncharitable assessment by frustrated hospital porter Matthew Harris (Clifton's very own Paul McGann). Effortlessly plucking the most attractive female nurses from Harris's grasp, the sawbones at West Harwood hospital earn his contempt and envy until he decides to join their ranks by acquiring the identity of recently deceased Dr. Simon Hennessy and applying - successfully - for the post of Casualty Officer at the Royal Clifton Hospital.

Nurse Christine Taylor (Amanda Donohue) guides him through the routine procedures involved in sewing back detached lumps of anatomy and wielding Really Big Needles as though he were just another green junior doc, and it's not long before they're exchanging bodily fluids after work as well. Things start to turn nasty when Matthew inadvertently polishes off a patient while administering anaesthetic on his own after a tiff with Christine and the profession closes ranks to protect him.
16. Truly, Mady, Deeply (1991)

Goldney Hall and bits of Clifton (notably Birdcage Walk) double for London in the late Anthony Minghella's debut feature.
Recently reissued on DVD and blu-ray by the BBC
17. The Hawk (1993)

A cheapo BBC-backed thriller, with Helen Mirren as a suburban housewife who begins to suspect that her hubby (George Costigan) might be a serial killer known as The Hawk. The real mystery, however, is why all these people with Lancashire accents are living in Totterdown. Yep, although David Hayman's film is set in the north of England it was filmed entirely on location in Bristol - apparently during a permanent downpour.
Cinema Club DVD release is long deleted, but you can get the film as part of the Helen Mirren at the BBC box set from 2 Entertain.
18. The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993)
The winner of a heap of film festival gongs, including an Evening Standard British Film Award and Best Director at the Sitges international fantasy film festival in Spain ("an entirely original hour-long masterpiece" enthused judge and renowned horror expert Kim Newman), bolexbrothers studio co-founder Dave Borthwick's brilliant feature combines live action and stop-motion animation in a truly innovative way to tell the macabre tale of an unwanted tiny fella who's born into an insect-infested slum and is then kidnapped for gruesome medical experiments in a freak-filled laboratory. There are few points of reference to the real world except in an hilarious, instantly recognisable pub skittles scene, peopled by monosyllabic Bristolians. Future Creature Comforts and Shaun the Sheep director Richard Goleszowski was among the extras recruited from among the bolexbrothers' Aardman chums for this sequence. "You can go into pubs in Bedminster and hear people having conversations like that, without actually saying anything at all," remarked Borthwick.
Available on DVD from Manga.
19. The Big Swap (1998)
Spot the Hollywood Bowl, Watershed, Berkeley pub, Weston's Hutton Moor Leisure Centre and loads of bits of director Niall Johnson's home town of Clevedon in his debut: a middle-class wife-swapping drama.
Cinema Club DVD is long deleted.
20. Living in Hope (2002) 21. The Truth About Love (2004) 22. These Foolish Things (2005)
This one certainly had an eye-catching cast (Lauren Bacall, Terence Stamp, Anjelica Huston, a pre- Walking Dead Andrew Lincoln) and the producers spent a fortune transforming King Street and the Bristol Hippodrome into 1930s London theatreland. But the reviews were absolutely terrible. "This embarrassing affair somehow managed to attract, and waste, a strong cast," opined Philip French in The Observer. It was never shown in Bristol.
Available on DVD from Showbox. There's also a blu-ray, released only in Germany.
23. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Our very own Oscar winner: made entirely on location in a big, anonymous warehouse in Aztec West, as was the earlier Chicken Run and later The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!, The Shaun the Sheep Movie and Early Man.
Available on DVD from 20th Century Fox. Oddly never released on Blu-ray.
24. Starter For Ten (2006)

You don't need to have been an undergraduate at Bristol University during the 80s to enjoy David Nicholls' cannily scripted adaptation of his bestselling, semi-autobiographical novel, which blends broad comedy with touching romance and emotional truth, without getting all Richard Curtis on our asses. But there's a special resonance here for those who lived through those years that manifests itself in the form of cringes of recognition: the fashions, the music, the authentically grim and under-populated 'welcoming' Tarts and Vicars party...

For working class Essex boy Brian Jackson (likeable James McAvoy, in what was a career-making lead role), Bristol represents an opportunity to escape his home town backwater and pursue a lifelong trivia geekboy ambition to get on University Challenge, which will inevitably result in enormous quantities of sex. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out like that. Although he's initially drawn to serious "Jewish socialist non-Zionist" political activist Rebecca (Hall, daughter of Sir Peter), Brian soon finds himself enthralled by intimidating, promiscuous posh blonde Alice (Alice Eve, daughter of Trevor), who's given to saying things like "I lost my virginity to this song on a mime course in Tuscany". The University Challenge team isn't what he expected either, being overseen by priggish control freak Patrick (Benedict Cumberbatch). Meanwhile back home, mum (Catherine Tate) is coping with the death of dad by copping off with Mr Whippy the ice cream man.
25. The Duchess (2008)
Bath was Georgiana Spencer's bolthole from her marital shenanigans, so naturally the production spent five days shooting round these parts. Shots of the Royal Crescent feature prominently, the Holburne Museum was temporarily transformed into the Duchess's rented property, and the Assembly Rooms were used for a sequence where she makes a head-turning entrance into a grand ball full of 200 locally recruited extras. The Bristol Old Vic also doubles for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Available on DVD and blu-ray from 20th Century Fox.
26. Shank (2009)
One of the problems with watching this locally made, sexually explicit gay coming-of-age/gang violence drama is that it's hard to concentrate on all the vigorous sodomy when you're so busy spotting the locations and wondering how the characters managed to get around the city so quickly. This is, of course, not the fault of the filmmakers. For such a low-budget, digital video production, Shank is exceptionally technically accomplished and directed with breezy confidence by 21-year-old Simon Pearce, who makes excellent use of his Bristol locations, which range from the obvious (that bloody Suspension Bridge) to inner city streets, plus everybody's least favourite monstrous carbuncle: Westmoreland House. The performances, while a tad rough and ready, are generally pretty good, with Wayne Virgo acquitting himself well as the conflicted lead. More problematic is the script, which is heavily reliant on coincidence and builds to a rather overwrought, drawn-out climax which some will find uncomfortable to watch.

Cal (Virgo) is a member of a chavvy Bristol street gang, unusually led by a girl, Nessa (Alice Payne), whose Big Secret is hinted at early in the film. He's also a repressed homosexual with a deep yearning for his mostly shirtless best mate Jonno (Tom Bott). The only outlet for his sexuality is anonymous rough sex, which he foolishly records on his mobile phone for further masturbatory enjoyment once the self-loathing has died down. After his gang beats the crap out of gangly French student Olivier (Marc Laurent) for looking a bit poofy, Cal takes pity on their Gallic victim and offers him a lift home. They then wind up in bed with remarkable haste given the circumstances of their meeting. In his absence, nasty Nessa discovers Cal's trophy videos on his PC, Jonno goes ballistic at the thought that his chum's a secret shirt-lifter (protesting, you might think, a little too much) and the scene is set for a nasty showdown when they next run into each other. Which shouldn't take too long since everybody seems to live in Montpelier.

There's a strong element of gay wish-fulfilment in all of this (is no male gang member unambiguously straight?), but the film is at its best in the more tender, character-revealing moments involving tormented Cal, macho Jonno and openly gay Olivier. Fascinating factoid: producer Christian Martin is the former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Bristol City Council.
Available on DVD from TLA Releasing.
27. In the Dark Half (2012)

The first micro-budget Bristol iFeatures film to get a cinema release, Alastair Siddons' stylish psychological spooker makes excellent use of its urban/rural border locations, from Hartcliffe to the wilds of Dundry. Stronger on mood than it is on story, this is a consistently unsettling experience that works wonders with its piddly £300,000 budget.

Jessica Barden - the scene-stealing little girl from Tamara Drewe - is cast as 15-year-old Marie, who lives on a grim Hartcliffe estate. Mum Kathy (Lyndsey Marshal) seems hell-bent on tearing their house apart to facilitate an ill-conceived home improvement project. Little wonder the troubled lass would rather spend her time in the adjoining wilds of Dundry, where her poacher neighbour, who goes by the delightful name of Filthy (Tony Curran), enjoys killing anything that moves. After Filthy's six-year-old son perishes in mysterious circumstances while Marie is babysitting, matters take a turn for the supernatural.

Terrific cinematography, effective sound design and more rabbit symbolism than you could shake a carrot at help to mitigate the fact that the twist, when it comes, isn't entirely unexpected.
Available on DVD from Verve Pictures
28. Flying Blind (2013)

The second Bristol iFeatures film to reach cinemas, Flying Blind certainly makes excellent use of diverse city locations (the docks, Clifton, the Downs, the Filton Airbus factory, the Glass Boat, er, that grotty bit of Easton in the shadow of the M32) while sparing us the clichéd shot of the suspension bridge. Polish director Katarzyna Klimkiewicz's debut feature is an action-lite political thriller-cum-love story with more than a hint of Ken Loach about it.

Award-winning veteran Helen McCrory, previously seen in Skyfall, is well cast as single fortysomething aerospace engineer Frankie, who designs military drones at Filton and lectures at Bristol University. Somewhat clunkily, the script telegraphs her personal journey in an early scene where she shrugs off a student's concerns about the ethics of her work, insisting that she's interested only in "the beauty of flight". Enter handsome, mysteriously scarred young French-Algerian Muslim student Kahil (Najib Oudghiri) for an unlikely if passionate affair. This disturbs Frankie's retired Concorde engineer dad (Kenneth Cranham) and, subsequently, the security services, who declare Kahil a "person of interest".

According to perspective, Frankie is either remarkably naïve or blinded by love, and much of the subsequent drama hinges on how little she really knows about her lover. There are few surprises in store, the film's strength being in emotional verisimilitude rather than edge-of-seat thrills. Now about that lack of a Suspension Bridge shot... "We did actually shoot one scene of the bridge," Katarzyna confesses. "I couldn't resist, because it's so beautiful. But then it was cut out. There was no need for it in the story."
Available on DVD from Soda Pictures
29. 8 Minutes Idle (2014)

The third Bristol iFeatures film: a comedy adapted from Matt Thorne's novel about call centre life. The first movie ever to put Turbo Island on screen.
Available on DVD from Luxin
30. Judas Ghost (2014) 31. The Inbetweeners 2 (2014)
There's not much of Bristol in this one, as it mostly takes place down under (with all the arfing and sniggering that implies), but the film opens with Will (Simon Bird) landing a place at Bristol University, where he remains terminally uncool and unpopular. Watch out for the Clifton Observatory and that inevitable Suspension Bridge.
Available on DVD and blu-ray from Entertainment.
32. The Fold (2014) 33. The Darkest Dawn (2016)
It's got a budget of just £43,000, bristles with special effects produced using software that costs £50 a month to use, and its 22-year-old director recruited a cast led not by actors but YouTube stars. Yep, Bristol's very own ambitious micro-budget alien apocalypse blockbuster is quite a calling card for the St Paul's-based Wildseed Studios. It so impressed the folks over at the Watershed that they gave the film a week-long run. Go here for our feature on the story behind The Darkest Dawn.
Available on DVD from Gilt Edge Media
34. Golden Years (2016)
John Miller, director of Living in Hope (see above), made excellent use of Bristol locations for this Henleaze pensioner heist comedy. Go here for our full feature on the making of the film.
Available on DVD from High Fliers Films
35. B&B (2017) 36. The Sense of an Ending (2017)
Julian Barnes's Booker Prize-winning 2011 novel came to the screen courtesy of playwright Nick Payne, this being his first screenplay, and director Ritesh Batra, whose 2013 debut feature The Lunchbox was nominated for a BAFTA. Something of a male-oriented counterpart to Iain McEwan's Atonement, it's an exploration of selective memory and how the past can weigh heavily on the present, unfolding in two time frames.

The great Jim Broadbent stars as curmudgeonly, divorced and solitary Tony Webster, who finds himself forced to confront flawed recollections of his younger self. This is sparked by the arrival of a lawyer's letter telling him that the mother of Veronica, his girlfriend at Bristol University back in the sixties, has bequeathed him a diary. It was written by his best friend, Adrian, who dated Veronica after the couple split up. Now all the deceit, heartbreak and guilt comes flooding back as Tony faces up to the devastating consequences of his actions all those years ago. Charlotte Rampling is cast as the adult Veronica, while Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery plays his pregnant lesbian daughter. Freya Mavor (Mini McGuinness in Skins) and Billy Howle are the young Veronica and Tony in the Bristol scenes. Although it's a fine film, there isn't really an awful lot of Bristol in it (most of the filming was done in London) apart from the mandatory suspension bridge shot.
Available on DVD and blu-ray from Studiocanal
37. Another Mother's Son (2017) 38. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) 39. Crowhurst (2018) 40. The Festival (2018) 41. Stan & Ollie (2018)

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The definitive list of films made in Bristol

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We first did this list a few years ago and it certainly seems to have proven, ahem, inspirational (just google 'Films made in Bristol' to see what we mean). Anyhoo, since then considerably more features have been shot in our lovely city, thanks largely to the efforts of the Bristol Film Office.

