British Film Industry - Essay Example

British Film Industry Has there ever been a British Film Industry? Discuss with reference to sources. Introduction Films and the magic of cinema has been a part of our culture ever since the first motion pictures were produced. The story of the cinema and its mercurial fortunes is almost as interesting as anything ever produced on the screen. In Britain for example, the film industry has seen its ups and downs, good times and bad but throughout the last hundred years or so, the existence of British film industry has been a valid truth. Of course there were years when very few films were produced and there were times when the quality of the films was simply not competitive, but time after time, the industry managed to overcome those barriers and remain alive. One of the simplest measures to test the stability and existence of an industry is to see what quantity is being output by the industry and what level of quality is being achieved. Since a qualitative measure is difficult to use when critics differ in their opinions about films and some films can change in qualitative value as critics rediscover lost classics of the cinema, a quantitative measure is perhaps more useful. Using this measure it can be seen that the fortunes of the British film industry have varied widely over time. Overview of Output For example, the first boom in the industry was experienced in the early years of its establishment with 122 films being produced in 1919 to be topped by 155 films produced in 1920 as shown in the graph below (Screen Online, 2003). Figure 1. British Film Industry Output (Number of Films per Year) From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_film_industry The situation was completely changed in the mid 1920s since strong competition from the United States and a lack of quality made people prefer American films. In fact, it got to the point that only 33 films were screened both in 1925 and 1926. The government of the time saw this as a troubling item on their agenda and created the Cinematograph Films Act of 1927. This act provided some safeguards to film makers in Britain and mandated that at least 7.5% of all films shown in the cinemas must be British made. In 1935, the quota was raised to 25% to further support an industry which appeared to be growing rapidly at the time (Harper, 1994). This led to the second boom in the history of the British film industry although some critics question the artistic or entertainment value of the ‘quota quickies’ which were only made to ensure that cinemas could show American films as well. They year 1936 showed the highest film output in the history of British cinema with 192 films released that year. This expansion was mostly artificial and the bust came soon after the boom which meant that production during the war years was again quite low (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). The industry picked up again and was relatively stable from 1950 onwards till the early seventies when another recession hit the film industry to continually reduce production until only 24 films were made in 1981. After ten more years of low output the industry appears to have picked up steam once more with 128 British films in 1996 and the trend seems to be continuing in the same stable fashion as it was during the 50s and 60s (Wikipedia, 2006). Clearly, the story of British cinema is confusing to say the least since there is no consistency in the output. Additionally, during the years when output was tremendously high, the quality of the films seems to have suffered greatly. On the other hand, some of the most popular and acclaimed films were produced in the years when output was at a critically low level. To get a better idea about the existence of the British film industry, these trends and decades have to be examined in greater detail. The Early Years The birth of the British cinema can be said to come soon after the first public picture film show which took place at the Regent Street Polytechnic in 1896. One hundred and ten years ago, the Lumíère Brothers projected a short film which enthralled British audiences and started the cottage industry that began making ‘one reeler’ films. These single reel films showed movement and motion and some of the remaining examples show a group of men taking down a wall, a train stopping at a station (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). Longer films with a narrative structure came soon afterwards in which a short comedy or a longer more intense moral story was presented to the audience. Even then as the situation is now, that majority of films in British cinemas were imported from America. However, Walthamstow which is on the border between Essex and London became the hub for home made films. A few years later, before the start of the First World War in 1914, it was common to see a purpose built cinema in every major town while Walthamstow had ten. The film industry found its largest outlet in the shape of the Carlton Cinema which had a seating capacity of 1,450 and was built to match any great hall (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). The existence of the British film industry is established by the many magazines and periodicals which were published at the time