The BFI 100
The original list and full explanation of it is at
http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100
Early in 1999, the British Film Institute produced a selection booklet and
sent copies to 1,000 people embracing all strands of the film, cinema and
television industries throughout the UK - producers, directors, writers,
actors, technicians, academics, exhibitors, distributors, executives and
critics. Participants were asked to consider (and vote for up to 100) 'culturally
British' feature films, released in cinemas during the 20th century, which
they felt had made a strong and lasting impression. Altogether, more than
25,700 votes were cast, covering 820 different films.
The final selection makes compulsive reading. It spans seven decades, from
1935 to 1998, accommodates the work of 70 film directors and much international
talent. Topping the list is Carol Reed's classic The Third Man, a very British
film, though its two key stars - Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles - are American.
Coming second is Brief Encounter, sublime repressed romance that could only
have come from the UK. The two films share an actor (Trevor Howard stars
in both) and interestingly both were shot by the same cinematographer, the
talented Australian-born Robert Krasker.
The 'top 10' of favourites certainly features some names to be reckoned
with. Three films from David Lean, others by Alfred Hitchcock (whose centenary
was celebrated in 1999), Nic Roeg, Ken Loach, Carol Reed, Robert Hamer,
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, while fascinatingly in 10th spot
is that very '90s film Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle.
1. The Third Man (1949)
Directed by Carol Reed
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Bernard Lee,
Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ernst Deutsch, Siegfried Breuer, Erich Ponto, Paul Hoerbiger
After half a century, The Third Man remains a bona fide British classic:
rich on atmosphere, strong on suspense and blessed with quite wonderful
performances. A true collaboration between director Carol Reed and screenwriter
Graham Greene, it is the story of a simple American (Cotten) who arrives
in post-war Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (Welles, evil and extraordinary),
only to learn that Lime has been killed in an accident. But, as he unravels
the truth, he is also drawn into the decadent and corrupt world in which
Lime existed. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Robert Krasker (who won
an Oscar® for his work), the film is full of sequences that linger in
the mind, while the acclaimed zither rendition of 'The Harry Lime Theme'
by Anton Karas helps to create a rare, haunting movie atmosphere.
2. Brief Encounter (1945)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril
Raymond, Valentine Dyall
A rightly celebrated tear-jerker which movingly recreates a little England
on a northern railway platform (location: Carnforth, Lancashire). It shows
that even the repressed British can display emotion (in a very understated
manner, of course) when true love comes along. David Lean directed this
expansion of Noel Coward's one-act play Still Life; Celia Johnson and Trevor
Howard are the respectable middle-class couple who fall deeply in love but
ultimately agree not to meet again and to return to their real lives. They
do so with such dignity and restraint that it makes their ultimate parting
all the more moving. The atmospheric music is Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto
No. 2.
3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Hawkins, Donald Wolfit,
Claude Rains, Anthony Quayle, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jose Ferrer,
Michel Ray, Zia Mohyeddin
A truly epic film which won the Best Picture Oscar® and BAFTA awards.
Staggering in its scope, execution and impact, it remains a moving and memorable
film-going experience. Director David Lean and screenwriters Robert Bolt
and (originally uncredited) Michael Wilson combined to craft a story that
seems to have two central characters - Lawrence himself (played with charismatic
brilliance by 30 year-old Peter O'Toole) and the shifting desert so superbly
photographed in glorious 70mm by Freddie Young. British eccentric T.E. Lawrence
set about inspiring the Arabs to fight alongside the British against the
Turks in the 1914-17 campaign. The film is full of scenes and performances
to treasure, though perhaps the best remembered is the arrival at the isolated
well of Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) and the long shot of his ride across the
shimmering sand.
4. The 39 Steps (1935)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Godfrey Tearle, Lucie Mannheim, Peggy
Ashcroft, John Laurie, Wylie Watson, Helen Haye, Frank Cellier
One of the greatest Hitchcock films and by far the best of the three big-screen
versions of John Buchan's romping adventure novel, written in 1915. The
excellent Robert Donat is the innocent engineer caught up in a web of intrigue
when a female spy is killed in his apartment. A wanted man, he escapes by
train and eventually on foot into the Scottish Highlands, before returning
to London to solve the mystery. Heightened sexual chemistry comes from
the scenes of Donat handcuffed to the heroine (played with icy charm by
Madeleine Carroll) and having to spend the night with her. Hitchcock directs
with a sure sense of pace and wit, and is always ready to add that extra
jolt to surprise audiences of the day. At the time he said: "I am out to
give the public good, healthy, mental shake-ups". He succeeded.
5. Great Expectations (1946)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: John Mills, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, Valerie Hobson,
Jean Simmons, Alec Guinness, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Wager, Ivor Barnard,
Freda Jackson, Hay Petrie, O.B. Clarence, George Hayes, Torin Thatcher,
Eileen Erskine
A masterly adaptation of Dickens' much-loved story, which fluently blends
excitement, suspense and emotion. The memorable opening sequence of young
Pip meeting Magwitch in the graveyard brilliantly sets the film in motion,
and director David Lean handles the transitions from fear to drama and on
to comedy with extraordinary ease. The cast is superb - John Mills as the
older Pip and Jean Simmons as the young Estella are both excellent, as are
Martita Hunt as the crumbling Miss Havisham and Francis L. Sullivan (who
played the same role in the 1934 Hollywood version) as the lawyer Jaggers.
A deserved Oscar® for the stunning camera-work of Guy Green and another
for John Bryan and Wilfred Shingleton for Art Direction and Set Decoration.
6. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Directed by Robert Hamer
Cast: Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Miles
Malleson, Arthur Lowe
A deliciously dark Ealing comedy that elegantly allows the audience to side
with the killer as he sets about his task. Dennis Price plays the penniless
young hero, ninth in line to inherit the D'Ascoyne dukedom, who systematically
sets about murdering the eight in the way to his title. The brilliant casting
twist was that Alec Guinness played all eight - a general, a snob, a photographer,
a suffragette, an admiral, a clergyman, a banker and the duke - with enjoyable
ease. Also cast is the wonderful Joan Greenwood as the charmingly evil Sybilla.
Robert Hamer directed, based on the book Israel Rank by Roy Horniman.
7. Kes (1969)
Directed by Ken Loach
Cast: David Bradley, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland, Freddie Fletcher, Brian
Glover
Ken Loach's engagingly unsentimental story of a working-class boy who manages
to find a rare release from his drab life training and caring for a kestrel.
Much-loved and well remembered, the film is regarded as a classic of its
time, with Loach commenting poignantly on the lack of opportunities for
the working classes. It is based on Barry Hines's novel A Kestrel for a
Knave, and features cinematography by Chris Menges. Though the subject
matter is serious, as usual with Loach there is plenty of room for humour
and still to be cherished is Brian Glover's exuberant performance as the
warped sports teacher. The film was shot on location in and around Barnsley.
8. Don't Look Now (1973)
Directed by Nic Roeg
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo
Serrato
Stunningly assembled by Nic Roeg, this remains one of the most disturbing
of films, with the hint of terror lurking in almost every scene. Julie Christie
and Donald Sutherland are the parents whose drowned daughter may be sending
them messages, leading them into the gothic labyrinthine of a deserted Venice.
The Daphne du Maurier story may be the root of Don't Look Now, but the heart
is the extraordinary ability of Roeg to create splintered visions, subliminal
imagery and a pervasive sense of horror. It is still a film not for the
faint-hearted.
9. The Red Shoes (1948)
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer, Marius Goring, Robert Helpmann, Albert
Basserman, Frederick Ashton, Leonide Massine, Ludmilla Tcherina, Esmond
Knight
An extraordinarily imaginative film which has quietly established itself
as a classic and has the ability to affect some viewers deeply. At its heart
is a 14-minute ballet - also called The Red Shoes - based on a Hans Christian
Andersen story of a wicked shoe-maker who makes slippers for a young woman
who finds they won't let her stop dancing until she dies, exhausted. This
story is, of course, the basis for the film's larger backstage plot concerning
the relationship between a megalomaniac impresario (Walbrook) and his young
ballerina (Shearer). Beautifully presented by the team of Powell and Pressburger,
with choreography by Robert Helpmann.