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Guidelines for writing

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British Film and Television - written assigment brief

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Watch live BBC TV channels, enjoy TV programmes you missed and view exclusive content on BBC iPlayer.

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Watch ITV live - the widest range of quality TV for the whole family. Award winning programming including dramas, entertainment, documentaries, news and live sport.

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Watch your favourite shows online, from Channel 4, E4 and Walter Presents

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25 British TV Shows You Need to Binge This Year

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Here's a list of some of the best British TV shows you might be missing out on right now.

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50 Must-See British TV Series - How many have you watched?

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British TV is some of the best TV in the world. We've picked 50 must-see shows on British television. How many have you seen?

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"The British are coming," trumpeted Chariots Of Fire screenwriter Colin Welland infamously at the 1982 Oscars. In truth "the British" were already there. They'd been making movies for over a century, with plenty of stick-on masterpieces in that number. Comedies, dramas, war films, horror... British filmmakers have proved they can tackle any genre, and the best British movies around can be anything, putting the best British movies up against anywhere else in the world.

From Hitchcock to Lean, Powell and Pressburger to Loach and Boyle, Empire's 100 Best British Films celebrates the very finest of them. Here's the list...
100. 45 Years (2015)
Two giants of British screen acting, surprisingly working together for the first time, make a combustible double-act in this Norfolk-set two-hander. Charlotte Rampling scored her first Oscar nod as Kate Mercer, one half of a long-married couple nearing a key milestone. The other half, husband Geoff ( Tom Courtenay), has long-hidden skeletons in closet - or in this case, attic - that she unwittingly discovers at this key moment. Cue brewing tensions, agonised soul-searching and a portrait of marriage's autumnal challenges that's handled with great subtlety and sensitivity by director Andrew Haigh.
99. The Ipcress File (1965) 98. Oh! What A Lovely War (1969)
Since it simply wasn't possible to compete with Connery's 007 in the super-spy stakes during the '60s, Sidney J. Furie's first adaptation of cook-turned author Len Deighton's Cold War novels goes the other way. While investigating kidnapped scientists, undisciplined surveillance man Harry Palmer doesn't globe-trot, bed-hop or trade verbage with cat-stroking megalomaniac villains; he spends his time on mundane form-filling tasks in drab offices. Despite coming from the Bondian creative team (supremo Harry Saltzman, designer Ken Adams, editor Peter Hunt, scorer John Barry), this labyrinthine thriller provides a credible everyman alternative to Bond while embracing British everydayness. There's decent support too (most notably from Gordon Jackson), but the adventures are worth watching for Michael Caine's (arguably) most iconic role, where his unique brand of cockney cool really started to shine.
97. 24 Hour Party People (2002)
Starring enough Redgraves to populate a small island, Richard Attenborough's Great War musical flaunts one of the chunkiest contacts book in British movie history. The director assembled the cream of '60s acting talent, garbed it in khaki and set it lose on a uniquely British satire. At times it plays like the most thespian game of I-spy in history. The general behind that bushy moustache? Laurence Olivier, of course. That recruitment drive chanteuse? Maggie Smith. And aren't those Dirk Bogarde, John Mills and Vanessa Redgrave doing their bit for the war effort? Oh! What A Luvvie War might have been a better title. But stardom aside, it adds up to an indictment of the War's immeasurable suffering that's both scathing and deeply moving. If the chronological approach gives it an occasionally episodic quality, Attenborough choreographs it all with such flair and compassion that it feels like the world's most dazzling history lesson. Filled with the hummable tunes from the trenches and boasting one of the most heartbreaking final shots in cinema, it's an unsung epic.
96. Nil By Mouth (1997) 95. Gregory's Girl (1981)
Ostensibly a movie about the Manchester music scene between '76-'92, 24 Hour Party People spends more time mocking its lead character and narrator, record label owner Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan), than relaying the stories of Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, all of whom passed through his orbit. But as you roll on the floor laughing when Tony crashes into a tree while riding a hang glider, or gets caught by his wife in the back of a "nosh van" getting "oral pleasures" from a stranger, you really don't mind how much '90s pop culture gets brought to life - or whether what is shown on screen actually happened in the first place. Deftly directed by Winterbottom, 24HPP (as no-one ever calls it) is far, far funnier than anyone should ever expect a biopic to be. If you can call it a biopic. Or expect anything of it at all, really...
94. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
We all know that Gary Oldman is an actor's actor - he's established his reputation beyond doubt over the past three decades - but this (as yet) sole effort as auteur shows that he's an actor's director too. A disturbingly honest and unflinching look at the practice and results of domestic violence, this gave Ray Winstone an astonishing chance to shine and established him as both a hardman and an actor capable of great subtlety and range even as he plays someone capable of neither. But no less capable is Kathy Burke, previously best known for TV comedy, who gives a three dimensional performance in what could have been a simple "victim" role. It's not a feelgood effort - quite the opposite - but a semi-autobiographical exorcism of the demons of Oldman's own south London upbringing that shows a side of life that we might all prefer to ignore. Few debuts are this powerful or memorable.
93. Brazil (1985) 92. Four Lions (2010)
There are many teen comedies, and teen sex comedies. None, however, come close to Gregory's Girl, a story of love and lust burning in all its teenage intensity that manages both realism and unspeakable hilarity without ever forgetting to sympathise with its subjects. John Gordon Sinclair is the youngster struck down with adoration for the gorgeous, football-playing Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), while Grogan plays Susan, Dorothy's friend and a far better bet for the awkward Romeo. It's a familiar set-up, but it's almost never been as beautifully observed or intelligently written as it is here, for which all credit to Bill Forsyth. After all, dates that involve aimless walks and visits to the chip shop will ring just a little bit more true-to-life than American cinema's endless parade of proms, beach parties and sporting events. View it as a companion piece to the director's Local Hero, and settle yourself in for some of the most convincing real-life laughs you will ever see on film.
91. The Remains Of The Day (1993)
Elegant and measured storytelling secures Tomas Alfredson's Cold War thriller a spot on the list. Led by Gary Oldman's buttoned-down George Smiley ("It's a sitting down role," as he describes it), it's an old-fashioned search for a mole among the top spies of "The Circus", something made more difficult by the fact that he's officially retired. Also, of course, the suspects are some of Blighty's finest actors, from Colin Firth to Toby Jones and Ciaran Hinds, while the pawns at stake include Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy, so they're not going to be easy to read. With that lot on top form, Alfredson might have been forgiven for just pointing the camera at them and giving up, but in fact he crafts a grimy, distinctly '70s London in muted tones and dim shadows and gives the whole thing a sheen of undoubted quality.
90. Dracula (1958) 89. The Railway Children (1970)
There's a cruel irony in the fact that Terry Gilliam's hymn to non-conformity ran smack into huge studio pressure to conform to audience expectation. Specifically, Universal's grande fromage Sid Sheinberg believed that its ending was too bleak and needed less, well, bleakness. Being Sid Sheinberg he was in a position to force through his infamous 'Love Conquers All' edit, unwittingly providing Gilliam's unique sci-fi with the Big Brother figure it didn't boast on screen. Sheinberg had less luck foisting a new title on the film - the director himself combed through numerous ideas, the Orwell-referencing '1984' amongst them, before settling on a sideways reference to a pre-war ditty called 'Aquarela do Brasil' - but he let the film fester so long on the shelf that Gilliam was reduced to begging for its release in trade press ads. On the other side of the Atlantic, audiences were reveling in a dystopian vision that's since been referenced by everyone from the Coen brothers to Alex Proyas. Like Metropolis with a whole lot more paperwork, it's a melon-twisting vision of a future bureaucracy gone crackers.
88. Gandhi (1982)
On paper, a comedy about radicalised British Muslims blowing themselves up during the London Marathon shouldn't be funny, but with Chris Morris at the helm, nothing can be taken for granted - not even gags about bomb construction or exploding crows. Morris pulls off an incredible trick in extracting comedy from catastrophe with the help of a talented cast, Kayvan Novak to the fore as the earnest Waj with Nigel Lindsay as irascible convert Barry. Morris teases out belly laugh after belly laugh from characters rather than crudeness, sympathy rather than distain, all whilst making a point about the nature of terrorism. For this amazing balancing act alone, Four Lions deserves a place up there with The Life Of Brian in the contentious comedy hall of fame. Sure, the somewhat inevitable ending wouldn't be found in most 'how-to-make-a-money-spinning-comedy' handbooks, but in Morris's masterful hands, you're guaranteed hysteric giggle fits as well as some heavier head scratching.
87. Hope And Glory (1987) 86. The Killing Fields (1984)
You have to get past the imitators and the spoofs, because this Merchant-Ivory classic inspired legions of both, but if you can you'll find this sumptuously shot, beautifully understated drama is worth the effort. Forget Hannibal Lecter: this is Anthony Hopkins' finest performance by a country mile. As the buttoned-down butler who places propriety about everything else in his life, his turn is so restrained he might as well be wearing a straitjacket, but underneath his every mood is clear, if you're paying attention, as he negotiates fascist sympathisers, American newcomers and Emma Thompson's strong-willed housekeeper. The Kazuo Ishiguro novel already provided the elegiac sense of melancholy and missed chances, but this adaptation adds beautiful visuals and a polished sheen that even Hopkins' Steven would admire.
85. Billy Liar (1963)
Hammer's take on the big daddy of the vampire world (assuming vampires have fathers) is sexier and gorier than any previous adaptation, and most subsequent efforts. Christopher Lee makes an imposing, fiery Count, pitted against Peter Cushing's cool, cerebral Van Helsing in a battle for the soul of Mina Harker and any other comely wenches who happen to cross his path. It's a pacy retelling of the story, only pausing for a moment here and there as Dracula looms threateningly over someone's neck, and it has a rich score that keeps the blood pumping. The Count's gruesome end, flesh peeling and melting in the sun, is an iconic horror image and did much to establish the Hammer style.
84. Hamlet (1948) 83. Skyfall (2012)
The story, by E. Nesbit, is a children's classic, and this is the definitive film version. A family are thrown into poverty and forced to move to the country when their father is accused of treason, but inbetween playing on the railway lines (Kids: don't try this at home) and various acts of minor heroism, they become accustomed to their new life. Winning over recalcitrant station master Bernard Cribbins and befriending strangers on trains proves to be its own reward in the end, building to a happy ending that still brings a tear to the eye. Seriously, if you don't well up a little when Jenny Agutter, looking through the steam, spots her father and cries, "Daddy, oh my daddy" we can only assume it's because you had your tear ducts surgically removed.
82. The Lady Vanishes (1938) 81. Paddington (2014)
There's epic, there's really epic, and then there's . As befits one of the most important figures of the 20th century, and certainly one of the most admirable among those figures, Richard Attenborough approached this biopic determined to do justice to both the Mahatma's lofty ideals and also the sheer scale of his achievement. So star Ben Kingsley gets to bring Gandhi to life over a 55-year period, starting from the earliest glimmerings of his political conscience to his eventual assassination, surrounded by some of the best actors ever to grace stage or screen. Along the way Gandhi brought independence to India, pioneered peaceful protest on a massive scale and provided a new benchmark for idealists everywhere. Kingsley's performance is extraordinary, but he's backed up by Attenborough's sweeping cinematography and enormous ambition - there are hundreds of thousands of extras in that funeral scene, dwarfing even the armies of Isengard for scale. It's a mad benchmark that, in these digital days, will never be threatened, but it's hard to think of a more worthy subject.
80. Goodbye, Mr Chips (1939)
Five Oscar nominations are tribute to a none-more-British film about the Blitz that found an appreciative audience on both side of the Atlantic. Seen through the eyes of ten year-old Billy (Sebastian Rice-Edwards), John Boorman's autobiographical movie turns London's bombed-out suburbs into a giant adventure playground for schoolboys. An interesting - and wistful - companion piece to Steven Spielberg's Empire Of The Sun, filmed just down the road at almost at the same time, it's full of visual snapshots of an extraordinary time in England's past, a sepia photo album brought back to life. It's full of startling visual cues, too. Witness the sudden blast of a Luftwaffe bomb unfolding in horrifying slow-motion or the dead fish floating for Billy and his sister to collect after a rogue bomb lands in the river. But the randomness of the war's impact is best captured by the discovery that another rogue bombs means school is out - permanently. "Thank you Adolf!" gleefully shout Billy and his chums. See, war isn't always hell, especially when it gets you out of double maths.
79. The King's Speech (2010) 78. Henry V (1989)
An Oscar-winning movie of a Pulitzer-winning story, Roland Joffé's war film is a stunning, sober examination of a human catastrophe of barely comprehensible scale. It follows New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg (Waterston) and his interpreter Dith Pran (the Oscar-winning Ngor) through the sharp end of America's incursion into Cambodia. Thanks at least in part to his movie, everyone knows what happened next. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge emerged from the smoke and turned one of the most beautiful countries on Earth into a boneyard. Joffé spares us none of that bleakness. Down the road, Brando's Kurtz may have been murmuring about "the horror" but here it was, up close and brutally impersonal. Schanberg may have won that Pulitzer for his reportage, but Haing Ngor's fearless journo is the beating heart of the story - and the film. In a tragic coda, the man who played him, first-time actor Haing Ngor, was gunned down on an LA street 22 years later.
77. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part Two (2011)
Before he moved across the Pond and made Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man, John Schlesinger presided over one of the greatest hitting streaks in British cinema. In four halcyon years he and his producer Joseph Janni turned out , Darling and Far From The Madding Crowd. The first of these remains influential to this day, Tom Courtenay's Walter Mitty-like smalltown boy with big plans a prototype for a thousand British dreamers. Ricky Gervais cites Billy Liar as an inspiration for Cemetery Junction's bored twentysomethings, but the quirky supporting cast of motley Brits, from Leonard Rossiter's lugubrious mortician to Leslie Randall's catchphrase-spouting telly personality ("It's aaall happening"), are building blocks for Gervais's great sitcoms too. Billy, though, is Schlesinger's tour de force and the director drew Courtenay's greatest performance as the lovable romantic who just happens to machine gun anyone who frustrates his plans (in his dreams, of course). Funny and melancholy, it's a poignant hymn to broken dreamers.
76. Naked (1993) 75. Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 74. Starred Up (2013)
After Quantum Of Solace, Sam Mendes' 007 debut feels like a re-reboot for the Daniel Craig era. Out went the mystifying Quantum and its devious plan to do something or other in Bolivia; in came the arch and motivated Silva ( Javier Bardem) to add a much-needed dose of theatricality and threat to the franchise. Craig seems re-energised, neon-lit in one virtuoso Shanghai sequence and mixing the debonair with the deadly as the story races from one affectionate Bond homage to another. None of the nods feel clunky, testimony to Mendes' lightness of touch, and the ending left Britain's finest looking ship-shape.