discussing films which were currently under production or were on display. The film industry also came under fire from the moral brigade since the National Council of Public Morals Inquiry of 1917 found three causes of concern for society. First, juvenile criminals, second, the behaviour of the young generation and most importantly, the effects of regular cinema going were said to harm society (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). The Roaring 20s (For the Americans at least) While nearly a fourth of all films shown in the cinemas during 1914 were British made films, by 1925 the ratio had dropped to less than 5%. During the same years, the film industry itself established the first rating system to grade films as ‘A’ for adults and ‘U’ for universal. Films could also be banned if they depicted native customs of foreign lands which were counter to British ideals, cruelty to women or attacks on public figures (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). This certainly shows that not only the industry was in existence; it was ready to govern itself and fight for its own survival. This was because films had gained popularity but they had also gained notoriety for being injurious to the moral health of the nation. They managed to change this image by being responsible British citizens and supporting the war effort. The films made of the First World War showed the bravery of the soldiers fighting on the frontlines and were much appreciated by His Majesty and the Prime Minister. In fact, the King recommended that the public should be shown these moving pictures since they present the best of Britain to the world (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). The acceptance of the existence of a British film industry by His Majesty proves the point that the film industry was in existence during the times. Despite their best efforts, the British film industry could not take the competition coming from across the Atlantic. The industry tried to reinvent itself and famous works of literature were quickly converted into movie format, yet they could not hold the audience. Studios tried to emulate the American model of a stock company and controlled stars but the prestige and the money which Hollywood got for its own films was simply overwhelming (Doering, 2002). Additionally the labour relations between the American and British film industries have given a competitive advantage to the American films as well (Blair et. al. 2003). The twenties was the decade which saw the rise of American cinema and with their star power the Americans were able to completely dominate world wide distribution of films. Additionally, the devastation from the war had made Europe economically depressed so the Americans could offer better prices for their films than those charged by British producers. This was simply because the American home market was large enough to get the American producers a profit and international rights could be sold for very little (O'Brien & Holland, 1987). Under these circumstances, it appeared as if the British film industry would all but evaporate. The First Coming In 1927, the British government decided to step in to save the British from the American cultural invasion and to protect the film industry. The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 was enacted to help the supply and creation of local films. This act required local cinemas to ensure that a certain percentage of films shown in the theatre were of UK origin. It also started the industry on the path to ‘quota quickies’ which have had mixed reactions from critics (Wikipedia, 2006). O'Brien and Holland (1987) consider these to be the saviors of the British film industry which needed government support at the time. On the other hand Doering (2002) reminds us that they were often poor quality and only used to fulfill government requirements. He also reports that since the films were of such poor quality and mostly considered irrelevant that they do not survive today therefore examples of the original ‘quota quickies’ are difficult to find. Despite the arguments between the critics as to the usefulness of the act, it certainly achieved what it set out to do i.e. boost British cinema production. The production boost meant that British film makers could experiment, create new modes of cinema and tune their craft. The Cinema mastermind, Michael Powell developed his technique through the quota films (Blair, et. al. 2003). Alfred Hitchcock introduced himself to the world of film through quota quickies as well. This was also the time when sound was added to films and the live orchestral music which accompanied the silent films went out of fashion. Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail which was released in 1929 is considered to be the first British industry output with sound (Wikipedia, 2006). The advent of sound also meant that accents had an influence on the understanding of films. Actors with thick accents and foreign films which could not be understood by British audiences soon lost popularity as compared to the British films which could be understood by the majority of cinema goers (Wikipedia, 2006). At the same time, it improved the fortunes of American movies which were soon turning up in color before the start of the Second World War. The 1930s also saw the emergence of the British documentary as a film genre in itself which covered realistic topics and were quite loved by the audiences of the time (Kerr, 2003). The first such documentary film is said to be John Grierson’s Drifters which was released in 1930. The 1936 Night Mail made exceptional use of W. H. Auden’s poem of the same title and the idea of the documentary film laid down the foundations of a narrative film style which would give rise to British cinema productions after the war. At the same time, the industry was boosted by the success in America of British thrillers produced by Alfred Hitchcock with movies like The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). In fact it was the success of these movies laid the foundations of Hitchcock’s eventual move to Hollywood. Not only did Britain lose one of its top directors, the coming of the war also meant that film production was going to be struck by another recession. The War Years During the war, the British cinema experienced its second dive in output and the industry release numbers looked more like output from hobbyists. From 1940 to 1946 less than 300 films were produced with an average of 42 films per year (Screen Online, 2003). Undoubtedly, the British public and film producers as well had other things on their mind than making or watching movies. However, it can be seen that the foundations of this collapse were laid down much earlier since the production had been declining several years before the start of the war. Between 1925 and 1935 the industry had more than 600 companies register themselves as filmmakers but by 1937 there were only 20 of those left in the playing field (Wikipedia, 2006). Strangely enough, this was not the industry’s darkest hour but it’s finest in terms of quality. Producers looked at the war as a common effort and using the documentary style developed in the 30s showed the public the correct propaganda which supported the war effort. The complex relationship between cinema and the government was strengthened by the fact that the public was kept aware of what the government was doing through more than just still images in newsprint. The glorification of the armed forces and the documentary film footage of the time show the depth of work done by the producers (Street, 1997). Additionally, the documentary style led to the development of such masterpieces as In Which We Serve and Went the Day Well? both produced in 1942. In 1943 there was We Dive at Dawn and Millions Like Us, while the following year saw the release of The Way Ahead. Of course feature films were also produced but they did not meet with the critical success that was the lot of the documentaries. Gainsborough Studios made several films during the war years which were very popular with the masses e.g. The Man in Grey (1943) and The Wicked Lady (1945). In the post war years, the stars of these and other films would gain popularity and the names of Stewart Granger, Margaret Lockwood and James Mason would be remembered long after they died (Wikipedia, 2006). It was also during the war years (1944) that Laurence Oliver’s Henry V was produced followed by the resounding success of Hamlet in 1948. Moreover, the partnership of Powell and Pressburger also grew strong to produce good films like Forty-Ninth Parallel (1941), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) and A Canterbury Tale released in 1944 but set in the modern wartime era to reflect how people were effected by the overall effect of the war rather than just one or two battles of importance (Wikipedia, 2006). A rather large list of movies which were produced between 1945 and 1950 were considered to be hits both at the box office and with the critics. Three films from David Lean i.e. Brief Encounter (1945), and the Dicken’s adaptation of Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948) showed excellent creativity and helped improve the lot of British cinema. Odd Man Out (1947) and The Third Man (1949) were also fine examples while the team of Powell and Pressburger continued with movies like Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1946) and Red Shoes (1948). British comedy and the peculiar British sense of humour was clearly seen in movies like Whisky Galore (1948), Kind Hearts (1949) and The Man in the White Suit (1951) all of which were produced by Ealing Studios (Wikipedia, 2006). Years of Growth No mention of the 50s and 60s British film industry can be complete without the persona of J. Arthur Rank who was a Sunday school teacher and a teetotaler yet he put together the first film empire in Britain which could stand up to the assault from Hollywood. Macnab (1993) discusses his achievements and failures in detail and suggests that it was his own personality which led to his eventual inability to compete with the Americans. Rank’s religious convictions also played a part since he thought that films should have a religious message as well. However, he was a shrewd businessman with many interests and knew how to make money from films. At the same time, while many of his films were successful with the British audiences, he could not achieve the same success with the more lucrative American market. The differences in taste between American