10. Trainspotting (1996)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kelly
Macdonald, Kevin McKidd, Peter Mullan, Irvine Welsh
Dark, ironic and made with such style and power, Trainspotting arrived in
cinema's centenary year as a much-needed push for British film. Brilliantly
marketed and with a pulsating soundtrack, it put Scottish and British talent
in the spotlight, and showed that the awful truth of drug-taking could be
handled in a clever, witty but still disturbing way. The story concerns
a loose band of young Scottish junkies who do their worst before heading
down to London with a bag of money. The film is famous also for helping
to launch the careers of Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller
and others. Writer John Hodge won an Oscar for his adaptation of Irvine
Welsh's novel.
11. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James
Donald, Geoffrey Horne, Andre Morell, Percy Herbert
Under the single-minded leadership of their Colonel (Alec Guinness at his
best as the officer driven slowly mad), British prisoners in a Japanese
P.O.W. camp build the eponymous bridge that might eventually be used to
assist Japanese troop movement. William Holden is the American officer
who plans to destroy it. A film that plays just as well showing the psychological
battle of wills as the more epic scenes of military conflict, it won seven
Oscars®, including one for screenplay (by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson,
based on Pierre Boulle's novel). These writers, though, were blacklisted,
so Boulle, who spoke no English, received the script credit.
12. If... (1968)
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, David Wood, Richard Warwick, Robert Swann, Christine
Noonan, Peter Jeffrey, Arthur Lowe, Anthony Nicholls
Lindsay Anderson's much acclaimed film marked the beginning of an extended
partnership with actor Malcolm McDowell and writer David Sherwin (they made
two more films together, further tracing McDowell's character) and confused
the establishment with its complex and often cruel expose of an English
private school. Eventually a group of three students (led by McDowell)
rebel and set about shooting teachers and fellow students from the roof
of a school building.
13. The Ladykillers (1955)
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Cast: Alec Guinness, Katie Johnson, Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Danny Green,
Jack Warner, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Connor
Priceless black comedy made at Ealing Studios. A bunch of hardened criminals
hide out in a house near to London's St. Pancras station owned by a cheerful
little old lady. Led by Alec Guinness (whose fiendish false teeth smack
of master-criminal status), the gang's evil plans are constantly foiled
by the old lady (played superbly by Katie Johnson) who is just too sweet
to be true. Their bickering leads to violence and eventually wonderfully
extravagant deaths. Peter Sellers is excellent as the chubby Teddy Boy,
here in an early teaming with the equally nasty Herbert Lom (later Chief
Inspector Dreyfuss to Sellers' Inspector Clouseau).
14. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Directed by Karel Reisz
Cast: Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts, Bryan Pringle,
Norman Rossington, Hylda Baker
Much acclaimed by critics at the time, this early 'angry young man' drama
was set in Nottingham and its hero is a factory worker, wonderfully played
by Albert Finney. Adapted by Alan Sillitoe from his novel, the film looks
uncompromisingly at the life and frustrations of a working class man and
the impact he has on the women in his life, played by Shirley Anne Field
and Rachel Roberts. It may be grim stuff at times, but under Karel Reisz's
direction it is refreshingly honest and at times moving. Music is provided
by the jazz musician Johnny Dankworth.
15. Brighton Rock (1947)
Directed by John Boulting
Cast: Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, Harcourt Williams, William
Hartnell, Alan Wheatley, Carol Marsh, Nigel Stock
Fresh-faced young Richard Attenborough took a stark acting change of pace,
here playing with chilling presence Pinkie Brown, the vicious teenage leader
of a gang of slashers. Based on Graham Greene's 1938 novel (adapted by Greene
and Terence Rattigan), this is an impressively made thriller from the Boulting
brothers (Roy and John also co-produced the film), with fine performances
too by Hermione Baddeley as the singer and Harcourt Williams as the lawyer.
16. Get Carter (1971)
Directed by Mike Hodges
Cast: Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland, George Sewell,
Geraldine Moffatt, Tony Beckley, Rosemarie Dunham, Dorothy White, Petra
Markham, Glynn Edwards, Alun Armstrong, Bryan Mosley, Bernard Hepton, Godfrey
Quigley, Terence Rigby
Recently re-released by the bfi and long the subject of cult status, Mike
Hodges' Get Carter is a tough and thoroughly compulsive crime thriller that
delivers the gangland goods with great aplomb. Michael Caine is Jack Carter,
the London-based villain returning to his native Newcastle to bury his brother,
who sets about antagonising the local gangsters until his finds out who
was the killer. Caine is suave, sadistic and sexy, but then everyone here
is pretty nasty. Playwright John Osborne appears as one of the camp Newcastle
bosses, while the late Bryan Mosley (Coronation Street's Alf Roberts) also
has a key role.
17. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Directed by Charles Crichton
Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Alfie Bass, Marjorie
Fielding, Edie Martin, John Gregson, Gibb McLaughlin, Sydney Tafler, Audrey
Hepburn
Superb Ealing comedy, with Alec Guinness in great form as the innocuous
civil servant who manages the impossible and steals three million in gold
bullion from the Bank of England. That Guinness is perfect as the modest
Everyman is what makes this film such a classic, but there are marvellous
supporting performances too from Stanley Holloway, Sid James and Alfie Bass
as his accomplices. Watch for a young Audrey Hepburn as Chiquita in the
opening sequences. T.E.B. Clarke's wonderful script won the Oscar® for
Best Story and Screenplay.
18. Henry V (1944)
Directed by Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Esmond Knight, Renee
Asherson, George Robey, Leo Genn, Ernest Thesiger, Ivy St. Helier, Ralph
Truman, Harcourt Williams, Max Adrian, Valentine Dyall, Felix Aylmer, John
Laurie, Roy Emerton
Filmed during World War II and clearly aimed at boosting the confidence
of the British, this is a remarkable film version of Shakespeare's play.
It was Olivier's debut as a director and he brought passion, spectacle,
humour and real poetry to the film, but is also outstanding as the passionate
Plantagenet Henry who, at 27, defeated the armies of France at Agincourt.
Among the impressive cast are Robert Newton as Ancient Pistol, George Robey
as Falstaff and Harcourt Williams as Charles VI. Olivier received a Special
Academy Award in 1946 for bringing this film to the screen.
19. Chariots of Fire (1981)
Directed by Hugh Hudson
Cast: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Cheryl Campbell, Ian Holm,
Nicholas Farrell, Alice Krige, Daniel Gerroll, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson,
Nigel Davenport, Patrick Magee
An absorbing, moving and much-acclaimed drama which in the early '80s looked
like spearheading a British breakthrough in Hollywood. That didn't really
happen, but Lord (David) Puttnam's production remains a remarkable achievement,
tackling many issues under the umbrella of a true story. Two men - a devout
Scottish missionary Eric Liddell (Charleson) and a Jewish Cambridge student
Harold Abrahams (Cross) - strain and train to run in the 1924 Olympics.
The film debut of director Hugh Hudson, it won four Oscars® (for Best
Picture, Colin Welland's script, Milena Canonero's costumes and the score
by Vangelis).
20. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: David Niven, Roger Livesey, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey,
Abraham Sofaer
A quite perfect romantic fantasy from the team of Powell and Pressburger,
which also gave David Niven one of the best roles of his career. He plays
Peter, a World War II pilot who falls for an American radio operator (Hunter)
as his plane is about to crash. But heaven makes a mistake and he survives,
only to meet the girl in person and fall deeply in love. Now he must plead
for his life at a celestial court. Handled with great compassion and intelligence
by all involved.
21. The Long Good Friday (1980)
Directed by John Mackenzie
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Derek Thompson, Dave King, Bryan Marshall,
Eddie Constantine, Stephen Davis, Paul Freeman, Pierce Brosnan
A violent crime thriller, featuring a stunning performance by the then little-known
Bob Hoskins as the brutal Harold Shand. Vigorously directed by John Mackenzie
from a screenplay by Barry Keeffe, the film follows Shand's attempts to
woo a band of American entrepreneurs to London at the same time as gangland
rivalry seems to be destroying his empire. Helen Mirren shines as Victoria,
his sophisticated girlfriend, and look out for film debutant Pierce Brosnan
as '1st Irishman'. This remains one of the very best British gangland movies.