73. Atonement (2007)
It speaks volumes for Hitchcock's thrillers that they have a habit of reappearing in modern-day threads. Rear Window became Disturbia, Dial M For Murder turned into The Perfect Murder, and this thriller had Jodie Foster frenziedly searching Flightplan's airliner for her missing daughter. All three are a handy reminder that no-one does Hitchcock like the man himself: for timeless characters and devilish schemes, he's just peerless. Boarding his train-bound thriller are folk musicologist Gilbert (Redgrave) and his new companion Iris (Lockwood), a smart woman heading home to marry her "blue-blooded cheque chaser", who find them themselves trapped among some trigger-happy agents. When fussy governess Miss Froy (Whitty) mysteriously vanishes from the dining car, the sparky pair get their amateur sleuth on to track her down. Even with the help of cricket-obsessed Basil Rathbone and Naunton Wayne, their journey across the fictional country of Bandrika gets more dangerous with every passing mile. It's as much fun as you can have on a train, although if you can spot that Hitch cameo, you've got sharper eyes than us.
72. The Man In The White Suit (1951) 71. Control (2007)
A great big hug of a movie, Paddington charmed the public and critics alike in one of the nicest surprises of 2014, adding itself to the canon of beloved Christmas movies and proving that bears aren't just for Werner Herzog documentaries and savaging Leonardo DiCaprio. Paul King (director/co-writer), Ben Whishaw (voice) and Framestore (visual effects) combined their talents to make a funny, affecting case for a kinder, more tolerant Britain. Post-Brexit, it feels more like a lovely dream. Look out for Paddington battling Nigel Farage in Paddington 2: Dark Territory.
70.Casino Royale (2006)
If you know a teacher who's just had a bad day, put this on to remind them of the importance of what they do. A deeply moving but blessedly unsentimental look at one teacher's career over a 50-year span, this chronicles his rocky early years, the changes wrought by the arrival of his wife and the deep scars - both personal and professional - taken along the way. While on one hand there are the successive generations of a single family who keep returning to the school, on the other there are the remembrance services for the dead of several conflicts, culminating in the devastation of World War I. This serves as a chronicle of a changing world as well as one man's life, and it serves as a tribute to ordinary, everyday greatness.
69. Blow-Up (1966) 68. Senna (2010)
A film about a stuttering posho is not the most obvious crowdpleaser in film history, even with a wunderkind director and the most likeable star this side of Tom Hanks. And yet somehow this is gripping, suspenseful cinema, a sort of Rocky for the non-physical contender and an underdog story that would make a stone cheer. Colin Firth plays Bertie, the 1930s prince and future George VI afflicted with a terrible speech impediment that cripples his efforts at public speaking; Helena Bonham Carter is his endlessly supportive wife and Geoffrey Rush his eccentric speech therapist. It's talky, it's largely set in a London basement with peeling walls and creaking floors, and it's edge-of-your-seat stuff as Bertie struggles to get a word out, and faces both the throne and the outbreak of war with less trepidation than he displays faced with a microphone or small audience. Stirring stuff, no matter what you think of the monarchy.
67. In The Loop (2009)
This may not quite provide the "muse of fire" for which Shakespeare's narrator wished in telling the story of Henry V, but it comes closer than any other adaptation to illustrating the scale and scope of his wars against the French, and gives even the previously gold-standard Laurence Olivier version a run for its money in the character stakes. Shakespearean wunderkind Branagh stepped into Olivier's footsteps in his directorial debut, directing himself as the young King goaded into a war in France and facing overwhelming odds. These battles are bloody, muddy and ungallant, making the most of cinema's scope and locations and a far cry from the often dry adaptations that had previously been the rule. The sheer number of luminaries in the cast is almost distracting (even Christian Bale is tucked away in there somewhere) but if you don't feel a stirring at the St. Crispin's Day speech, you're either dead inside or French.
66. Man On Wire (2008) 65. Hunger (2008)
The second most recent film on the list, this gets a spot for doing the impossible: not going out with a whimper. So high were the expectations for this eighth instalment of the series that you would have forgiven director David Yates for locking himself in Dumbledore's office and refusing to come out until it was all over, but instead he turned out an action-packed, character-driven, sometimes brutal finale to the adventures of the boy wizard. Finally there's the all-out magical war that the series had always sidestepped; finally there's a resolution to the Harry and Voldemort conundrum. If nothing else, you have to admire the chutzpah of a series that not only takes time out for a metaphysical jaunt in the middle of the big final battle but also does the unthinkable and lets the bad guy have his victory on the way.
64. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) 63. Chariots Of Fire (1981)
Naked represented a shift in Mike Leigh's work away from piercing studies of domestic mundanities into something far more edgier. David Thewlis is Johnny, an over-educated, unemployed drifter who comes to London fleeing a sex attack in Manchester and stays with an ex-girlfriend (Lesley Sharp), sleeps with her flatmate (Katrin Cartlidge) and generally expounds his caustic worldviews to anyone who listens. Naked sees Leigh getting to grips not only with a different subculture - underground London - but also with moviemaking, Dick Pope's cinematography full of tracking shots and interesting lighting strategies that felt new in Leigh's work. What doesn't surprise is the strength in depth of the performances: Thewlis is terrific as Johnny - bitter, articulate, deeply unpleasant, always compelling. If you've only ever seen him in Harry Potter, rectify this now.
62. Secrets And Lies (1996) 61. The Full Monty (1997)
There's a perennial pub debate that poses the question: Which is better, or ? Snatch apologists talk a good game, but the correct answer is, of course, Guy Ritchie's jaw-dropping debut. After all, this is a movie that brought the world 'The Stath', Vinnie Jones hammering someone's skull with a car door, and the knowledge that a big purple dildo can be used an offensive weapon. Essentially the shaggiest of shaggy dog stories - to call the plot "complex" is to do it a disservice - it's all so slickly done, delivered with such balls-out confidence and written with such an amazing turn of phrase that somehow the convoluted to-ing-and-froing works like clockwork. So well, in fact, that over 18 years later, it remains Ritchie's finest film, a fantastic achievement from a first-time director who took a group of meticulously-cast but relatively unknown actors and spun them into solid fackin' gold.
60. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
A blistering calling card for both its star, Jack O'Connell, and director, David Mackenzie, another of 's MVPs is a heralded figure. Therapist-turned-screenwriter Jonathan Asser channels his own experience working to rehabilitate prisoners into a violent, bruising and most of all, realistic depiction of life on the inside. O'Connell brings a laser-beam focus and ferocity to the role of uncontrollable young offender who's had to be "starred up" to an adult prison. It's a cocky, charismatic turn that brings to mind Finney, Burton and Courtenay and in the heydays of the British new wave.
59. Peeping Tom (1960) 58. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
should be like every British film cliché rolled into one: there's a bit in a country house, a bit in World War II and a bit where there's a kitchen sink. And yet Joe Wright's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel feels distinct and entirely its own beast. That's partly due to great performances and a twisty, not-strictly-linear structure, and partly due to bravura storytelling on Joe Wright's part - witness the devastating Steadicam Dunkirk shot, or the terse confrontation between the grown up Briony (Ronan / Garai / Redgrave) and the couple she wronged (McAvoy and Knightley). The initial mistake, born of adolescent stupidity and self-importance, mushrooms out of control, rolls into adulthood and overshadows a number of lives. The final revelation of its consequences is devastating, no matter how inevitable it is.
57. My Name Is Joe (1998) 56. Shakespeare In Love (1998)
Alexander Mackendrick deserves to be remembered more prominently than he is among the titans of British film, given that he's responsible for classics like Whisky Galore!, The Ladykillers and this biting satire. Alec Guinness plays the idealistic young chemist who invents a revolutionary fabric that never wears out or requires washing - only to learn that both industrialists and workers are united against his wonder-cloth, terrified that it will destroy the economy and put them all out of business. If not as vicious as Mackendrick's great American effort, Sweet Smell Of Success, this is still a plenty cynical view of the chances for real innovation in our imperfect world, and feels as relevant today as it did 60 years ago, if not more so (see Who Killed The Electric Car? for a real-world application). It's a comedy - more or less - but it will leave you thinking long after the credits roll.
55. Tom Jones (1963)
A fresh-faced Sam Riley took his place in the pantheon of on-screen rockstars with his depiction of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis. We're saying he's more than a musical match for Andy Serkis's Ian Dury, Gary Oldman's Sid Vicious or Val Kilmer's Jim Morrison - even if his trousers aren't quite as tight. All jittery energy and charisma on stage, Riley's post-punk star is a troubled soul who jerks from elation to despair off it. We know what's coming from the first reel but experienced through the eyes of Debbie Curtis ( Samantha Morton), his suicide still comes like a punch in the gut. If Joy Division's music doesn't do it for you - and Riley and co. reprise their greatest moments with more panache than we've any right to expect from non-musicians - there's Anton Corbijn's stunning black-and-white photography to appreciate and Toby Kebbell's hilarious Rob Gretton to enjoy. Frankly, if that's not enough for you, you're a big dog's cock.
54. Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) 53. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
It wasn't Pierce Brosnan's fault that the Bond franchise ran aground, but equally you could hardly blame Daniel Craig that some 007 fanatics couldn't see him mirroring Brosnan's suave charm, Moore's wry humour or Sean Connery's ability to look deeply sexy even when wearing dad slacks and a golf visor. The whole Craig-not-Bond farrago was a reminder that, back in the early '60s, even Connery wasn't everyone's first choice. That seemed to work out okay and so, emphatically, did this. Sure, we'd probably have sacrificed all that product-placement ahead of gadget-fiend, Q, and we kinda missed the silly kiss-off lines, but the return of Bond matched all reasonable expectations and then blasted past them. From Craig's first 00-ppearance, a Bourne-like flashback ferocious enough to pin moviegoers back in their seats, every head-punch, put-down and swimming-trunk-clad step felt like a mission statement for the reborn franchise. "How did he die, your contact?" enquiries a case officer of Bond's first kill. "Not well," glowers 007. You can almost hear the remote-controlled car backing hurriedly into the garage.
52. The 39 Steps (1935) 51. Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005)
As you'd expect from the man behind L'Avventura and La Notta, Michelangelo Antonioni's swinging London is a pretty high-minded place. The 24/7 sexy romping at fashion snapper Thomas' (Hemmings) pad may look a bit, well, Austin Powers-y these days, but the Italian great was in deadly earnest with his adaption of Julio Cortázar's short story. Behind all the chiffon and posing is a seriously smart premise that Brian De Palma would later borrow for his thriller Blow Out (1981). It has Hemmings' David Bailey-alike realising that he's unwittingly photographed a murderer lurking in the treeline of a deserted park. Returning the next day, he stumbles upon the victim's body, only for it to vanish soon afterwards. Will the snapper tear himself away from the sexy romping long enough to solve the case and bring the killer to justice? Come on, this is Antonioni we're talking about. If you've seen L'Avventura, you'll know that he prefers his mysteries unsolved.
50. Hot Fuzz (2007) 49. Look Back In Anger (1959)
Far from the dyed-in-the-wool petrolhead you might expect, Asif Kapadia's knowledge of Formula 1 was fairly scant when he set to work on his mesmerising character study of Brazilian superstar Ayrton Senna. It speaks volumes for Senna's charisma that the result still glows with fanboyish affection for its subject. As Empire's review points out, his life and death are recounted in an "ambitiously constructed, deeply compelling and thrilling" style. Kapadia wasn't finished there: he'd repeat the trick with Amy Winehouse in Amy five years later.
48. Topsy Turvy (1999)
Definitive proof that politics - or movies about politics, at least - can be side-clutchingly funny, In The Loop is an expletive-filled masterclass in modern political satire, saying fuckety-bye to New Labour with one last cinematic kick to the balls. Essentially a spin-off of the equally hilarious BBC sitcom The Thick of It, it shares many of the same characters, most notably Peter Capaldi's foul-mouthed Scottish spin doctor Malcolm Tucker. Cracking out one-liners like "Christ on a bendy-bus. Don't be such a fucking faff arse" and "Good morning, my little chicks and cocks" he's definitely the star of the show, but Chris Addison, James Gandolfini and Steve Coogan steal a good scene too. So hats off to writer/director/walking-talking-real-life-genius Armando Iannucci for being first to prove that sitcom spin-offs can work in the 21st century. If you're in the mood for more sitcoms turned into movies, head right here.
47. The Wicker Man (1973) 46. The English Patient (1996)
It's a documentary movie about an event so fantastic you couldn't script it. It's a heist movie without any attempt at theft. It's a film about the World Trade Center that doesn't so much as glancingly mention the events of 9/11. And yet Man On Wire not only works brilliantly, but grips like a vice as it tells the story of daredevil Philippe Petit and his distinctly unsanctioned 1974 mission to tightrope walk (and dance, and spin, and sit) on a rope strung 110 stories up between the summits of the twin towers of the WTC. Months in the planning and hours in the execution, this combination of contemporary video and partial reconstruction gives modern viewers the chance to share in the magical and clearly impossible (for all rational people, at least) feats of Petit, still an endlessly energetic figure and, we must assume, something of a magician. And for more great documentaries, check out our list of the best examples on Netflix.
45. Black Narcissus (1947)
Like Sam Taylor-Wood, Julian Schnabel and, um, Tony Hart, artist-cum-director Steve McQueen turned out to be a dab hand in both kinds of studio. His debut feature, a stark meditation on political protest, largely sidelined the actual politics behind Bobby Sands' (Fassbender) 1981 hunger strike to zoom in on the man himself. It's not an easy watch, by any means. Michael Fassbender's astonishing portrayal of the dying IRA man is disquieting viewing, while McQueen's Maze Prison, faeces-smeared walls, urine sloshing corridors and all, will haunt your dreams. The 33lbs Fassbender lost for the part, a Machinist-like plunge into emaciation, translates into a performance filled with heavy-lidded determination: the frailer Sands' body becomes the stronger he seems, a dichotomy the actor explores to the full. His 17 minute exchange with Liam Cunningham's Catholic priest offers an electric centrepiece scene captured in one unobtrusive take by McQueen's camera. Okay, Hunger probably isn't a movie to settle down to with a pizza, but it's an essential piece of modern art from a director we'll be seeing a whole lot more from.
44. Sexy Beast (2000) 43. Great Expectations (1946)
Chariots Of Fire is, perhaps, the definition of a movie that became too successful for its own good. Twenty-first century newcomers to Hugh Hudson's classic sports drama have to dig through a steeplejump's worth of hype, a catchphrase that looms like stormcloud (screenwriter Colin Welland may always regret whooping, "The British are coming" when picking up his Oscar), and a small army of top-hat wearing, ever-so-snooty characters that are hard to not laugh at on occasion. But if you can see through all that, there is a beautiful movie beneath, dealing with devotion and identity, religion and fame. And that's without mentioning Vangelis's still jaw-dropping, if now slightly clichéd, score, a synthesiser-heavy masterpiece that somehow sits perfectly with the film's 1920s setting. It's a piece of music so magnificent it'd make Zookeeper watchable, and we don't say that lightly. With the London Olympics year fast approaching, expect the film to return to favour in a blaze of not-on-Sunday patriotism and slightly tuneless whistling. Hurrah!
42. The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) 41. Monsters (2010) 40. Mr. Turner (2014)