and British audiences was obvious since the films produced by Rank were seen as too slow and filled with words rather than the action sequences American cinema goers were expecting their entertainment to provide. A difference in accents was also cited as a reason for the relative failure of the films although once the same stars became Hollywood stars, the problems with the accents seemed to disappear (Macnab, 1993). Voice training or assimilation of accents can be considered methods by which British actors became successful in America but it is difficult to imagine that the differences in accents would be enough to put audiences off if the film and the story are good enough. In any case, Rank became the leading force for British film-making by gaining control of several studios in Britain and getting several great film makers on their roster (Macnab, 1993). The period between 1950 and 1960 could be considered the best times for the British film industry both for quantity and quality since no less than a hundred films were produced every years in this decade. In fact, the average output of the thriving industry during those times was slightly more than 136 films per year (Screen Online. 2003). It also appeared, judging from the content of the films that the producers were more focused on the local market than trying to break into the larger American market. Money has always been one of the prime concerns of the film industry and as exemplified by the departure from the prestige movies which established British cinema, the newer movies represented comedies and dramas often based on true stories. Stars of the era included luminaries like John Mills, Jack Hawkins and Kenneth More. Who worked in successful movies like The Cruel Sea (1953), The Dambusters (1954) and Reach For The Sky (1956). A mention of the Doctor series should also be made which started with Doctor in the House (1954). Further in the series of comedies and satire come the works of the Boulting brothers who produced films like Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957), I'm All Right Jack (1959) and in 1963, Heavens Above!. As the economist puts it, “From Alexander Korda in the 1940s through Bryan Forbes in his EMI days, David Puttnam and the Cannon cousins, British films have never lacked for a Superman. But none of them has delivered the goods (Economist, 1991, Pg. 98).” The name of Ealing studios can also be added to that list of institutions which came with high expectations but met with little actual success. Ealing eventually ceased producing any movies by 1958 and the equipment, sets and related production material were handed over to the BBC for the establishment of their own studios for TV broadcasts. These were also the years when censorship rules and regulations were reduced to a certain extent and horror films began production in earnest by producers like Hammer who started with The Quatermass Experiment (1955) and two years later produced a sequel called Quatermass II (Robertson, 1989). Colour productions also started becoming widely popular and the days of black and white cinema were all but over with horror movie classics like Dracula and Frankenstein. British horror movies were also successful in America and the American style of horror film was successfully exported back to England in later years (Street, 1997). Reformation (1950s to 1969) From the late fifties to the early 70s, the British film industry experienced its only sustained period of quality and quantity. Internationally, the idea of British filmed gained acceptability which was compounded by the idea of a ‘swinging’ Britain (Wallace, 1997). Censorship rules were also relaxed along with the liberal sensibilities of the generation which resulted in nudity and the portrayal of sex as a part of feature film presentations. Films like Blowup, Repulsion and Women in love broke new ground with their remarkable portrayal and often profound use of nudity (Robertson, 1989). No mention of the British film industry can be complete without the mention of the quintessential British hero working for queen and country i.e. James Bond (Wallace, 1997). Strangely enough, Dr. No (1962) (which was the first bond film) was not a resounding success when it was launched but it gained in popularity as word of mouth marketing took over and made it into a British success. The next year, From Russia With Love (1963) was a resounding international hit and by the time Goldfinger (1964) was launched, James Bond was a commonly known British character and the film itself broke records at the time (Peachment, 1998). As is common worldwide in the film industry, copycat films were soon launched like The Liquidator (1965) and Sebastian (1968). Rival series of films were also created and Michael Caine starred in the role of Harry Palmer (as a more realistic and believable version of James Bond) who appeared in movies like The Ipcress File (1965) Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Hollywood and European producers also paid attention to British cinema and the French director Francois Truffaut worked on his fist film outside of France when he directed Fahrenheit 451 (1966). This was also the decade when American directors and producers came to England to make films. Losey was one such director