22. The Servant (1963)
Directed by Joseph Losey
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig, Catherine Lacey,
Richard Vernon
Powerful drama from Joseph Losey, from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. Edward
Fox is the rich but useless young man whose life is gradually taken over
by his sinister manservant (Bogarde, in superb form) and his sexy sister
(Miles). Often quite nasty, but glossily compulsive and fascinating to watch
the transition of the two principal characters.
23. Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
Directed by Mike Newell
Cast: Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Simon Callow, John
Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, James Fleet, David Bower, Corin Redgrave, Rowan
Atkinson, Anna Chancellor, Robert Lang, Jeremy Kemp, Rosalie Crutchley
One of the great British comedies of the '90s (and one of the biggest hits,
too, with worldwide box-office takings of $258 million), this remains a
thoroughly enjoyable experience, full of fine performances, some wonderful
settings and hilarious lines that linger in the memory. As perennial best
man Charles (Grant) meets the woman of his dreams over a series of weddings,
many of the best lines come from his mixed bag of friends (Scott-Thomas,
Callow, Hannah, Coleman and Fleet), while Rowan Atkinson pops up to play
the bumbling clergyman as only he can. Smoothly directed by Newell, though
full credit should surely go to Richard Curtis for his superb script.
24. Whisky Galore! (1949)
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Cast: Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Jean Cadell, Gordon Jackson, James
Robertson Justice, Wylie Watson, John Gregson, Morland Graham, Duncan Macrae,
Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton, Henry Mollinson, Compton Mackenzie, A.E.
Matthews
Wonderful whimsy, charmingly directed by Mackendrick. On the fictional Scottish
island of Todday, the wartime whisky ration has run out and the islanders
are devastated. But when an American ship carrying 50,000 cases of Scotch
is wrecked off-shore, they take it upon themselves to salvage and hide the
booze. Thoroughly enjoyable film, with terrific performances from the likes
of Joan Greenwood, Basil Radford and Gordon Jackson. Compton Mackenzie,
author of the novel on which the film is based, also has a small role as
Captain Buncher. It was shot on location on the Hebridean island of Barra.
25. The Full Monty (1997)
Directed by Peter Cattaneo
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Lesley Sharp,
Hugo Speer, Emily Woof, Steve Huison, Deirdre Costello
Hilarious contemporary comedy that managed that rare thing of being able
to make you laugh while it also looked seriously at social issues. A group
of out-of-work Sheffield steelworkers decide to become male strippers to
try to make some much-needed money. The amusing dynamics of the group of
men is perfect and the scenes of them rehearsing, or queuing in the DHSS
office, remain fresh and funny. With a splendid script by Simon Beaufoy,
the film established Robert Carlyle as a leading man and was a massive hit
in the US as well as the UK, receiving four Oscar® nominations and critical
acclaim along the way.
26. The Crying Game (1992)
Directed by Neil Jordan
Cast: Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, Jim Broadbent, Jaye
Davidson, Ralph Brown, Adrian Dunbar, Tony Slattery
An impressively original film from writer-director Neil Jordan, produced
by Stephen Woolley and Nik Powell, that proved to be a significant critical
success and intrigued audiences with its clever plot twists. Stephen Rea
is an IRA man who befriends a captured British soldier (played by American
actor Forest Whitaker) and eventually heads to London where he gets involved
with the soldier's lover Dil (extremely well portrayed by Jaye Davidson).
Jordan shows great command of his material and justly won an Academy Award
for his screenplay.
27. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Rita Tushingham,
Ralph Richardson, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine Chaplin, Siobhan McKenna, Noel
Willman, Geoffrey Keen, Adrienne Corri
A sprawling, visually stunning epic from David Lean, based on Boris Pasternak's
massive novel. Sharif is the Russian doctor-cum-poet who marries Geraldine
Chaplin, but later falls for the beautiful Lara (Julie Christie). The film
takes in World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, and its stunning set-pieces
include the huge crowd scenes in Moscow, the train sequences and the beautiful
snowy vistas. Oscars were given to Robert Bolt's screenplay, Freddie Young's
cinematography, Phyllis Dalton's costume design, the art direction / set
decoration by John Box and Terry Marsh, and Maurice Jarre's sweeping music
score.
28. Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Directed by Terry Jones
Cast: John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam,
Terry Jones
Classic Monty Python material - perhaps the best of their feature films
- which caused the obligatory outrage, being charged as blasphemous by some
who couldn't see the humour. It tells the story of Brian (Chapman), a man
whose life vaguely parallels that of Christ, and manages both to pack in
the jokes and make some very shrewd points along the way. Some of the lines
are quite wonderful ("Blessed are the cheese-makers"?), some of the scenes
surreal, and the final song - 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' -
remains the perfect joke.
29. Withnail and I (1987)
Directed by Bruce Robinson
Cast: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael
Elphick
Dark, dyspeptic humour from writer-director Bruce Robinson that has achieved
cult status. At the end of the swinging '60s, two wannabe actors in a dismal
and dreary London are suffering from cold and lack of alcohol and money.
They head for the countryside, only to be followed by Withnail's amorous
Uncle Monty (the wonderful Richard Griffiths) who is keen to romance Marwood
(the 'I' of the title, played by Paul McGann). This is grim humour, splendidly
played and a great antidote to the sweetness of so many other comedies.
30. Gregory's Girl (1980)
Directed by Bill Forsyth
Cast: John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Claire Grogan, Jake D'Arcy
In this funny, moving and totally charming piece, Scottish writer-director
Bill Forsyth explores the innocence of adolescence - how teenage boys know
nothing, how girls are so much shrewder, and how young love never seems
to work out quite right. Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) is the gangling
teenager who loses his place in the school football team to the lovely Dorothy
(Dee Hepburn). He falls for her but finds nowhere to turn for advice - his
mates know as little as he, and his younger sister is just interested in
ice cream. Almost twenty years later, director and star reunited for a sequel.
31. Zulu (1964)
Directed by Cy Endfield
Cast: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Michael Caine, Ulla Jacobsson, James
Booth, Nigel Green, Ivor Emmanuel, Paul Daneman, and the voice of Richard
Burton
An epic account of the true story of under-strength British forces defending
an isolated African mission at Rorke's Drift against hordes of Zulu warriors.
Stanley Baker (who also co-produced with director Cy Endfield) impresses
as the officer in charge, whilst a then scarcely known Michael Caine adopts
an upper-class accent. The spectacular second half of the film is almost
totally taken up with the battle, as the Zulus look to overpower the mission
and reclaim their land. The stirring music score is by John Barry, the narration
by Richard Burton.
32. Room at the Top (1958)
Directed by Jack Clayton
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears, Donald Wolfit, Ambrosine
Philpotts, Donald Houston, Raymond Huntley, John Westbrook, Allan Cuthbertson,
Hermione Baddeley, Mary Peach
A remarkable screen adaptation of John Braine's novel, with Laurence Harvey
perfectly cast as the young man determined to break social barriers and
get ahead by marrying the factory boss's daughter. Jack Clayton did a marvellous
job of pulling the film together, though Oscars went to Simone Signoret,
for her performance as the older woman thrown aside as Harvey plots to move
onwards, and screenwriter Neil Paterson.
33. Alfie (1966)
Directed by Lewis Gilbert
Cast: Michael Caine, Vivien Merchant, Shirley Anne Field, Millicent Martin,
Jane Asher, Julia Foster, Shelley Winters, Eleanor Bron, Denholm Elliott
A tour-de-force performance by Michael Caine, who brilliantly brings to
life Alfie, the swaggering Cockney romeo out to charm as many 'birds' as
possible. Caine narrates directly to camera as he sets about his cold-hearted
romancing of a marvellous cast of actresses. Adapted from his own material
by Bill Naughton and well directed by Lewis Gilbert in his first collaboration
with Caine, Alfie boasts a terrific score by Sonny Rollins.