Cynics often carp that British cinema falls into two distinct categories: the glossy costume efforts and the grim-oop-north dramas. This one, however, manages to leaven the grimness (still very much present in the constant shadow of economic meltdown) with a sense of humour and quiet determination, as a gang of unemployed steel workers try to make a little money by, well, stripping completely naked for a horde of baying women. It's a true underdog story, glued together by immensely sympathetic performances, particularly from Carlyle, Addy and Wilkinson, all of whom were launched into Hollywood after their turns here. Worth watching just for the Post Office queue dance scene, wherein each of the team quietly start shifting in time to the music as they await their dole cheques.
39. The Italian Job (1969) 38. The Descent (2005)
This is more than just a music promo. It's more than a pre-MTV attempt to market a band through film. It's an honest-to-god comedy with genuine wit and heart and also - not incidentally - some terrific tunes. A day in the life of the Fab Four at the height of Beatlemania, rushed out before their inevitable decline (so thought the executives) it went a long way to establishing the popular perceptions of each of the group, with Lennon as the smartass, McCartney the sensible one, Harrison quiet and Starr a clown. Aside from the obvious comic elements, much of it was true to their lives at the time, screenwriter Alun Owen spending weeks with the band observing their reality before constructing his script. Richard Lester's sure direction and more fantastical touches completed the picture, reinventing the music biopic and inspiring everything from spy movies to The Monkees.
37. 28 Days Later (2002) 35. A Fish Called Wanda (1988) 34. A Man For All Seasons (1966)
Totting up all the scores, Slumdog hoovered up eight Oscars (from ten nominations) - including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay - as well as seven BAFTAs, four Golden Globes and a whole trainload more gongs back in 2008. Whichever way you cut it, it's one big mantlepiece. Rewatching it now, it's easy to see why. Anthony Dod Mantle's gorgeous cinematography makes India its very own, and Jamal (Patel) and Latika (Pinto) deliver the sweetest romantic moments seen in cinemas this century - including that glorious dance sequence during the credits. Some critics proclaimed it "feel-good" but with the persistent darkness throughout (child slavery, battery-aided interrogation, drug-dealing and violence, anyone?) cropping up, we're not sure where they got that idea. Still, it remains a stunning, Capra-esque Hollywood melodrama that blew the world away, and reminded everyone what a fantastic director Danny Boyle can be - as if that were in doubt.
33. Zulu (1964) 32. Sense And Sensibility (1995)
Another Ken Loach slice of unflinchingly-real social examination, another masterpiece that the masses probably won't have seen. Again focusing on poverty-stricken individuals trapped in the system, My Name Is Joe follows Peter Mullan's reformed, alcoholic nutter Joe who coaches the local football team in Glasgow's mean streets while trying to avoid the bottle and any bother. Affable, haunted and more sympathetic than Rocky, it's a stunning tour-de-force from Scot-scene regular Mullan, completely deserving of the Best Actor award it won him at Cannes. Bleak and tragic yet somehow hopeful, many will wish for a less downbeat finale, but such is Loach's commitment to realism. And you rarely see endings that brave in blockbuster territory.
31. Performance (1970) 30. The Ladykillers (1955)
This was the film that beat Saving Private Ryan to the Best Picture Oscar, probably because it's fizzier and more frivolous than Spielberg's effort, which the Academy occasionally responds to. As biopics go, it's high on invention and low on fact, but it's also a delightfully witty literary in-joke, reimagining Shakespeare's life as, well, a Shakespearean comedy of errors. Tom Stoppard's script doctoring left the screenplay littered with in-jokes and direct lifts from the Bard's work, while a game cast of RSC stalwarts like Judi Dench (so good as Elizabeth I that her cameo landed her an Oscar) and American upstarts like then-ingenue Paltrow and Ben Affleck threw themselves into the caper. Mixing tragedy and comedy, it may not - quite - be high art, but it's immense fun.
28. Borat (2006)
The movement towards social realism in British films of the 1960s wasn't merely confined to the present day; this Tony Richardson effort showed that it could be applied to period films too, and bawdy literary adaptations at that. Albert Finney was at his cocky, charming best as the young rapscallion of the title, raised a bastard by a kindly nobleman but denied his true love by his low birth. Instead, he embarks on a series of love affairs, dogged by a jealous rival, until everything finally comes together at the very last minute. It's meticulously researched and constructed, but all done with such a breezy insouciance and flair, the characters even interacting with the camera and riffing on film style (that silent movie opening, for instance), that it feels both thoroughly modern (even now) and very '60s, winning a clutch of Academy Awards for its trouble.
27. Dead Man's Shoes (2004) 26. Shallow Grave (1994) 25. The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943)
The third and still the best of the Potter films, this was the one where things got magical. Freed from the world creation duties that Chris Columbus had shouldered in the first two films, Alfonso Cuarón stripped down the story, amped up the attitude and added some edge to proceedings. He's also helped by the fact that this is maybe the best of the books, upping the stakes more significantly than any other single instalment, introducing a welcome element of ambiguity to Hogwarts' hallowed halls with the development that an escaped prisoner may be responsible for the deaths of Harry's parents (or, then again, not) and that the cool new teacher may hide dangerous secrets. The films may get progressively darker, but this one had just the right mix of shadows and light.
24. Moon (2009) 23. Rebecca (1940) 22. Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (1961)
We hoped and prayed that Aardman's stop-motion magicians could find a way to turn our claymation heroes into movie stars. Could they really sustain the wit and vibrancy of Wigan's delightful duo for a whole hour and a half? Wouldn't Wallace overdose on cheese along the way? We needn't have worried. The sparkling Curse Of The Were-Rabbit positively brims with ideas and energy, dazzling movie fans with sly references to everything from Hammer horrors and The Incredible Hulk to King Kong and Top Gun, and bounds along like a hound in a hurry. The plot, the part we foolishly thought might let it down, pitches the famously taciturn Dogwarts' alumnus and his Wensleydale-chomping owner (Sallis) against the dastardly Victor Quartermaine (Fiennes), taking mutating bunnies, prize-winning marrows and the posh-as-biscuits Lady Tottington (Bonham Carter) along for the ride. In short, it's the most marvellously English animation there is.
21. Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
Doing for the buddy-cop actioner what they did for the zombie movie with Shaun Of The Dead, Spaced's creative trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright made it two-for-two on the big screen. Though not quite as consistently hilarious as Shaun or as dazzling-fresh as Spaced, the second in their planned Blood and Ice Cream trilogy again nails the genre clichés, with everything from Point Break to Bad Boys II (both openly referenced) humorously homaged. It's initially a tad jarring to see Pegg as the straight man, but his natural chemistry with long-time real-life pal Frost remains endearing as ever. Elsewhere, the Scooby Doo-meets- Scream mystery is peppered with Britain's finest talent, playing up the English small-town clichés to great effect in a brilliantly incongruous meeting of sleepy rural life and stabby violent action.
20. A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) 19. The Long Good Friday (1980)
When he wasn't working his devilish charm on Elizabeth Taylor, hanging out in bars with Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris or hunting sharks with his bare hands, Richard Burton was also a magnificent actor. Here's early proof. Burton is very near his best in Tony Richardson's melodrama as Jimmy Porter, a jazz man stuck down the kind of dead end that's filled with British New Wave rebels. Stoked by a burning fury, Porter's passions are to the fiery Burton what Broadsword is to Danny Boy. When he seethes "I have no public school scruples about hitting girls" at the sly Helena (Claire Bloom), you know it's no empty threat. He's Steetcar's Stanley Kowalski on three pints of bitter; the closest thing 1950s Derby has to its own volcano. As claustrophobic and uncomfortable as the John Osborne stage play on which it's based, it was the first salvo in British cinema's class war.
18. Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) 17. Billy Elliot (2000)
Here's a Mike Leigh film even for people who don't like Mike Leigh films, the director's ultra-naturalistic style softened by the period setting and enhanced by the heightened emotions of its characters. There's not a kitchen sink in sight as Gilbert (Broadbent) and Sullivan (Corduner) collaborate to create their Japan-inspired comic opera The Mikado, surrounded by performers who each have their own neuroses and crises (and who, incidentally, do their own singing to boot). Broadbent and Corduner are a wonderfully mismatched but mutually admiring pair: one a solid family man, the other a whore-loving drug addict. Leigh's understated style prevents this falling into the usual self-important period drama clichés, and mixes comedy and tragedy into something that feels as chaotic and beautiful as real life.
16. Goldfinger (1963)
The Wicker Man isn't scary in a conventional manner and, arguably, is more of a Gothic mystery than a horror movie, but you'd be hard-pushed to find a more disturbing and horrific film experience. Certainly one of the most chilling British movies ever created, there's something indefinably unsettling about Robin Hardy's strangely seductive cult chiller from the moment Edward Woodward sets foot on the remote Scottish island. While his buttoned-up Christian copper from the mainland searches for a supposedly missing girl, this strange place hauntingly evolves from a small town of eccentric locals to a paranoid-flavoured asylum with no way out. In the lead, Woodward has never been better (except perhaps in The Equaliser), while nobody does sinister menace quite like Christopher Lee and his burning eyes.
15. Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) 14. The Third Man (1949)
If Anthony Minghella's death robbed British cinema of one of its most dazzling voices, this heartrending wartime romance stands as a fitting testament to his talent. A Best Picture winner, it's a perfectly judged adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel, filled with tenderness and longing. As the North African sun beats down on Ralph Fiennes' enigmatic Count Laszlo, hideously burnt in his crashed biplane, all other considerations strip away but one: his fierce passion for the woman he loves. Part of its success is down to the stellar crew the Oscar-winning Minghella assembled. Walter Murch's editing (another Oscar winner) switches from the drama from North Africa to Italy's shell-pocked byways, while John Seale's photography (yup, you guessed it) gives us one of the best adverts for Tuscany committed to celluloid. If you can watch this film and not want to go straight there and start defusing bombs, you've been watching a different movie.
13. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)
The Archers' critically-acclaimed gothic melodrama sees Deborah Kerr play Sister Clodagh, a young nun sent with four other sisters to establish a convent in an abandoned Himalayan palace. At this point, things start to go wrong. Very wrong. Like, nun-going-crazy-with-jealousy-and-putting-on-unnunly-amounts-of-eyeliner wrong. Essentially a psychological drama, Black Narcissus's emotional resonance in a nun-deprived modern world may be somewhat lessened, but there's no denying its influence amongst modern directors. Scorsese, for one, cites it as one of his favourite films. Then there's the striking cinematography from Jack Cardiff, a true great of British cinema. The gleaming photography is especially astonishing when you consider that, despite being set in Darjeeling, the film was almost entirely shot at Pinewood Studios. It's no wonder then that Cardiff and art director Alfred Junge both won Oscars for their work. It remains one of the finest Technicolor productions of all time.
12. This Is England (2005) 11. A Clockwork Orange (1971) 10. Withnail & I (1987)
We're all familiar with Sir Ben Kingsley, right? Small chap, played Gandhi, rather refined and well-spoken. Well, not anymore. In this twist on the gangster movie, he's the psychotic gang boss Don Logan calling the happily retired Gary Dove (Ray Winstone) back to London from one last job. Creepily magnetic when he's still, absolutely bloody terrifying when he starts spitting out profanities and acting out, it's a performance that will convince you that this man could cow even the hulking Winstone into obedience. Admittedly, the one-last-job hook has been done before, but the characterization is so fresh and surprising here - and the Costa del Sol setting such a nice change from the usual gloomy skies - that it feels very much like its own beast.
9. Local Hero (1983) /Starring John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Alec Guinness, Martita Hunt 8. Trainspotting (1996)
The problem with adapting Charles Dickens novels for the screen is that he was, essentially, paid by the word. The resulting sprawling epics don't make for the sort of lean, muscular narrative that lends itself naturally to film. But what's great about this version of his rags-to-riches fable is that Lean and his fellow scriptwriters managed to find a central story - Pip's (Mills) love of Estella (Hobson) - to hang the film around, while still leaving enough space for the more memorable supporting characters (Hunt's Miss Havisham, Francis L. Sullivan's Jaggers, Finlay Currie's Magwitch and Guinness's Herbert Pocket). The black-and-white photography is gorgeous, some of David Lean's pre-colour best, and the story sufficiently engrossing that you'll be able to overlook the gigantic top hats.
7. Kind Hearts And Coronets (1948) 6. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
If you're a Bowie fan hunting for another film starring Ziggy Stardust, this is not the movie you're looking for. Whereas Jim Henderson's puppet-filled spectacular had entertainment at its heart, Nicolas Roeg's uber-thinky masterpiece seeks only to make your brain do several thinks at once. Layers of references cover blankets of metaphor, making what might appear to be a simple "man out of time, man out of place" tale into a chin-scratching cult classic. But that's a very good thing. Giving Bowie's acting ability one hell of a workout, Roeg takes him through periods of ecstasy, agony, and everywhere in-between before leaving him broken, alcoholic and lonely, a million miles from home. Practically the definition of the movie that demands repeat viewings, it's interesting to note that Bowie's seminal Low album contains music originally intended for the film's soundtrack, so next time you watch this, be sure to play it alongside.
5. Brief Encounter (1945)
Most independent movies wouldn't even attempt to match the big studio pics in terms of production value. And in most cases, they're right not to try. But British first-time director Gareth Edwards achieved something astonishing with Monsters. Not only did he direct, write, production-design and shoot the film himself (on location in South and Central America), he also did the visual effects, creating towering alien creatures as convincing and impressive as those you'd find in any Hollywood blockbuster. Not that anyone should expect the film to be a full-on creature-feature; in a bold stroke, Edwards places the aliens-on-Earth action mostly in the background, concentrating instead on the couple (Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy) forced to travel through the alien-infested 'Infected Zone'. A road movie love story with monsters? Why not?
4. Don't Look Now (1973) 3. The Red Shoes (1948)
Forget the grunting, Timothy Spall's depiction of J.M.W. Turner is the performance of his illustrious career. His physical expression of the great painter's deep emotional hinterland does bring its share of snuffles, grunts and wheezes but they only add a strange roly-poly charm to his interactions, particularly with his dad (Paul Jesson), his mistress and housekeeper (Dorothy Atkinson), and painting wildcard Benjamin Haydon (Martin Savage). The first two he loves; the latter he tolerates benignly. The gentle, suitably artful biopic that emerges is one of Mike Leigh 's finest moments.
2. Monty Python's Life Of Brian (1979) 1. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
Whether we're going to technically class it as a zombie movie or call them "infected", there's no question that Danny Boyle's film juiced up British horror in particular and the horror genre in general. Shot on a digital video that manages to look both gritty and gorgeous, combining moments of heart-stopping terror with stretches of quiet horror at the profoundly unnatural sight of an empty London, it's become the new benchmark, inspiring a wealth of imitators but few equals. Boyle's eye for talent pays off too: newcomers Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris hold the attention even at the heart of the storm, however many of the monstrous horde pursue them, while Christopher Ecclestone's late appearance reminds us that people don't have to be infected to be seriously disturbing. Still, it bears repeating: those infected are really fast and seriously scary.