who had been black balled in America and collaborated on certain projects with Harold Pinter to make movies like The Servant (1963) and The Accident (1967). Stanley Kubrick and Richard Lester also came to England in these years and would create ground breaking films. The Beatles were international stars during the time their own film A Hard Day’s Night (1964) was launched while it was directed by Lester. Kubrick worked on the still famous 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and it declared to the world that science fiction films were to be dominated by the British film industry for years to come. These times also saw the launch of historical dramas like Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Khartoum (1966), Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), A Man for All Seasons (1966) and Zulu (1964) as well as comedies like Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) which included huge casts, incredible stunts and amazing special effects. For four years the Academy Award for the best film was given to a film produced by the British film industry. For all practical purposes, it seemed as if the British film industry could provide solid competition to the rest of the world. However, this situation did not last since the economies of both Britain and the United states experienced a recession during the early seventies due to the oil crisis. American studios were hesitant in funding even locally produced films and certainly doubted any production coming from overseas. The money become scarce so did the production as well as the quality which meant that some of the leanest years of the industry were right around the corner in which the very existence of the British film industry was put in doubt (Street, 1997). The Dark Ages: 70s and 80s The high output from America and the low output from the Britain meant that the British film industry would be again pushed into recession. Although films were still being made with several hits in the years including adaptations of Agatha Christie’s stories like Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978), the output level was next to non existent (Macnab, 1993). The horror genre boom could not compete with the level of output which came from America. Quality certainly dropped (even though censorship rules were relaxed further) with low budget sex comedies which were neither entertaining nor particularly erotic (Eberts & Illot, 1990). Hits like the James Bond Series moved to France since the tax incentives given by the French government were enormous. The situation was so bleak that in 1980 only 31 films were made in the UK which was a number lower than the production output during the First World War. With low output and seemingly without direction, guidance or support from the government, it seemed that the ending credits for the British film industry were about to roll up the screen. But with traditional grandeur, the British film industry was ready to make a come back from the 1981 onwards. Puttnam Productions had made Chariots of Fire in 1981 which won four academy awards in 1982 and in 1983 Gandhi also won the Oscar. This short revival was dealt two sharp blows when the Rank Organisation was wound up and broken apart as well as the removal of the Eady Tax rules which allowed foreign producers to work in Britain with concessions from the government (Eberts & Illot, 1990). Production was now focused on creating films for the BBC which could be sold for a profit and could be made with funds provided by the Corporation. With these conditions, Less than forty commercially released films were made per year from 1987 to 1991. The Second Coming? (1990-Present) While the existence of the British film industry can be doubted for the years when the total output from the industry could fit on a moderately sized book shelf, the present output levels and the quality of the films during the early nineties till present times has been on the rise (Harper, 1994). In fact, the idea of ‘the British are coming’ is very much alive and not only the Americans but Indian and European producers are also looking at Britain for the production and developing of their films (Lennon, 1998). Bollywood particularly has created several films in England which have been hits in India as well as in the international markets (Aftab, 2002). A large part of this revival is dependant on the tax situation which filmmakers would be presented with in the future (Dawtery, 2004). Tax breaks have always been a concern for British film producers who have to compete with output from the American market (Bennett & Pryor, 2003). With the higher output of the nineties, the commercial and critical success of some films was also assured. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) led to more romantic comedies in the same vein with movies like Sliding Doors (1998), Notting Hill (1999) Shakespeare in Love (1998) and the Bridget Jones series. Historical Drama also made a revival with the Madness of King George (1994) and Elizabeth (1998) (Harper, 1994). The success of British films was well timed since the American producers returned to England to film block busters like Interview with a Vampire (1994) Mission: Impossible (1996) Saving Private Ryan (1998) and the first episode of the Star Wars Saga (1999). The British hero, James Bond also returned with a new look for the world with the 17th Bond movie i.e. Golden Eye. Gritty productions based on gangster life in modern Britain were also successful with films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000). The latest series to take the world by storm is based on the work of British writer J.K. Rowling in the shape of the Harry Potter series where both the books and the films have made their mark on the international scene. It certainly looks like the second coming for the British film industry but it remains to be seen how long it will last. Conclusion The evidence gathered from a multitude of resources certainly shows that there was definitely a British film industry in the past and there is certainly a British presence in the world of cinema (Street, 1997). However, there were some years when the film production level of a country like Pakistan far exceeded the output produced by the British industry in terms of quantity if not in quality. Films made in the UK have to be successful with British audiences and have to cater to international tastes as well which leads to a complexity because the British audience will make the film a hit but the international audience is required to make the film a commercial success. Government support is also a requirement for the production of films in England since the film producers can not sustain production levels or quality of production (Kerr, 2003). This is even more important since now British film makers have to compete with giant studios or film producers who are in Hollywood or Bollywood. As films made the in the UK have been successful in the past, I expect that future films will be successful on their own without taxation support from the government but in the meanwhile, while the industry is growing and stabilizing itself, it certainly needs tax breaks and governmental support as a part of British art and culture. I can not help but compare the British film industry to the British car industry since both come across with several similarities. Both have had their ups and downs and have been the source of many innovations for their respective fields but often take downward turns and come to depend on bailouts either from the government or American investors who produce a few hits before pulling out. Audiences of the world today are very fickle and will spot rehashed stories or repeated tales quite quickly which explains the losses suffered by High tech, high budget films with spectacular effects where a formula based approach makes the film a failure with the audiences. I believe that to continually produce a reasonable quantity of films along with acceptable quality the film industry needs to call upon the rich history and the culture of island nation and not be guided by fashions or fads. Given enough time and support, the British film industry will not only prove its own existence, but also provide ample proof of its viability and strength to the rest of the world including Bollywood and Hollywood. It may be patriotic to say this but I believe that British cinema shall rise again. Works Cited Aftab, K. 2002, ‘Brown: the new black! Bollywood in Britain’, Critical Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 3, pp 88-98. Bennett. R. and Pryor, P. 2003, ‘Brit report seeks more tax breaks for film biz’, Hollywood Reporter: International Edition, vol. 380, no. 23, pp 51-52. Blair, H. et. al. 2003, ‘From London to Los Angeles: a comparison of local labour market processes in the US and UK film industries.’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 14, no. 4, pp 619-633. Dawtery, A. 2004, ‘The empire strikes back’, Daily Variety, vol. 284, 2004 IFC Special, pp 51-52. Doering, J. 2002, ‘The Boulting Brothers and the contemporary British film industry’, Contemporary Review, vol. 281, no. 1641, pp 235-241. Eberts, J. and Illot, T. 1990, My Indecision is Final: The Rise and Fall of Goldcrest Films, Faber & Faber. Economist. 1991, ‘An Ealing tragedy’, Economist, vol. 319, no. 7707, p98-99. Harper, S. 1994, Picturing the Past: The Rise and Fall of the British Costume Film, British Film Institute. Kerr, P. 2003, ‘We should be so lucky’, New Statesman, vol. 132, no. 4664, pp 44-45. Lennon, D. 1998, ‘Boom times for UK films’, Europe, vol. 10, no. 379, pp 38-40. Macnab, G. 1993, J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry, Routledge. O'Brien, M. and Holland, J. 1987, 'Picture Shows: The early British film industry in Walthamstow', History Today, vol. 37, no. 2, pp 9-16. Peachment, C. 1998, ‘John Boorman: The deliverance of a one-man British film industry’, New Statesman, vol. 127, no. 4386, pp 46-48. Robertson, J. 1989. The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action, 1913-1972, Routledge. Screen Online. 2003, ‘UK Feature Films Produced 1912-2003’, BFI Film & Television Handbook, [Online] Available at: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/facts/fact2.html Street, S. 1997, British National Cinema, Routledge. Wallace, B. 1997, ‘Cool Britannia’ Maclean's, vol. 110, no. 17, pp 38-42. Wikipedia, 2006, ‘Cinema of the United Kingdom’ Wikipedia.org, [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_film_industry Word Count: 5,310 Read More