34. Gandhi (1982)
Directed by Richard Attenborough
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Mills, John Gielgud,
Trevor Howard, Martin Sheen, Rohini Hattangady, Ian Charleson, Athol Fugard,
Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Amrish Puri, Ian Bannen, Michael Bryant, Richard
Griffiths, Bernard Hepton, Michael Hordern, Richard Vernon, Shane Rimmer,
Daniel Day-Lewis
Richard Attenborough's epic film traces 56 of the 79 years of Gandhi's life,
showing his transformation from the passionate young lawyer Mohandas K.
Gandhi into the spiritual and political leader of India, who became a symbol
for peace around the world. Ben Kinglsey, in his first leading film role,
gives a remarkable performance as The Mahatma, and Attenborough handles
the scale of his long-cherished project with skill, especially perhaps the
vast funeral sequence. The film won eight Oscars®, including Best Picture,
Director, Actor and Screenplay (by John Briley). Low down the cast is a
young Daniel Day-Lewis, playing 'Colin', one of three youths who grab Gandhi
in the street.
35. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty, Paul Lukas,
Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Catherine Lacey, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers,
Googie Withers, Mary Clare, Philip Leaver
Another terrific Hitchcock, this time also blessed with a deliciously witty
script by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. Shot entirely at Gainsborough,
this is a perfect comedy-mystery, taken from Ethel Lina White's novel The
Wheel Spins. Dame May Whitty is Miss Froy, the elderly woman who disappears,
Lockwood and a young Redgrave the couple who team up to find her, and the
fabulous Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne are the cricket-mad eccentrics
Charters and Caldicott who help in their own sweet way. A dizzying and thoroughly
enjoyable experience.
36. The Italian Job (1969)
Directed by Peter Collinson
Cast: Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Benny Hill, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley,
Rossano Brazzi, Maggie Blye, Irene Handl, John Le Mesurier, Fred Emney,
Graham Payn, Robert Powell
A highly entertaining caper movie, recently re-released on its 30th anniversary,
which reached cult status thanks to Michael Caine, a trio of Mini Coopers
and a sense of '60s fun that is back in fashion. Caine plays Charlie, a
petty criminal who inherits the plans to a $4 million gold bullion robbery
in Turin. Masterminded by the patriotic Mr Bridger (Coward) from his prison
cell, Charlie's men create the biggest traffic jam ever seen. Their getaway
across the piazzas and rooftops involves wild car chases (stunt driving
was supervised by Remy Julienne, who later worked on several Bonds), followed
by a much-imitated cliff-hanger ending.
37. Local Hero (1983)
Directed by Bill Forsyth
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Peter Capaldi, Jennifer
Black, Jenny Seagrove, Fulton Mackay, John Gordon Sinclair
Magical, moving comedy-drama from writer-director Bill Forsyth, working
again in his native Scotland. An ambitious young executive (Riegert) from
Texas-based Knox Oil & Gas is despatched to a small Scottish village to
negotiate the purchase of the whole place as the location for a new refinery.
But the residents are wily Scots, who resolve to hold out for a high price.
Unfortunately for all, the beach is owned and inhabited by old Ben (Mackay),
so the Knox chairman (a lively, if eccentric, Lancaster) flies in to take
over negotiations himself. This is a gem of a film, full of gentle humour,
perfect performances and thoughtful insights, with an atmospheric music
score by Mark Knopfler.
38. The Commitments (1991)
Directed by Alan Parker
Cast: Robert Atkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle, Dave Finnegan,
Bronagh Gallagher, Felim Gormley, Glen Hansard, Dick Massey, Johnny Murphy,
Kenneth McCluskey, Andrew Strong
Alan Parker's funny and extremely satisfying story of a group of young Dubliners
who form a band determined to sing '60s soul music. They are gathered together
from all walks of life by the ambitious Jimmy Rabitte (Atkins): perhaps
the finest scene is the procession of wannabes who come to his front door
for interviews. The real discovery, though, is the amazing vocal talent
of Andrew Strong, who plays the heavyweight singer Decco Cuffe. With a script
by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, based closely on Roddy Doyle's novel,
the film is full of great music and great characters.
39. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Directed by Charles Crichton
Cast: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken
Inspired farce from John Cleese (who stars and wrote the script) which combines
moments of Python-style outrageousness with the structure of a classic Ealing
comedy. Veteran director Charles Crichton (who made The Lavender Hill Mob
and The Titfield Thunderbolt) also deserves credit for this story of a British
barrister (Cleese) who gets involved with a sexy con artist (Curtis) and
her mindless roughneck boyfriend (Kline) and their robbery plans. Full of
wonderful moments, with Kline earning his Oscar for an hysterical, over-the-top
performance.
40. Secrets & Lies (1995)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Cast: Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Brenda Blethyn, Claire Rushbrook, Marianne
Jean-Baptiste, Elizabeth Berrington, Michele Austin, Lee Ross
The film that finally secured recognition for Mike Leigh in the international
market place. It gained Oscar nominations and acclaim around the world as
once again Leigh used his considerable talents to marshal a fine cast of
actors to tell what is on one level a simple story, but on another an honest
look at the complexity of human relationships. Brenda Blethyn and Marianne
Jean-Baptiste received much of the acclaim, but topcast Timothy Spall's
performance also deserves attention. Moving and funny in equal measure,
Secrets & Lies remains a remarkable film.
41. Dr. No (1962)
Directed by Terence Young
Cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, John Kitzmiller,
Zena Marshall, Anthony Dawson, Timothy Moxon, Lester Prendergast, Eunice
Gayson, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Peter Burton, Reggie Carter, Margaret
LeWars
The first James Bond film, made by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman's
Eon Productions, which was shot on location in Jamaica and looked far more
expensive than it actually was (production budget: $1 million). The hi-tech
sets (by Ken Adam), main title sequence (by Maurice Binder) and fast-paced
editing style (by Peter Hunt) all became hallmarks of the 007 series and
their influence on the action film genre endures today. Opinion varies,
of course, as to who is the best Bond and which is the best film, but this
one certainly helped to make an international star of Connery and a screen
icon of Ursula Andress.
42. The Madness of King George (1994)
Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Cast: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm, Amanda Donohoe, Rupert Graves,
Rupert Everett, Jim Carter, Geoffrey Palmer, John Wood, Jeremy Child, Cyril
Shaps
Impressive screen version of Alan Bennett's clever play, with Nigel Hawthorne
reprising his stunning performance as England's eccentrically benevolent
late 18th century King. When George becomes ill and shows signs of mental
instability, Parliament and the Court start intriguing, whilst his son (a
fine Rupert Everett) makes plans to usurp the throne. Bennett himself can
be glimpsed in a brief cameo as a member of Parliament near the end of the
film.
43. A Man For All Seasons (1966)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Paul Schofield, Wendy Hiller, Susannah York, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles,
Leo McKern, Nigel Davenport, John Hurt, Corin Redgrave, Cyril Luckham, Jack
Gwillim
Visually stunning film of Robert Bolt's play, tracing Sir Thomas More's
conflict with Henry VIII when the King plans a split from the Pope and the
formation of the Church of England. Paul Schofield gives a wonderful (Oscar®-winning)
performance as More, while Robert Shaw, who developed successful careers
as both an actor and an author/playwright, is no less impressive as Henry.
In all, this vivid, powerful film won six Oscars (also Best Picture, Director,
Screenplay, Costume Design and Cinematography).
44. Black Narcissus (1947)
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Farrer, Sabu, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, Flora
Robson, Esmond Knight, Jenny Laird, May Hallatt, Jdith Furse
Sumptuous and powerful adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel about a group
of nuns who struggle to establish a mission in a remote part of the Himalayas.
The film is distinguished by Jack Cardiff's Oscar®-winning colour cinematography,
which adds visual impact to the drama, although it was shot entirely in
the studio. The nuns face emotional and physical challenges, and the final
sequences remain stunning, with Deborah Kerr giving a fine performance as
the Sister Superior. Art Director Alfred Junge also won an Academy Award.
45. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook, Deborah Kerr, Roland Culver, James
McKechnie, Albert Lieven, Arthur Wontner, A.E. Matthews, David Hutcheson,
Ursula Jeans, John Laurie, Harry Welchman
Sentimental, though exceptionally shrewd, tale of a staunch and often misguided
British soldier, tracing his life from the Boer War through to World War
II. The character is supposedly based on David Low's caricature buffoon,
though Roger Livesey's doddery yet patriotic soldier shows only a loose
connection. Best of all is Deborah Kerr's terrific performance as the three
different women in Blimp's long and varied life.
46. Oliver Twist (1948)
Directed by David Lean
Cast: Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Francis L. Sullivan, John Howard Davies,
Kay Walsh, Anthony Newley, Henry Stephenson, Mary Clare, Gibb McLaughlin,
Diana Dors
Wonderful version of the Dickens classic, which Lean made shortly after
he completed Great Expectations. He again used Alec Guinness, still in the
early stages of his acting career, heavily disguised this time as Fagin.
In a similar way to Great Expectations, Lean's dramatic scenes are very
powerful; especially memorable is the sequence of Sikes (the terrifying
Robert Newton) killing Nancy (Kay Walsh) because she had helped Oliver,
while Sikes's dog scratches at the door. An outstanding cast includes Diana
Dors in an early role, and then child-star Anthony Newley as the Artful
Dodger. John Howard Davies, in the title role, later enjoyed a successful
career as a television producer.
47. I'm All Right Jack (1959)
Directed by John Boulting
Cast: Ian Carmichael, Peter Sellers, Irene Handl, Richard Attenborough,
Terry-Thomas, Dennis Price, Margaret Rutherford, Liz Fraser, John Le Mesurier,
Sam Kydd
Splendidly entertaining and accurate comedy about the relationships in the
'50s between businessmen and their workers. Nice-but-dim Ian Carmichael
goes to work for his conniving uncle and after causing all sorts of problems
with industrial relations, unwittingly upsets a crooked business scheme.
Sellers is outstanding as union leader Fred Kite, while Attenborough and
Price are excel as the oily businessmen. Scripted by Frank Harvey, John
Boulting and Alan Hackney from Hackney's novel Private Life.
48. Performance (1970)
Directed by Nicolas Roeg, Donald Cammell
Cast: James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Michele Breton, Stanley
Meadows, Allan Cuthbertson
Roeg and Cammell's extraordinary Performance has received cult status for
its portrayal of a strange and dark London underworld of gangsters and pop
stars. Jagger, of course, is the pop star who has 'retired' to a hedonistic
world of sex and drugs, while Fox is the gangster who initially hides out
in Jagger's house, but gets drawn into a psychedelic whirlpool. Often disconnected
and at times edited in a jagged manner, this remains a fascinating glimpse
into a bizarre world.
49. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Directed by John Madden
Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Affleck, Colin
Firth, Mark Williams, Judi Dench
Popular and thoroughly enjoyable tale of William Shakespeare (Fiennes) suffering
from writer's block. He just can't finish his latest play, Romeo and Ethel
- the Sea Pirate's Daughter, but when he meets Viola de Lesseps (Paltrow),
who appears disguised as a man to act on stage, he is inspired to write
again. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Actress for Paltrow,
Best Supporting Actress for Dame Judi Dench's Queen Elizabeth, and Best
Original Screenplay, rewarding Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard's marvellously
witty script. Rupert Everett appears unbilled as rival playwright Christopher
Marlowe.
50. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Directed by Stephen Frears
Cast: Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, Shirley
Anne Field, Rita Wolf
Low-budget film-making from a young Channel Four that helped to inspire
the British film industry and show that small pictures could work in a larger
market place. Daniel Day-Lewis, then still in his 20s, appears in his first
major role as the punk Johnny who eventually falls for Omar (Warnecke).
An entertaining and shrewd look at both race relations and the economy of
Britain in the mid-1980s from the young playwright Hanif Kureishi.
51. Tom Jones (1963)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Cast: Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood,
Diane Cilento, George Devine, Joyce Redman, David Warner, Wilfrid Lawson,
Freda Jackson, Rachel Kempson, Lynne Redgrave
Joyous and well-received adaptation of Henry Fielding's tale of a young
man's bawdy adventures in 18th century England. Albert Finney romps through
proceedings as the high-spirited Tom who eventually marries the squire's
daughter, while Lynne Redgrave makes her film debut way down the cast. Richardson's
completely disarming direction won an Oscar®; it also won for Best Picture,
John Osborne's screenplay and composer John Addison.
52. This Sporting Life (1963)
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Cast: Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin
Blakely, Vanda Godsell, Arthur Lowe
A brutal film, starring Irish-born Richard Harris as a miner who becomes
an aggressive rugby player, and Welsh-born Rachel Roberts who impresses
(and won a BAFTA award) as the woman suffering from his inarticulate passions.
Hailed at the time as one of the best films made in England, Anderson's
rugby sequences are uncompromising and explicit (similar to the boxing in
Scorsese's Raging Bull). The script was by David Storey, based on his own
novel.
53. My Left Foot (1989)
Directed by Jim Sheridan
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker, Ruth McCabe, Fiona
Shaw, Eanna MacLiam, Alison Whelan, Declan Croghan, Hugh O'Conor, Cyril
Cusack
This uplifting film features a tour-de-force performance by Daniel Day-Lewis
as the strident Irish artist-writer Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy.
Director Sheridan in his debut film (he co-wrote alongside Shane Connaughton)
handles the mixture of emotion, humour and drama perfectly, and extracts
remarkable performances all round, especially from Hugh O'Connor as the
young Christy. Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, who plays Christy's mother,
both won Oscars®.
54. Brazil (1985)
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Robert DeNiro, Michael Palin, Kim Greist, Katherine
Helmond, Ian Holm, Ian Richardson, Peter Vaughan, Bob Hoskins
Terry Gilliam's dazzling examination of a 1984-like future society swirls
between the bleak reality of the life of hapless clerk Sam Lowry (the excellent
Pryce) and his confused dreams. The screenplay, by Gilliam, Tom Stoppard
and Charles McKeown, allows for wildly imaginative production design and
some rich, dark comedy. Robert DeNiro crops up as a grinning freedom fighter,
and Katherine Helmond (from TV's Soap) is Sam's bizarre mother. The film
was initially cut by some 11 minutes for its US release and became the subject
of a campaign to have the full version screened.
55. The English Patient (1996)
Directed by Anthony Minghella
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe,
Naveen Andrews, Colin Firth, Julian Wadham, Jurgen Prochnow
An epic, moving adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's acclaimed novel which beautifully
recounted tragic relationships against the backdrop of a confused ending
to World War II. Director Minghella, who wrote the screenplay with Ondaatje,
crafted a film that allows for glorious acting against stunning vistas (the
desert has not burned the screen like this since Lean's Lawrence of Arabia),
and proved that epic cinema still had a place in the '90s. Excellent, romantic
performances from Fiennes and Scott-Thomas, while Juliette Binoche, who
won one of the film's nine Oscars®, created the perfect balance to their
story.
56. A Taste of Honey (1961)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Cast: Rita Tushingham, Dora Bryan, Murray Melvin, Robert Stephens, Paul
Danquah
Classic, offbeat British drama from the early '60s, based on Shelagh Delaney's
London and Broadway stage success. An ordinary teenager in Salford (Rita
Tushingham) has an affair with a black sailor, becomes pregnant and ends
up being cared for by her homosexual friend (played by Murray Melvin). A
poignant film, with fine central performances and a subtle script by Delaney
and director Richardson. It scooped four BAFTA awards, including Best British
Picture and one for Dora Bryan, who made Tushingham's mother a memorable
character.
57. The Go-Between (1970)
Directed by Joseph Losey
Cast: Alan Bates, Julie Christie, Michael Redgrave, Dominic Guard, Michael
Gough, Margaret Leighton, Edward Fox
An intriguing, moody picture, made by the combined talents of Joseph Losey
(directing) and Harold Pinter (screenplay). Based on the story by L.P. Hartley,
it tells of a 12 year-old boy, Leo, who carries love letters between farmer
Ted Burgess (Bates) and beautiful aristocrat Marian Maudsley (Christie).