Perhaps the finest comic hour of any former Python, A Fish Called Wanda was a runaway, $60 million hit. It won Michael Palin a BAFTA, Kevin Kline an Oscar, and proved that a director who hadn't worked for 25 years could still produce a five-star film. Awards and box office haul aside, the fact remains: it's bloody hilarious. Certain scenes stick in the mind, notably John Cleese's rudely interrupted strip tease for Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin getting chips rammed up his nose by Kevin Kline, Mrs. Coady's unfortunate death by heart attack and, of course, the steamroller to end all steamrollers, but it's the unified, bizarre, crazy whole that makes it a must-own for any British comedy fan. What's more, it made possible Richard Curtis's later Brit-com oeuvre by establishing that British eccentricism can sell, revived the world's interest in Ealing comedies, and allowed a character with Cary Grant's real name - Cleese's bumbling lawyer Archie Leach - to live again on the big screen. Not bad for one film, eh?

Recent slanders in Hilary Martell's Wolf Hall notwithstanding, the Thomas More presented here by director Fred Zinneman, playwright and screenwriter Robert Bolt and actor Paul Scofield is the sort of bloke we can all get behind. More is on top of the world, a friend and confidant to King Henry VIII, poised for power and riches - but he can't compromise his own conscience in pursuit of self-interest, so when the King pursues a divorce and breaks from the Church, More puts himself in harm's way. The structure, building so inevitably from the personalities involved and their intransigences, is the stuff of classic tragedy, and it's beautifully - and wittily - brought to life here. Sumptuous stuff, from a time when the costume drama wasn't yet a cliché in its own right.

As well as one of Britain's greatest directors, Nic Roeg has a Simon Cowell-like gift for spotting acting ability in rock stars. He's evinced surprisingly accomplished turns from Mick Jagger, Art Garfunkel and David Bowie (twice). This was no small feat in Jagger's case: his Ned Kelly was more wooden than a koala's living room, but the Rolling Stone stepped up a gear in Roeg's debut feature. Okay, he's playing a rock star - there's that - but his gaunt, rubber-lipped cool lends a seriously subversive quality to Roeg's lysergic gangster flick. His sex scenes with Anita Pallenberg, the femme fatale holed up in Turner's London bolt hole, didn't go down brilliantly with his band mate, her then-boyfriend Keith Richards, but their on (and off-)screen chemistry brought electricity to an alt-gangster flick that's not exactly short of it to begin with. James Fox's fraying hood, meanwhile, is a walking case-study of sexual repression and pent-up violence, while Roeg's visual flourishes lures us into a seedy late '60s world of hipsters and heroin that feels like an X-rated episode of Through The Keyhole.
/Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Pamela Anderson
Borat was produced entirely by Sacha Baron Cohen's Four By Two (Cockney rhyming slang for 'Jew', by the way) productions - and it's easy to see why. After all, what major studio would produce a film about a racist, sexist, perverted pseudo-Kazakhstan journalist who runs around the US looking for his new wife - Pamela Anderson, of course - all the while embarrassing nearby Americans and generally being an arsehole? The mankini alone would be reason enough to shun him, never mind the anti-Semitism and naked wrestling (our eyes! Our eyes!). Fortunately for Baron Cohen, his ad-libbed, off the hoof, absurdly offensive humour struck a chord with the movie-going public, with a final worldwide haul of $261 million off an $18 million investment. Take that Ali G, you big corporate sell-out, you.

Most films on this list are here primarily because of the person behind the camera. In this case, and with no disrespect to Shane Meadows' assured direction, it's the stunning turn by its star and co-writer, Paddy Considine, that's won it a place. He's the spine of the film, an ex-soldier who returns to his hometown and brings down a world of pain on the men who bullied his younger brother. The result is a sort of Sympathy For Mr Derbyshire, a brutal but strangely compassionate look at a ruthless and violent figure, a sort of slasher movie in reverse. A showcase for a deserving actor, and a perfect example of the indie sector's ability to tackle storylines that studios would shy away from, this is one of the finest British films in years.

A wave of hype bore this thriller, threatening to swamp it under proclamations that the British were coming, that Scotland was sexy, that this Ewan McGregor fella might do well for himself. Well, that's all true (except for Scotland being sexy, anyway), but there's more to Shallow Grave than a shot in the arm for British cinema. Danny Boyle's immensely stylish tale of dead mains, a suitcase full of money and rampant paranoia is an inspired blend of pitch-black comedy and bloody violence, held together by career-making performances and scathing wit. Three central characters this flawed and nasty are a rare sight in American cinema - even in the independent sector - and they're surrounded by a heck of a supporting cast. The lot benefit from Boyle's nascent directorial flair and winning partnership with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew MacDonald. The all-round alchemy, combined with the intelligence and sheer panache on show here, make it a must-see.

