A couple of weeks ago Time Out produced a list of the all time top 100 British films based on a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers and other industry insiders, and an entertaining list it is too. As with any list of this type there are some inclusions that raise eyebrows (Dr No is the weakest of Terence Young's Bonds imho), omissions (Red Road, A Fish Called Wanda, A Man for All Seasons) and, I have to admit, a fair few with which I'm quite unfamiliar.
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| Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles running through Vienna |
As I was reading through, however, I was surprised by the inclusion of some, in particular Walkabout and The Third Man, which I hadn't really thought of as 'British' films. Fair enough, I thought, they have British directors, but then so does Gandhi and that's nowhere to be seen on the list. Alexander Mackendrick's work is well represented but arguably his greatest film, The Sweet Smell of Success set in New York, is missing. There are two pre-war Hitchcock films, but nothing from his career in Hollywood. Would Inception or the new Batman films qualify as British by the definition of some contributors?
However, on looking through the list it appears that the nationality of the director doesn't really matter either- Night And The City, Repulsion, and three Stanley Kubrick films have also been selected. Confused, I scanned the site looking for what definition of 'British' they were working to only to find that they didn't have one. That's fine but it did make me wonder what definition individual contributors were thinking of in making their selections.
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| Brigadoon: a Scottish film? |
I then looked through to see how many Scottish films are included on the list but found the same problem- how should I define 'Scottish'? The Bill Douglas Trilogy, Gregory's Girl, and even Local Hero I suppose are quite straightforward. I think most Scots would accept Trainspotting, Whisky Galore, and probably Culloden too. What about The Wicker Man? The 39 Steps? For that matter what about Braveheart or Brigadoon?
You'll notice in the poll on the right-hand side I've been careful in my wording. They are not 'Embra films' but 'films set in Embra' precisely because I was sure there would be some pedant arguing that none of them were truly Edinburgh films. With the exception of Hallam Foe, none of them have a Scottish director, never mind one from the city itself.
In an age where casts, crew, settings, and production are frequently international some might argue that it is pointless to think about films in terms of nationality. I'd like to think otherwise. Just as those films in the Middle East Festival told us something about their countries of origin, does Trainspotting and Restless Natives not do the same for Scotland, and Edinburgh in particular? Is that the definition?
I think the Third Man is viewed as a British film largely because it was produced by London Film and British Lion. The screenplay was also by Graham Greene and there are quite a few British actors in the cast so I don't think it's unreasonable to call it a British film.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, the special edition dvd of the film includes a documentary on the film that is actually worth watching. Needless to say there was a lot going on behind the scenes.
That's true, although the two main parts are played by Americans (unlike the book I believe) and the cinematography, perhaps the defining element of the film, was done by an Aussie. Christopher Nolan wrote and directed 'Inception' which also has English actors in supporting roles but not many people would consider it a British film. We're then left with a definition of nationality based on funding or where aspects of the technical side of production took place. Is this meaningful in any way?
ReplyDeleteInterestingly the AFI has had it in their top 100 American films of all time (although not any more)- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Movies_(10th_Anniversary_Edition)
However, at least they attempt to give some sort of definition to the term 'American film' viz. "English language, with significant creative and/or financial production from the United States." I think this presents us with more questions though!