A richly textured Edwardian England is re-created and elegantly filmed;
the film is full of subtle nuances, as well as fine performances.
58. The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Cast: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Vida Hope, Ernest Thesiger,
Michael Gough, Howard Marion Crawford, Miles Malleson, George Benson, Edie
Martin
Brilliant comedy from the talented Alexander Mackendrick (directing and
co-writing), with Alec Guinness at his best as the innocent, idealistic
inventor who devises a revolutionary piece of cloth that will always stay
clean and last forever. This, of course, upsets the textile factory owners
and workers, who suddenly see no further use for their businesses. Guinness's
mild-mannered performance is finely balanced by the terrific Joan Greenwood
who schemes with gentle charm. The gurgling noises from Guinness's experiments
were later set to music and released as 'The White Suit Samba'!
59. The Ipcress File (1965)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Cast: Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd, Gordon Jackson
First of the Harry Palmer spy series, produced by Harry Saltzman and based
on Len Deighton's thrillers. Michael Caine's myopic crook-turned-agent offered
the perfect antidote to the suave elegance of Bond and the film was a big
success. Here, Palmer becomes involved in a number of nasty killings linked
to mind control torture as he tracks a scientist who disappeared on a train.
Two sequels followed (Guy Hamilton's Funeral in Berlin and Ken Russell's
Billion Dollar Brain), and the Palmer character has been revived in the
'90s, with Caine again taking the role.
60. Blow Up (1966)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Cast: David Hemmings, Sarah Miles, Vanessa Redgrave, Verushka, Jane Birkin,
Peter Bowles
Classic '60s cinema from Italian director Antonioni, starring David Hemmings
as a hip fashion photographer who discovers that he has accidentally photographed
a murder in a park. The murder plot is the link to take viewers through
'swinging' London, dabbling with hash, sex and fashion in equal measures.
A fascinating look at a currently cool age, with impressive performances
from the young Redgrave, Birkin and Hemmings himself. Adapted by Antonioni
and Tonino Guerra from Julio Cortazar's short story, with English dialogue
by Edward Bond.
61. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Cast: Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, Avis Bunnage, Alec McGowen,
Joe Robinson, Julia Foster
At the heart of this Woodfall production lies a BAFTA award-winning performance
by Tom Courtenay as a rebellious young man chosen to represent his reform
school in a long distance race. As he trains, he recalls events from his
life. Out of the screenplay by Alan Sillitoe, based on his own story, Yorkshire-born
director Richardson created one of the most powerful dramas of the '60s.
Long Distance Runner was subsequently the title of Richardson's autobiography.
62. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Directed by Ang Lee
Cast: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, James Fleet,
Harriet Walter, Gemma Jones, Elizabeth Spriggs, Robert Hardy, Greg Wise,
Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton, Imogen Stubbs, Emile Francois
Taiwanese director Ang Lee does a wonderful job of bringing Jane Austen's
novel to the big screen, assisted in no small measure by leading lady Emma
Thompson's Oscar®-winning script. Set in 18th century England, two newly
impoverished sisters - one, Winslet, spirited and flirtatious, the other,
Thompson, repressed and sensible - have to deal with society and men. Performed
with distinction all round, but perhaps a special mention for Alan Rickman's
loyal and solid Colonel Brandon.
63. Passport to Pimlico (1949)
Directed by Henry Cornelius
Cast: Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne,
Hermione Baddeley, John Slater, Paul Dupuis, Jane Hylton, Raymond Huntley,
Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Sydney Tafler
Enchanting, whimsical comedy set shortly after the Second World War. An
old royal charter which cedes Pimlico to the Dukes of Burgundy is found
in a shell hole, and the locals declare themselves an independent state
in the heart of London. Full of charm and flavour, the film was cleverly
written by Ealing regular T.E.B. Clarke, and features fine performances
from the likes of Margaret Rutherford, Stanley Holloway and Hermione Baddeley.
64. The Remains of the Day (1993)
Directed by James Ivory
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Peter
Vaughan, Hugh Grant, Michel Lonsdale, Tim Piggot-Smith, Patrick Godfrey
Absorbing and moving Merchant-Ivory adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel,
with fine central performances from Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Hopkins
is the so-proper butler of a baronial country home and Thompson is the head
housekeeper. Though they clash on certain matters, there are clear signs
of an unstated romance. Meanwhile, the manor itself plays host to various
intrigues as the naïve owner (Fox) forms relationships with Nazi sympathisers.
65. Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Cast: Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft, Maurice
Denham, Vivian Pickles, Frank Windsor, Tony Britton, Harold Goldblatt
A complex, intelligent and remarkably well constructed film by John Schlesinger
which explores the relationship between three people and the break-up of
two love affairs. Peter Finch plays a homosexual doctor in his 40s and Glenda
Jackson an employment counsellor in her 30s. Both are in love with Murray
Head's boyish sculptor; he divides his attentions between both of them without
showing a preference. Great performances all round.
66. The Railway Children (1970)
Directed by Lionel Jeffries
Cast: Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary Watson, Dinah Sheridan, Iain Cuthbertson,
Bernard Cribbins, William Mervyn
A true children's classic - a much-loved adaptation of E. Nesbit's novel
about three children living with their mother in the Yorkshire countryside
after their father has been sent to prison, charged with espionage. They
are determined to clear his name, but at the same time become obsessed with
the local steam railway, eventually helping to prevent an accident. Charmingly
performed and constantly heart-warming.
67. Mona Lisa (1986)
Directed by Neil Jordan
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, Clarke Peters,
Sammi Davis
Sharp, stylish drama from Neil Jordan (who wrote the screenplay with David
Leland). A small-time criminal (Hoskins, in excellent form), newly released
from prison, is given a job driving a high-priced call girl around London.
As their relationship deepens, the oddly naïve Hoskins is drawn into
an increasingly nasty underworld of drugs and violence. Cathy Tyson made
an impressive debut as the call girl, while Michael Caine is suitably slimy
as the evil crime boss.
68. The Dam Busters (1955)
Directed by Michael Anderson
Cast: Michael Redgrave, Richard Todd, Basil Sydney, Derek Farr, Patrick
Barr, Ernest Clark, Raymond Huntley, Ursula Jeans
A finely understated World War II drama about the development, and eventually
successful use, of bouncing bombs to destroy the Ruhr dams in Germany in
1943. Michael Redgrave is perfect as the driven scientist Dr. Barnes Wallis
who invented the bombs, while Richard Todd is also on good form as the pilot
who drops them on target. Excellent model work makes for a terrific - and
exciting - patriotic movie.
69. Hamlet (1948)
Directed by Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Jean Simmons, Felix
Aylmer, Norman Wooland, Terence Morgan, Stanley Holloway, Peter Cushing,
Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Harcourt Williams, John Laurie, Niall MacGinnis,
Patrick Troughton
Olivier produced and directed this handsome version of Shakespeare's play
from an adaptation by Alan Dent. Certain characters are omitted, but this
is a vital, fluid and witty treatment with terrific performances; Stanley
Holloway stands out as the Grave Digger. Best Picture trophies were scooped
at both the Oscars® and BAFTA. Olivier, who also won the Best Actor
Oscar®, played the title character (as did Kenneth Branagh almost 50
years later) as a platinum blond.
70. Goldfinger (1964)
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Cast: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Frobe, Harold Sakata, Shirley Eaton,
Tania Mallet, Cec Linder, Martin Benson, Richard Vernon, Burt Kwouk, Michael
Mellinger, Margaret Nolan, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell,
Nadja Regin, Alf Joint, Austin Willis
The third 007 film, seemingly finding the perfect balance between the real
and the ridiculous, established Bond as a cinematic phenomenon. Connery
is on excellent form, equally skilful at gunplay and golf, Harold Sakata's
Oddjob, with the razor-brimmed bowler hat, is unforgettable, and Shirley
Eaton, who dies gilded in gold, became one of the most photographed actresses
of the '60s. Ken Adam's Fort Knox sets, built at Pinewood, continue to dazzle,
and Q-Branch's modified Aston Martin DB5 makes its first appearance in the
series. Shirley Bassey's title song, written by John Barry, Leslie Bricusse
and Anthony Newley, remains an evergreen classic.