After enduring three Transformers movies, Battle Los Angeles and Green Lantern, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that sci-fi had been left for braindead. But then came Duncan Jones' Moon, a smart, stripped down brainteaser that builds suspense and handles complex philosophical and ethical issues with a few sets and a single central performance (by Sam Rockwell). The set-up is a little High Noon (High Moon?), via that film's own sci-fi remake Outland, but the external threat (the arrival of 'help') is just the backdrop to Sam's own existential crisis. The film's crisp, clean look is pure'70s sci-fi, but there are clever inversions. Sam's digital assistant GERTY (Kevin Spacey) seems sinister, but doesn't do a HAL. And the big 'twist' is actually revealed relatively early. It's not so much about flooring the audience with the mind-blowing revelation, more about watching how the character - or rather, characters - react.

Technically, this was Alfred Hitchcock's first American film - but since it's set in England and stars a largely English line-up, we're allowing it despite the studio backing. It is, after all, a soaring example of Hitch's ability with old-fashioned filmmaking long before he became known for suspense and shock tactics. Which is not to say there's no suspense here: as the second Mrs de Winter, meek Joan Fontaine tangles with a malevolent housekeeper who forever compares the newcomer - unfavourably - to her predecessor, Rebecca. Her distant husband doesn't help much, and before you can say costume party there are suicide attempts, infidelities and murder charges to be dealt with. Gorgeously shot and beautifully performed, this is a worthy farewell to the early stage of Hitchcock's career.
Directed by Mike Newell
Cast your mind back to 1993. Hugh Grant is still "the bloke from that weird Roman Polanski film"; Richard Curtis is best known as the man behind Blackadder's withering put-downs, people still greeted rain with a four-letter word rather than an opportunity to mock Andie MacDowell, and only the most literate could tell W. H. Auden from WHSmith. Can't remember it? Us neither. ' Four Weddings' (that shorthand cheerily omits the 'funeral' bit) is, 22 years later, a comfortingly British institution. Much of its longevity is down to Curtis's playful dialogue which gives Grant's bumbling romantic and Andie MacDowell's coy outsider, beguiled and baffled in equal measure, enough gold to charm even the most granite hearted. It's a veritable Petri dish of British idiosyncrasies and humour ("Are you telling me I don't know my own brother!"), with some gently teasing satire mixed in for good measure. If a space alien ever asks you to explain how the English middle classes see themselves, show them this. Then go for help.

If you think about it, this is a very odd mix of topics. A World War II pilot is shot down over the Channel on a foggy night - but in the mist his soul isn't collected at once, leading him to wash ashore and fall in love with the radio operator who had been his last contact, pre-crash. He's then, essentially, put on trial for his life, with heaven on one hand concerned that he was destined to die, but on the other forced to consider the new element that he has fallen in love. So we've got romance, metaphysics, bureaucratic mix-ups and war, along with a dash of ping-pong for good measure - hardly your typical blockbuster. Still, thanks to the writer-directors sure touch and David Niven's none-more-English, never-more sympathetic chap's chap persona, this is a memorably different wartime weepie.

Monty Python's first narrative(ish) film may not have the bite of Brian, but it's such an inspired piece of silliness that it would make a stone laugh. Taking inspiration from Arthurian legend but ladling in social commentary (or at least comedy), anachronistic touches and surreal interludes, this is perhaps the most quotable and quoted film on the entire list, and also deserves our thanks for saving the group after they had almost burnt out following three TV series and the underperforming And Now For Something Completely Different. From shrubberies to parents who smell of elderberries to flesh wounds and women who weigh more than ducks, all human life is here - as long as it is, like the Pythons themselves, simultaneously both extremely silly and very, very clever. Elvis ordered a print of this comedy classic and watched it five times. If it's good enough for the King, it's good enough for you.

What made this coming-of-age drama feel so fresh was not just the refreshingly unobvious mix of topics, but the deftness with which they were brought together. The devastating Miners' Strike of 1984 is the backdrop, but in the foreground is an 11 year-old boy who wants to learn ballet. The problems he faces are immense: money, class (even if that's just a little overegged in the audition scene) and his town's complete lack of experience with boys who like ballet. Teacher Mrs Wilkinson (Julie Walters) finds herself almost having to translate between the ballet and miners' worlds. In the end, though, the mutual bafflement between Billy and his gruff father, and the real love that is revealed underneath, are the key to making this soar even higher than those final jets.

For many of us, Goldfinger is still the quintessential James Bond experience. Occupying the perfect middle-ground between the more realistic first two instalments and the increasingly-fantastical later Connerys, the third 007 nailed the perfect balance of the Bondian formula. Taking what audiences already loved (Sean, girls, spying, exotic locations) and infusing new ingredients (popstar theme tune, unrelated pre-credits sequence, Q grumping on), the template here became the benchmark and bulges with iconic elements. Connery at his virile peak, the Aston Martin with ejector seat, Shirley Eaton covered in gold paint, the brilliant tuxedo-under-the-wetsuit opening gambit, the often-quoted laserbeam exchange ("Do you expect me to talk?"... "No Mr Bond I expect you to DIE!"), the brilliantly-named Pussy Galore, a threatening villain who might win - this is Bond (and Britain) at its best. Do we expect you to like it? No, we expect you to love it.

Impossible to describe with using the word 'epic', David Lean's rightly-acclaimed bridge-building World War II drama is grand, spectacle-filled and, well, epic. Despite featuring hardly any actual warfare and boasting a running time that will numb your bottom like a camel trek through Lean's widescreen version of Arabia, this award-magnet is a stone-cold (or, should that be sweltering hot?) classic. There's lush cinematography and a top-notch cast, but it's the underlying psychological character journey of Alec Guinness's stubbornly-defiant and indefatigable Colonel Nicholson that stays with you. Determined to find a way to keep his men together and morale up, he leaps upon the bridge building labour they're assigned as a means to his end - rather forgetting, at least temporarily, the aid it gives the enemy. His eventual realisation of his mistake is unforgettable. That, and the infectious, now-infamous 'Colonel Bogey March' whistle (the one often used for "Hitler, has only got one...").

British noir at its best, Carol Reed's classic is adored for many things. There's Robert Krasker's much-lauded cinematography, a chiaroscuro masterclass full of angles and shadows practically begging to be filled with villains; the unmistakable twang of Anton Karas' zither; and the rubble-strewn netherworld war veteran Reed translates so brilliantly from Graham Greene's thriller. Then there's that much-quoted diss of the Swiss, cuckoo clocks and all. Looming over it all though, is Harry Lime (Orson Welles), a villain for the ages and the dark heart of Reed's film. Where the war-ravaged Viennese see sorrow, Lime glimpses opportunity: he's basically the prototype for any number of hedge-fund managers. As much as he's the most odious villain this side of Brighton Rock's Pinkie, British cinema would be a much poorer place without him. He needs to gen up on his horology though: it was the Germans who invented the cuckoo clock.

Ripped from his own childhood growing in '40's and '50s Liverpool, Terence Davies' brutal but poetic feature is less a movie and more a filmed remembrance. The first, tougher part, Distant Voices, depicts life during wartime and the reign of terror Davies' father - brilliantly realised by Pete Postlethwaite - inflicted on the family whereas the second Still Lives charts the happier life of his stoic mother (Freda Dowie) and sister Eileen (Angela Walsh) whose marriage represents a breath of fresh air in the Davies household. This may sound like soap opera but Davies charts the highs (wedding celebrations, pub sing songs) and lows (domestic abuse, crushed hopes) of everyday life in beautiful tracking shots and inspired choices of music that couldn't be further away from the kitchen sink. It's a tough watch - especially if you've been weaned on conventional storytelling -but there isn't a more personal, more visually stunning, more moving film on this list.

Another entry from Brit mini-production house Handmade, this is one of those masterpieces that almost didn't happen. Producer Denis O'Brien hated the first rushes and threatened to fire writer/director Bruce Robinson - who had already quit once before lunch on the first day. Yet somehow all of them persevered like an alcoholic actor determinedly seeking his next snifter, and it all worked out. The film is possibly one of the finest on-the-page screenplays ever written, brought to life with offbeat performances and an understated style that the mainstream simply wouldn't dream of attempting. Sadly much of its popularity has been within the student community, who fixate on the heavy drinking focus and still believe that endlessly quoting the lines (often incorrectly) will make them as funny as the title characters, but don't let that sour the genius.

We all know what happens when Big Business tries to muscle in on a small town, right? They are met with universal hostility and chucked out on their ear - or, in this case, not quite. Certainly, tycoon Burt Lancaster has designs on the small Scottish village of Ferness and sends his agent, "Mac" MacIntyre (Riegert) there to seal the deal, and certainly things don't go smoothly, but there's little hostility and no real conflict here. Mac gradually comes around to the village's slower way of life, even as the villagers leap on the money that should flow from the oil purchases - and if things don't work out quite as anyone planned, well, all's well that ends well. Beautifully shot and mixing whimsy and hard-headed realism in equal measure, this is the most feelgood film ever to feature a (literal) bunny boiler.

Trainspotting didn't so much reinvigorate British cinema as spike filmmaking heroin into its vein. In adapting Irvine Welsh's cult novel, director Danny Boyle re-teamed with the winning creative talent behind Shallow Grave (producer Andrew Macdonald, screenwriter John Hodge) and the result is another offbeat rush of dark, orgasmic cinema. Ignoring tabloid arguments of whether the movie glorifies drug use or not (it doesn't), a grotty depiction of the Edinburgh junkie subculture just shouldn't be this enjoyable. But in fusing wildly imaginative style (Renton's plunge into the filthiest toilet in Scotland) with naturalistic but witty dialogue, an impossibly iconic soundtrack, some truly disturbing imagery (the baby, anyone?) and, er, Dale Winton, it spoke to the '90s chemical generation. From Robert Carlyle's 'tache-totting psycho to Jonny Lee Miller's Connery-worshipping wideboy, it's also full of memorable, quote-worthy characters, while Mark Renton remains the performance of Ewan McGregor's career.

At Shaun Of The Dead's big, beautiful heart, there's a single, simple joke: modern-day Londoners behave much like zombies, so what if there was an actual zombie apocalypse? Would all the Tube-going, bum-scratching commuters even notice? Brought to the screen by the Holy Comedy Trinity that is Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright, it's a masterpiece, right up there with Evil Dead II as one of the finest horror/comedies ever made. It's a film so good that even if you don't like horror, you love this movie. It's a film so good that even if you don't like the Spaced crew, you love this movie. It's all because it was written, produced and acted with such passion, energy and sheer, unadulterated charm that it's nigh-on impossible not to enjoy. No matter what magnificent deeds the trio accomplish in the future, we have a sneaking suspicion that Shaun Of The Dead will remain many folks' favourite.

Maybe the greatest weepie ever made, this is guaranteed to make every stiff upper lip wobble a little. Johnson is Laura, the housewife who forms an innocent friendship with Trevor Howard's Alex, a doctor she meets in town on her weekly shopping trip. But friendship turns to something more, and before you can say tea and crumpets this respectful, rather staid pair are contemplating throwing it all away for love's sake. Proof that deep wells of human emotion exist even under the most tightly buttoned cardie, this has a strong claim to be the most English film ever made (along with This Is England, of course) - boasting as it does endless cups of tea and a visit to Boots for good measure.

Featuring the most famous dwarf this side of Thorin Oakenshield, deeply poignant turns from Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, and that famous did-they-didn't-they sex scene (they didn't), Nic Roeg's great masterpiece has slowly seeped into British filmmaking lore. It brims with indelible moments - the blind seer in the restaurant; the crashing scaffolding; the bloody climax - and exudes a dank menace that envelopes you like a Venetian fog. Much comes faithfully from the pages of Daphne Du Maurier's short story. There is, though, one small but crucial switcheroo: the Baxters' daughter doesn't die of meningitis but drowns under their own noses, adding guilt to the broil of emotions the grieving couple is feeling. Roeg's skill in building atmosphere and manipulating chronology, so innovative at the time, makes this one of the most influential films in cinema. Just ask Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan or Danny Boyle.

There's a reason why most reviews of Black Swan harked back to this post-War Powell and Pressburger classic: this is the definitive ballet-dancer-finds-life-clashing-with-art film. Shot in Technicolor, the better to make those red shoes bleed into life, Moira Shearer plays the passionate young ballerina with a perfect mixture of passion and obsession. She's willing to sacrifice anything to dance - at first at least and that's something that the Svengali Lermontov (Walbrook) takes ruthless advantage of, pushing her towards stardom but unwilling to accept anything that threatens her single-minded dedication. So he runs off young composer Julian (Goring), to keep her in the business - but can human emotions be so easily controlled? The stage is set for some sort of explosive result, although even those who have read the dark and rather twisted Hans Christian Anderson story which inspires this will be shocked at how it transpires. It's melodramatic, perhaps, but it's luminously shot and has just enough sinister edge to undercut any accusations of girliness.

Most of us know by now the origins of Python's second proper movie - at a press conference, Eric Idle laughingly suggested that their next project would be "Jesus Christ: Lust For Glory". What they eventually came up with was much better - an unrivalled satire on religion, and quite possibly the funniest movie ever made. Trouble was, no-one in the film business had the balls to make it. From its opening sequence (the first joke is a pratfall) it's evident that this is going to be Python of the highest standard, but it's the cohesion of the story that makes this all work so well. In sending up not Christ (who is, technically speaking, treated with reverence and kept at arm's length), but all of the petty, political, opportunist zealots around him, the troupe had finally found in their subject an idea ripe for ridicule large enough to accommodate their rapid gag rate and breadth of style. Of course Brian isn't the Messiah (that'd be the boy up the street), but you try telling them - and the financiers - that. Enter Empire's favourite Beatle and cornerstone of the British film industry for the next decade, George Harrison (and his money), and the rest is history. The creation of Handmade Films. Uproar. Outrage. Censorship. Genius.

Strip away its scale and grandeur and Lawrence Of Arabia seems to be the kind of rags-to-riches tale that's two-a-shilling in cinema: an ordinary man shaking off mediocrity to answer the call of greatness. It's Rocky in Bedouin robes. Except, of course, it's much more than that. Over three-and-a-bit hours David Lean gives us a portrait of a man riddled with contradictions, awash with doubt and filled with enough hang-ups to give Freud a migraine. Through his fabled journey, Peter O'Toole's T.E. Lawrence somehow unites the Arab tribes and leads them stampeding through Aqaba and on the blood-stained path to nationhood. If 'El-Aurens' is complex enough to stand comparison with Charles Foster Kane or Michael Corleone, his co-star, the vast and magnificent Arabian desert, fully deserves second billing. Captured in all its widescreen sweep by Freddie Young's cameras and given voice by Maurice Jarre's stirring score, it's friend, enemy, solace and implacable observer all in one; an epic canvas on which Lean paints an epic picture.

If you've read the entire list, we have much more goodness for you. How about a list of the best movies on Netflix UK? Or perhaps our most recent example of The 100 Greatest Movies. We also haven't ignored the rest of the globe - find our list of The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema. Finally we have our list of The 100 Greatest Movies Of The 21st Century. Enjoy!

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"The British are coming," trumpeted Chariots Of Fire screenwriter Colin Welland infamously at the 1982 Oscars. In truth "the British" were already there. They'd been making movies for over a century, with plenty of stick-on masterpieces in that number. Comedies, dramas, war films, horror...

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You want to become popular and famous at your school? You want to get respect from friends and fans? You want to become a director, actor, professional cameraman or you just want create a short film just for fun? If you don't know where to...

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Nicolas Roeg, Director: Don't Look Now. When he made his directorial debut in 1970, Nicolas Roeg was already a 23-year veteran of the British film industry, starting out in 1947 as an editing apprentice and working his way up to cinematographer twelve years later.

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Ken Loach, Director: I, Daniel Blake. Unlike virtually all his contemporaries, Ken Loach has never succumbed to the siren call of Hollywood, and it's virtually impossible to imagine his particular brand of British socialist realism translating well to that context. After studying law at St.

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BFI Screenonline: Scott, Ridley (1937-) Biography

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BFI Screenonline: Kubrick, Stanley (1928-1999) Biography

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BFI Screenonline: Leigh, Mike (1943-) Biography

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Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William ...

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Won 1 Oscar. Another 83 wins & 84 nominations. See more awards "

Filmography

Personal Details

Other Works:

Feature audio commentary for the film "28 Days Later..." with Alex Garland. "

Publicity Listings:

Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

I learned that what I'm better at is making stuff lower down the radar. Actually, ideally not on the radar at all. "

Trivia:

Was the artistic director of the 2012 Olympic games in London. "

Trademark:

Known for being extremely versatile and working in a variety of different genres "

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Danny Boyle, Director: 127 Hours. Danny Boyle was born on October 20, 1956 in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England as Daniel Francis Boyle. He is a director and producer, known for 127 Hours (2010), 28 Days Later... (2002) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

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Danny Boyle's exit from James Bond throws franchise into chaos

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Director's departure over 'creative differences' expected to delay production, and could even lead to loss of star Daniel Craig

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Danny Boyle. 57K likes. British director and producer - T2 Trainspotting is set for release on January 27th the UK and on March 10th in the States.

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Richard Curtis was born on November 8, 1956 in Wellington, New Zealand as Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis. He is a writer and producer, known for Love...

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Four Weddings and a Funeral 20 years on: Richard Curtis remembers

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Writer Richard Curtis and producer Duncan Kenworthy talk to Tom Lamont about making Britain's most successful romantic comedy ever

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For those of you who REALLY want to learn about the subject

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Free Online Filmmaking Courses - FutureLearn

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Explore filmmaking specialisms, from screenwriting to production to visual effects, with these free online courses. Learn with award-winning filmmakers.

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Smart phone film festivals around the world

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Smart phone film festivals around the world

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See what the Canadians, Swiss, French and Australians do

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As an emerging filmmaker, having access to top-of-the-line, impressive gear is the key to shooting a great film, right? Um, nope.

With the rise of smartphone technology, that little device you're using to text, tweet and play Candy Crush is now one of the greatest tools for low-to-no budget filmmakers.

Consider the breakout Sundance hit Tangerine. The film was shot entirely on three iPhone 5s and blew the door off of mobile filmmaking. Suddenly, the format has gained legitimacy and smart filmmakers are taking note.

So, if you're one of the savvy filmmakers who's already joined the smartphone revolution and have a completed project, your next step will be to get your film seen. Being accepted into a top-tier festival like Sundance is a long-shot but there are a number of terrific niche festivals that should definitely not be overlooked by filmmakers and film lovers alike.

Smartphone film festivals are bringing great new talent to audiences worldwide. They are a great launching point and you can apply for each festival from their online address. So check out these four outstanding fests. :

Toronto Smartphone Film Festival (TSFF)

TSFF is probably the fastest-growing festival on this list. This festival has been running smoothly since 2012 and over the past couple years has been gaining steam as well as a few high-profile sponsors (TD Bank, Samsung and Entertainment One). Now in its 6th year, TSFF has grown to a submission field of over 600 films from 50 countries around the world.

The TSFF mission statement makes it clear that this organization is committed to both amateur and professional filmmakers who want to develop the vast potential of mobile filmmaking. Emerging filmmakers, don't miss the opportunity to submit your project to TSFF - it's an excellent showcase for promoting your mobile talents.

Raindance is once again proud to sponsor the Emerging Filmmaker Award at this year's TSFF.
Toronto Smartphone Film Festival
DEADLINES

Early-Bird ($10): Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Regular ($15): Monday, April 17, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Late ($20): Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Mobile Motion Film Festival (MOMO)

With an emphasis on compelling stories that aren't distracted by overblown production values, MOMO is a brand new festival based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Born of a Kickstarter campaign, MOMO is now making its way to the forefront of tablet and GoPro filmmaking. With low entry fees and the promise of a haven for filmmakers to showcase their finest mobile work, MOMO is a festival for filmmakers of all backgrounds and skill levels. With a little more time and community support MOMO, may very well grow into the festival it promises to be.
Mobile Motion Film Festival Submissions for MoMo 2017 are closed. We'll be open for submissions again this October. Get ready!!
Mobile Film Festival (MFF)

With over 21,000 followers on Facebook, MFF is a huge festival in terms of mobile filmmaking. The primarily French festival is hosted online and is a completely international event and promotes filmmakers from all over the world.

Votes for the festival contestants are tallied online based on number of views. This allows for films to be seen by potentially thousands of people even if they don ' t end up winning any awards. If you think you have the skills to promote an online film as well as craft a truly memorable story, check out MFF as soon as you can.
Mobile Film Festival
VOTE FOR THE AUDIENCE AWARD BY 21st FEBRUARY!

Smartphone Flick Fest (SF3)

The Smartphone Flick Fest (SF3) is sponsored by Film Festivals Australia, a not-for profit that specializes in supporting niche Australian film festivals. Out of all films submitted 10 are selected to be shown in Sydney and compete for a jury award. The festival is completely international and accepts global entries. The 10 films selected are also featured for free through Film Festivals Australia and compete online for the SF3 People's Choice awards.
Smartphone Flick Fest
ACCEPTING ENTRIES UNTIL AUGUST 1st!

With this collection of terrific smartphone festivals, it's never been easier to get your films the attention they deserve. Although this list focuses on some of the best festivals around the globe, don ' t forget about your local festivals. Being involved in your local cinema community will help you grow as a filmmaker and develop your own network of fans.

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4 Outstanding Smartphone Film Festivals - Raindance

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As an emerging filmmaker, having access to top-of-the-line, impressive gear is the key to shooting a great film, right? Um, nope. With the rise of smartphone technology, that little device you're using to text, tweet and play Candy Crush is now one of the greatest tools for low-to-no budget filmmakers.

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Great independent cinema on our doorstep

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Great independent cinema on our doorstep

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Café & Bar Closure Wed 11 and Thu 12 Sept

Just a heads up, the Café & Bar is closed until 17:30 all day on Wed 11 and Thu 12 Sept for an event.

You can still order most of our menu and drinks items from the Undershed Bar downstairs next to the front door, which'll be open from 09:30.

Our top foyer toilets will be open and accessible for everyone all day as usual.

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Watershed is an independent cinema and creative technology centre on Bristol's historic harbourside. Find out what's on at Watershed, including cinema and event listings, café & bar, venue hire, talent development programmes, opportunities and catch up with our latest feature articles, podcasts and news.

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Cinema Listings, Movie & Film Times Bristol| EVERYMAN

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Find cinemas near me: Bristol cinema listings & movie times. See nearest showtimes & what's on at the cinema in Bristol at your local EVERYMAN Cinema.

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Tutorial 1: Mobile Filmmaking.....1 Min With Me

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Film programming is at the heart of what the ICO offers. Our goal is to provide your cinema with a distinctive programme of films that offers the best of world cinema, while ensuring that audiences grow and your site thrives financially.

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Film programming is at the heart of what the ICO offers. Our goal is to provide your cinema with a distinctive programme of films that offers the best of world cinema, while ensuring that audiences grow and your site thrives financially.

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Watch short films online for inspiration

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Watch short films online for inspiration

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Watch Films Online - Encounters Film Festival

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Watch a selection of our Award Winning shorts below... and head over to our Vimeo and YouTube channels for more. SWEET MADDIE STONE Director: Brady Hood Country: United Kingdom Awards: Grand Prix Award 2016 LIVING Director: Ben Mankin Country: United Kingdom Awards: DepicT! British Special Mention Award 2016 Utjecaji/Impacts Director: Petra Balekic Country: Croatia Awards: DepicT!

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Think of the best smartphone movies and, at best, you'll be imagining that video you once took of your drunken friends trying to push over a cow before falling into a ditch. At least it was in HD.

But you should realise that your smartphone is silently weeping, hating you for not realising the untapped potential in its high power video camera, as quality and affordability have now aligned in such a way that almost anyone can become a filmmaker.

Don't believe us? Just look at the number of smartphone film festivals that have popped up, from Festival Pocket Films in France, to the iPhone Film Festival and Mobil Film Festival in America and the Olleh International Smartphone Film Festival in South Korea.

All of these and more are dedicated to films shot largely or entirely on smartphones and the number of smartphone film festivals and film makers is growing all the time.

Indeed Ruben Kazantsev, the co-founder of the iPhone Film Festival, told us that the number of smartphone film makers has grown a lot over the last couple of years, saying that "to date we have received submissions from over 70 countries, so this has truly turned into a worldwide event."

While Susan Botello, the brains behind the Mobil Film Festival has also noticed "exceptional growth" in the industry in recent years.

A booming industry

Film makers have already found significant success in the field. The first feature length smartphone film, SMS Sugar Man, was shot back in 2007 on a Sony Ericsson W900i and since then there have been several other full length movies and numerous shorts and music videos.