71. Elizabeth (1998)
Directed by Shekhar Kapur
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston, Geoffrey Rush,
Richard Attenborough, Eric Cantona
Dark, engrossing film, shot on location at the castles of north-east England,
with a towering central performance by Australian actress Cate Blanchett
in the title role. Elizabeth's ascendancy to the throne is a story of palace
intrigues, executions and attempted assassinations, as she tries to find
balance, in a country divided by faith, between Protestant and Catholic.
Shekhar Kapur does a wonderful job in creating a rich, potent atmosphere
and extracting fine performances from his varied cast. Watch out for footballer
Eric Cantona as a French courtier.
72. Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
Directed by Sam Wood
Cast: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Paul Henreid, Lyn Harding, Austin Trevor,
Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Milton Rosmer, Judith Furse
Robert Donat won a well deserved Oscar® for his performance as the shy
schoolmaster Mr. Chips, whose whole life is teaching 'his boys' until in
later life he encounters love in the form of Greer Garson. Based on James
Hilton's novel, the film manages to balance sentiment with drama, and Garson,
making her film debut, became an overnight star. Re-made as a musical in
1969 with Peter O'Toole in the lead role.
73. A Room With A View (1985)
Directed by James Ivory
Cast: Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands,
Daniel Day-Lewis, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Rosemary Leach, Rupert Graves
An elegantly presented adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel about a young
woman's awakening while on a chaperoned trip to Florence, while at heart
dealing with British manners. Helena Bonham Carter impresses as the young
woman, Miss Honeychurch, though the strength of the film is the superb band
of supporting players, ranging from Judi Dench, Denholm Elliott and Maggie
Smith, through to Daniel Day-Lewis's hilarious performance as Bonham Carter's
prissy suitor. The film won three Oscars®: Best Screenplay (by Merchant-Ivory
regular Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), Art Direction and Costume Design.
74. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Edward Fox, Michel Lonsdale, Alan Badel, Eric Porter, Cyril Cusack,
Delphine Seyrigg, Tony Britton, Donald Sinden, Timothy West, Olga Georges-Picot,
Barrie Ingham, Maurice Denham, Anton Rodgers
A densely plotted, adult thriller with an almost documentary quality. Fox
is the 'Jackal', a professional killer whose real identity is unknown, hired
to assassinate the French President de Gaulle. As he meticulously plans
the execution, the French police learn that an attempt is to be made and
have to track the possible killer with precious little information. Based
on Frederick Forsyth's best-seller, the film contains some marvellous performances,
including Cyril Cusack's as a gunman who produces a very special weapon
and then pays a very heavy price.
75. The Cruel Sea (1952)
Directed by Charles Frend
Cast: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Stanley Baker, John Stratton, Denholm
Elliott, John Warner, Bruce Seton, Virginia McKenna, Moira Lister, June
Thorburn, Alec McCowen
Based on Nicholas Monsarrat's best-seller (published the previous year),
with an Oscar®-nominated screenplay by Eric Ambler, this is an exceptionally
well made drama about the battles in the Atlantic during World War II. The
crew are brave and determined but, as the film ably presents, war is dreadful
and the ultimate enemy is the cruel sea. A great box-office success, with
fine performances from Hawkins, Sinden and Baker.
76. Billy Liar (1963)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Cast: Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles, Mona Washbourne, Ethel
Griffies, Finlay Currie, Rodney Bewes, Leonard Rossiter
Tom Courtenay is terrific as Billy, the ambitious but intently lazy young
man who escapes from the dull routine of his job by entering a fantasy world,
making some comments along the way about Britain's middle class life. Based
on the novel by Keith Waterhouse, and scripted by Waterhouse and Willis
Hall (who also wrote the stage version together), this remains tremendous,
well-acted entertainment.
77. Oliver! (1968)
Directed by Carol Reed
Cast: Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Mark Lester, Jack Wild, Harry Secombe, Shani
Wallis, Hugh Griffith, Joseph O'Conor, Leonard Rossiter, Hylda Baker, Peggy
Mount, Megs Jenkins
Rousing, constantly enjoyable musical version of Dickens's Oliver Twist
from Lionel Bart, with a memorable central performance by Ron Moody as Fagin.
In fact, every part is well cast, with Mark Lester and Jack Wild also excellent
as Oliver and the Artful Dodger respectively, and Oliver Reed finding a
perfect role as the vicious Bill Sikes in a film directed by his uncle.
Oliver! won six Oscars®, including Best Picture and Director, along
with a special prize to Oona King for her inspired choreography. The marvellous
sets are by John Box, who designed several films for David Lean.
78. Peeping Tom (1960)
Directed by Michael Powell
Cast: Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley, Esmond Knight,
Michael Goodliffe, Shirley Anne Field, Jack Watson
Michael Powell's notorious Peeping Tom was so vilified by the British critics
when first released that it was swiftly withdrawn and the episode almost
ended Powell's career. It was later re-evaluated and perceived as a creepy,
frightening picture about a very disturbed mind. Carl Boehm (whose cool
Teutonic looks work very well for the title role) plays the cameraman who
films his victims' murders, while Anna Massey is the innocent girl downstairs
who becomes his confidant. It is certainly disturbing cinema, perhaps ahead
of its time, and remains a powerful visual document.
79. Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Cast: Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp, Prunella Ransome
Beautifully shot film version of Thomas Hardy's much-loved (and much-studied)
novel about Bathsheba Everdene (the excellent Julie Christie) and her three
suitors - wonderfully played by Peter Finch (as the wealthy landowner),
Alan Bates (as the lowly but honest farmer) and Terence Stamp (as the dashing
officer). This is thoroughly enjoyable, classic cinema, packed full of incident,
intelligently directed by Schlesinger, who displays his ability to get the
best out of his actors.
80. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
Directed by Peter Greenaway
Cast: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne Louise Lambert, Neil Cunningham,
Hugh Fraser, Dave Hill
Writer-director Peter Greenaway's clever, mannered film is set on an English
estate in the summer of 1694. A draughtsman (Higgins) is working on images
of the landscape, but gets attacked by those whose love is property. He
is teased and tormented by the excellent Janet Suzman, while as usual Greenaway
constructs his images with clinical precision. Made by the bfi, the film
was a popular and critical success.
81. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Michael Bates, Adrienne Corri, Patrick Magee, Warren
Clarke
At the end of the century, Kubrick's notorious film is still unavailable
for screening in the UK at the request of the film-maker himself. But despite,
or perhaps because of, that, it retains an enduring underground popularity.
This adaptation of Anthony Burgess's celebrated novel is truly harrowing,
disturbing cinema. It traces the anti-social antics of Alex (the excellent
Malcolm McDowell) and his gang as they make their violent way around the
city. Eventually captured, he is made 'safe' - a 'clockwork orange', healthy
and whole on the outside, but what of the inside?
82. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)
Directed by Terence Davies
Cast: Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite, Angela Walsh
Filmed in two distinct parts, and with a considerable time between the two
shooting periods, this is a magnificent evocation of working class life
in England during the '40s and '50s. Family members are all damaged in some
way by the irrationally cruel father, while the cheerful lyrics of popular
songs act as a balance to their dour lives. Davies, working from his own
autobiographical script, presents the ordinary lives beautifully and conjures
up memorable imagery. The Long Day Closes was a sequel.
83. Darling (1965)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Cast: Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Harvey, Roland Curram, Alex
Scott, Basil Henson, Pauline Yates
Julie Christie won the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance as the
young woman who transforms her life by switching from an ordinary lifestyle
to marrying an Italian noble; in between, there are plenty of love affairs.
Frederick Raphael's script is excellently constructed - trendy, cynical
and very 1960s - and a perfect vehicle for Christie. Raphael and costume
designer Julie Harris also won Oscars® for their work on the film.
84. Educating Rita (1983)
Directed by Lewis Gilbert
Cast: Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman, Kim
Fortune
Memorable two-hander based on Willy Russell's play, directed with a knowing
touch by Lewis Gilbert (who collaborated again with Russell later that decade
on Shirley Valentine). Julie Walters, who also played the role on stage,
is the Liverpudlian hairdresser who signs up for an Open University English
course; Michael Caine is her drunken college tutor. They set about changing
each other over the period of the course - she wanting the education he
thinks worthless; he relishing her lust for life. Beautifully acted and
very entertaining.