These include 'Olive', which was shot on a Nokia N8 with a 35mm zoom lens and was the first ever smartphone film to get a cinema release.

Perhaps most significant of all is Tangerine, a 2015 film shot exclusively on iPhone 5S handsets and picked up by Magnolia pictures for distribution.

As more major films are made on smartphones ever more people are getting involved and it's no wonder, as Botello believes that you don't need an expensive camera to make a great film.

Speaking about Tangerine, she said "their film was a great film but not because it was shot with a phone but because of the story and how it came together. I think that film is inspiring more filmmakers, and it should! Already we have proved that mobile films play on big screens like conventional films.

"When you get the audience in the theatre with the big screen and turn off the lights it's not about special effects or the latest superhero, it's about the story unfolding in front of you which absorbs you and is captivating. That is the value of a good film, no matter what camera you use."

But Tangerine is just the tip of the iceberg. Other notable smartphone films include Park Chan-wook's Night Fishing short, which was shot on an iPhone 4 and won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival.

You could also take a look at Departure, a film shot on iPhones by three different directors in three different countries and premiered at Cannes 2015.

So there's clearly an appetite for using the medium of a smartphone to create a feature length piece of cinematic glory, but surely a 'proper' camera makes more sense?

Power within

It might seem weird to think that a filmmaker would choose a mobile for their movie, particularly someone established like Park Chan-wook, who's better known for his award winning revenge thriller Oldboy, but with the powerful phones we have today it's not that much of a surprise.

"Smartphone film making is here to stay," Kazantsev told us emphatically, while Botello pointed out that there are even "people who are experienced in filmmaking who have reached into their pockets for their next films."

It's no surprise, as there are real advantages to shooting on a phone. For one thing, it's a lot cheaper than conventional camera equipment, and it also opens up the medium to a gigantic number of wannabe directors as manufacturers have smuggled this high-power tech into your pocket, removing the barrier for entry.

Not only does that empower almost anyone to be a film maker, but it also makes it easier to counter equipment problems on set. Kazantsev, also a producer on the smartphone film 'Departure', highlighted an issue that only a smartphone could have solved:

"During our filming of Departure we had a warehouse space for a limited time and we were down to the last scene with 20 minutes left.

"As we were getting ready to start filming I noticed my hard drive was full and had no time to download the footage to make room, since we had 20 minutes left.

"So I asked our crew 'who has an iPhone?' And almost everyone popped one out of their back pockets. If we did not have the backup cameras/smartphones we would have never gotten the last shot."

Filming on a phone also allows more risks to be taken as there's less money at stake. And because of their size and portability, smartphones can film almost anywhere, which potentially allows for shots that a traditional camera couldn't get.

A smartphone film called 'Goldilocks' included a scene where a phone was put in a ziplock bag, then placed in a glass and had wine poured on it while filming. If you're feeling a little more flush with cash, solid state microSD cards can be fitted to phones and flung around to get some truly amazing shots - you might smash the phone, but the footage will survive.

Smartphones also allow for more opportunistic filming, allowing you to capture moments that would otherwise be lost because you didn't have your video camera with you.

Nothing's perfect

Of course there are downsides too. Botello laments the lack of storage space on phones, telling us that "a phone with a great camera for video [but] low space makes it worthless."

She also argues that most phones have a horrible microphone and that the handling of low light situations needs to improve - elements which are being focused on quickly by the likes of HTC and Apple with multiple microphones with dual membranes to improve sound quality, and massively upgraded low light sensors in cameras.

Other issues include the fact that the battery will be drained quickly when filming and ideally you'll probably still want to invest in some other equipment, such as lights, microphones and a tripod.

But in their very nature smartphones are going to attract independent and guerrilla film makers. Those who are unable or unwilling to work within the system and who can't afford the major expenses of a standard film.

This leads to unique projects that perhaps wouldn't be seen in mainstream cinema, such as Luke Geissbuhler's 'Space Balloon' short, which involves an iPhone being shot into space and then falling back down to earth, all while filming.

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How to shoot a Hollywood movie on your smartphone

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Think of the best smartphone movies and, at best, you'll be imagining that video you once took of your drunken friends trying to push over a cow before falling into a ditch. At least it was in HD.

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It's easy to shoot videos on your Android phone, but getting them looking amazing is much trickier. That's why you need a free video editing app.

With one of these handy editors on your phone, you can tweak your clips to perfection before uploading them to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.

Video editing apps are so convenient, it's no surprise that the Google Play Store is packed with them. That's why we've picked out the very best ones, and put them through their paces so you can pick the one that suits the way you shoot.

All of these video editing apps are free to download, and we've noted those that include in-app purchases.
A beautifully designed video editor for Android that delivers amazing results
FilmoraGo for Android is as powerful as many desktop video editors, and works in much the same way. Start by selecting video clips and photos from your device, Facebook or Google, then add them to your pool of resources. The number of media files in your pool will be shown in a tab on the left.

Tap 'Next' to access the main editing screen. You'll see previews of all your images and video clips along the bottom of the screen. Although not labelled as such, this is a timeline, and you can drag each file to rearrange them.

There are ready-made themes to give your video a new look. You can try them out with a single tap, and they're fun if you're planning to upload your creation to Facebook.

If you have multiple video clips or images, you can apply fun transitions to switch between them, and although no way to split video clips into sections, you can crop the video, change the aspect ratio and add subtitles. You'll also find all the usual color optimization options (brightness, contrast, saturation etc), plus speed adjustment.

One of FilmoraGo's most impressive features is picture-in-picture, which lets you insert a second video or still photo, adjust its size and position it wherever you like over the first one. You can even decide when it appears and apply a transition, so it spins, slides or fades into place.

Your video won't be watermarked when it's exported, but FilmoraGo will add a brief wordmark at the end. Once it's processed, the finished video can be sent straight to any social media app you have installed, shared via email, or saved to your device.

FilmoraGo is a remarkable free video editor for Android, packed with more features than many desktop tools. There are no ads, and although FilmoraGo offers in-app purchases for additional filters and effects, the store isn't obtrusive. Highly recommended.
A smart video editing app from the industry leader in creative software
Before you can use Adobe Premiere Clip, you'll need to sign up for a free Adobe ID if you don't already have one. It takes a moment, but once it's done you can use the same login details for all Adobe apps and desktop software. There's a social element that lets you watch other users' videos, or you can dive straight into making your own.

When you open a video, there are two options: Automatic and Freeform. Automatic overlays a piece of music, and makes cuts to your video to match the chord changes. This works fine for longer videos that don't rely on narration, but for shorter pieces or those requiring greater control, you'll need to use Freeform.

Here you can create a timeline from several video clips and images, trim them size, adjust the speed, select a new soundtrack, and apply filters. The focus here is on smart, professional looking videos rather than fun or silly clips to share with your family on Facebook, so there are no stickers or cheesy animations available. Instead you get a selection of tasteful fade and motion options.

Your finished video won't be watermarked unless you decide to make your own (you'll find the tool in the Preferences menu), and when you're done you can save it to your device, share it on Creative Cloud (if you have an account), publish it, or post it on YouTube or Twitter. It's a shame there aren't more social media options, but since this tool is aimed at the more serious end of the spectrum. It makes sense.

Adobe Premiere Clip's editing interface only works in portrait mode unless you're watching a video, but the layout makes better use of the available space than many other editing apps available for Android.
If you're after something fun, VivaVideo's special effects are perfect
VivaVideo lets you edit existing videos or capture clips directly within the app. The workflow is much like FilmoraGo's - open (or record) a clip, then trim it and add it to a timeline.

Like Adobe Premiere Clip, VivaVideo only works in portrait mode - not our preferred choice for videos - and its interface doesn't make such good use of the space. That said, it's easy to navigate, and every tool is clearly labelled.

There are various themes to choose from (a wider selection than you'll find in FilmoraGo), and even more are available as in-app purchases. We're particularly fond of the Parkour filter, which adds dramatic spins, wipes and random zooms to your clips, and is great fun for spicing up dull footage in an ironic sort of way.

The FX options and animated stickers are also fun, and although there are no manual controls for contrast, saturation and brightness, there are lots of presets - many of which are designed to flatter portraits.

Videos are watermarked with the app's name, though this is fairly discreet, and there's a five-minute limit on exported clips. You can lift these limitations by purchasing a subscription for £1.79 (about US$2.50, AU$3) per month or £9.49 (about US$12, AU$15) per year. That might not sound like much, but when superb apps like Adobe Premier Clip and Wondershare Filmora Go are available free, it's significant.
A smart video editing app, though the free version is a little limited
KineMaster offers two options: Empty Project and Project Assistant. Using the Project Assistant, begin by selecting all the video clips and photos you want to include, then choose whether you want to use a theme (the standard options are On Stage, Travel and Serene).

Next, add any text you'd like to appear during the video (titles or captions) and finish your project by adding some audio. There are a few samples included with the free app, with many more available as in-app purchases. You can also use MP3 files from your device.

You might be happy with the results as they are, but if not you can add further effects and media using KineMaster's advanced video editing options. These are presented in an attractive and intuitive wheel menu, and include the ability to add more media, record a voiceover, apply new special effects and insert more text. You can also record new video by tapping the red button in the center of the control wheel.

Delving into the project settings lets you choose how long photos are displayed, apply audio and video fades, and adjust crop and pan options.

When you're done, add the video to your projects and you'll be able to watch it, save it to your device or Dropbox, or share it via your preferred social media app. KineMaster will add a small watermark to the top right of your video.

You can remove this, and unlock all the premium music and other assets by upgrading to the pro version for £2.91 (about US$4, AU$5) per month, or £23.25 (about US$30, AU$40) per year. It's quite a steep price for a mobile app, so we recommend trying the other options here so you can decide whether it's one you're willing to pay.
A great tool for jazzing up videos before sharing them on Instagram
When you fire up Movier Maker Filmmaker YouTube & Instagram, you'll be prompted to create a new ALIVE account, or log in with Facebook. As with Adobe Premiere Clip, this is so you can use the app's social video-sharing element, which lets you create a custom profile and follow other users - much like Instagram.

To start making a new video (called a Video Story in the app), tap the plus icon and select the clips and still photos you want to include. The app will scan your document folders for you, so there's no need to spend time tracking down your media files. The editor itself runs in portrait mode, and targets the fun/silly end of the market with stickers and explosion effects.

Your video will be exported in a square format, making it a good choice for Instagram (as the app's name suggests), but not for Facebook or other sites. There are no advanced tools for manual color adjustment, but as with KineMaster, you get a generous selection of filters.

There's a good selection of background music to experiment with (the Determined option will turn a video of your pet frolicking in the garden into a dramatic movie trailer), or you can add a song from your device.

When you're done, add a description and some hashtags (#FeatureMe and #VLOG are included automatically) and either sit through a couple of ads, or dismiss them. The video will be processed and added to your ALIVE account, where you can download it or share it to your preferred social network.

Movie Maker Filmmaker YouTube & Instagram is a stylish free video editor for Android, but we're not too keen on the default square output format and the ads are a little intrusive.
Download here: Movie Maker Filmmaker YouTube & Instagram

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The best free video editor for Android 2018: a production studio in your palm

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It's easy to shoot videos on your Android phone, but getting them looking amazing is much trickier. That's why you need a free video editing app. With one of these handy editors on your phone, you can tweak your clips to perfection before uploading them to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.

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Drama, comedy, documentary, and baking: presenting our highly subjective list of the best that British TV has to offer
Compiled by Gabriel Tate, Ben Lawrence, Michael Hogan, Gerard O'Donovan, Catherine Gee
The Thick of It (BBC, 2005-2012)

Before he became a Timelord, Peter Capaldi was splenetic spin doctor Malcolm Tucker: the government's Director of Communications and a not terribly "civil" civil servant. Armando Iannucci's fearsome fly-on-the-wall political satire is about the advisers and incompetents who prowl the corridors of Westminster power, waiting for the next ministerial "omnishambles". This 21st century update of Yes Minister is sweary, savage and prescient, frequently predicting...

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The 100 greatest British TV shows of all time

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Drama, comedy, documentary, and baking: presenting our highly subjective list of the best that British TV has to offer Compiled by Gabriel Tate, Ben Lawrence, Michael Hogan, Gerard O'Donovan, Catherine Gee The Thick of It (BBC, 2005-2012) Before he became a Timelord, Peter Capaldi was splenetic spin doctor Malcolm Tucker: the government's Director of Communications and a not terribly "civil" civil servant.