85. Brassed Off (1996)
Directed by Mark Herman
Cast: Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor, Jim Carter, Stephen
Tompkinson, Ken Colley, Stephen Moore, Peter Gunn, Mary Healey, Melanie
Hill
It is 1992 and the miners of Grimley Colliery are in trouble. The pit is
under threat of closure and the Colliery band is about to call it a day.
Then Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) arrives and has a profound impact on the lives
of the band members, the miners and their families. This is a moving film
with a cutting social edge, full of hilarious lines (scripted by the director,
Mark Herman, who later filmed Little Voice). The sequences of the brass
band in the national competition are very stirring.
86. Genevieve (1953)
Directed by Henry Cornelius
Cast: Kenneth More, Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall, Geoffrey
Keen, Joyce Grenfell, Reginals Beckwith, Arthur Wontner
The Genevieve of the title is a classic car - a 1904 Darracq - to be driven
by John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan in the London-to-Brighton motor rally
against the smug Kenneth More and the trumpet-playing Kay Kendall in a 1904
Spyker. Seemingly effortless, perfect comedy, with the two drivers genially
and gloriously slugging it out on the road. The harmonica music is by the
legendary Larry Adler.
87. Women in Love (1969)
Directed by Ken Russell
Cast: Glenda Jackson, Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Jennie Linden, Michael Gough,
Alan Webb
The never less than interesting Ken Russell directs this adaptation of D.H.
Lawrence's novel, essentially tracing two love affairs. There are fine
performances all round, but perhaps best remembered is the nude wrestling
scene between Reed and Bates. Glenda Jackson won her first Best Actress
Oscar® for her portrayal of Gudren Brangwen. In Ken Russell's The Rainbow,
a sort of prequel to Women in Love, made 20 years later, Jackson played
the mother of her character in this film.
88. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Directed by Richard Lester
Cast: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfrid
Brambell, Norman Rossington, Victor Spinetti
This Beatles vehicle was stunningly successful, mainly because it allowed
the 'fab four' to romp about, largely playing themselves. This is Richard
Lester's idea of a typical day in the life of the Beatles: they head to
London with Paul's grandfather (Wilfrid Bambell) in tow, and get into all
sorts of trouble before eventually just making it to the studio in time
for a television performance. Very amusing, with a great soundtrack (including
Can't Buy Me Love), the film allowed all the Beatles to stand out as personalities.
The following year, Lester directed them in the even more frantic Help!
89. Fires Were Started (1943)
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Documentary
An astonishing portrait of the work of firemen during the London Blitz.
Directed and scripted by Humphrey Jennings, it was originally intended as
a training film, but had a general release to help boost morale. It is an
elegant, almost poetic, documentary which proves to be an intimate portrait
of a country besieged. The firemen were all real firemen, but the scenes
were re-enacted.
90. Hope and Glory (1987)
Directed by John Boorman
Cast: Sarah Miles, Susan Wooldridge, Ian Bannen, David Hayman, Derrick O'Connor,
Sebastian Rice-Edwards
John Boorman's autobiographical tale (he also scripted and produced the
film) of a young boy's experiences during the early years of World War II
proved a great success with audiences, who appreciated the humour and emotion
as well as the rich detail. Boorman skilfully re-creates the atmosphere
- a mixture of excitement, danger and boredom - of the London air raids,
while always looking at the experiences through a boy's eyes. Charley Boorman,
who starred in The Emerald Forest for his father, appears here as a German
pilot who is shot down.
91. My Name is Joe (1998)
Directed by Ken Loach
Cast: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, David McKay, Anne-Marie Kennedy, David
Hayman
Moving and funny in equal doses, this is a Glasgow-set drama by director
Ken Loach, working from a great script by Paul Laverty. Peter Mullan gives
an award-winning performance as Joe, a reformed alcoholic who tries to make
ends meet by doing a little decorating, while also running a rag-tag football
team. He falls in love with a social worker (Goodall), but his compassion
for his friends leads him into conflict with a local drug dealer (menacingly
portrayed by Hayman).
92. In Which We Serve (1942)
Directed by Noel Coward, David Lean
Cast: Noel Coward, Bernard Miles, John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Celia
Johnson, Kay Walsh, Joyce Carey, Michael Wilding, Penelope Dudley Ward,
Kathleen Harrison, Philip Friend, George Carney, Geoffrey Hibbert, James
Donald, Daniel Massey, Juliet Mills
A masterful story of men at war, co-directed by Noel Coward and David Lean,
receiving his first directing credit. Coward, who also wrote and scored
the film, stars as Captain Kinross, leading his men on board a World War
II battleship. The under-stated patriotism is what is most moving as the
story unfolds via flashbacks. The film offered debuts to Celia Johnson,
Richard Attenborough (as an inexperienced stoker), young Daniel Massey and
even an infant Juliet Mills.
93. Caravaggio (1986)
Directed by Derek Jarman
Cast: Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, Garry Cooper, Spencer Leigh
Writer-director Derek Jarman crafted an imaginary biopic of Italian painter
Caravaggio, who died in 1610, with emphasis on beautiful male models, court
scandals and humorous moments of anachronism. Fabulous production design
by Christopher Hobbs and impressive cinematography from Gabriel Beristain
added immeasurably to a film shot on a very modest budget. A popular success
on release, this retains today a cult appeal.
94. The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
Directed by Frank Launder
Cast: Alastair Sim, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Hermione Baddeley, Betty
Ann Davies, Renee Houston, Beryl Reid, Irene Handl, Mary Merrall, Joan Sims,
Sidney James
The first and best of the film versions of Ronald Searle's cartoons about
a crazy school for girls. The priceless Alastair Sim plays twin roles -
as the school's headmistress Millicent Fritton and as Clarence Fritton,
her bookmaker brother, who wants to use the school in a scam. Also on hand
are Joyce Grenfell as an undercover policewoman and George Cole with his
memorable portrayal of well-meaning spiv Flash Harry. Great comedy which
spawned several sequels.
95. Life is Sweet (1990)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Cast: Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Claire Skinner, Jane
Horrocks, Stephen Rea, David Thewlis, Moya Brady
Wonderful Mike Leigh comedy, dwelling on a working class couple, Wendy and
Andy (played to perfection by Alison Steadman and Jim Broadbent), their
oddball twin daughters (one of whom, played by Jane Horrocks, is filled
with self-loathing) and their friend (Timothy Spall), a would-be restaurant
owner. The humour is often bitter-sweet, but then, as always, Mike Leigh's
work reflects life in all its darkness and light.
96. The Wicker Man (1973)
Directed by Robin Hardy
Cast: Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt, Diane
Cilento
A haunting, harrowing chiller scripted by Anthony Shaffer which has gained
cult status over the years. Woodward is the Scots police sergeant who visits
an isolated island to investigate the disappearance of a local child. He
is drawn into local rituals, often eerie and erotic, eventually discovering
an awful pagan rite which involves himself. The film offered a change of
horror style for Christopher Lee after multiple appearances as Count Dracula.
97. Nil By Mouth (1997)
Directed by Gary Oldman
Cast: Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Edna
Dore, Chrissie Cotterill, Jon Morrison, Jamie Forman
Stunning directorial debut by actor Gary Oldman (who also wrote the script),
featuring searingly honest performances from Kathy Burke and Ray Winstone.
An unsparing account of life in the underbelly of London, where the only
escape from depression is to take drink or drugs and occasional brutal violence.
Kathy Burke won the Best Actress award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
for her role.
98. Small Faces (1995)
Directed by Gillies Mackinnon
Cast: Clare Higgins, Iain Robertson, Joseph McFadden, J.S. Duffy, Laura
Fraser, Garry Sweeney, Kevin McKidd,
Written by MacKinnon and his brother Billy, this is a semi-autobiographical
film about three brothers growing up on a Glasgow housing estate in 1968.
Well acted by a largely unknown cast, it is full of humour and pace as it
tackles gangs, girlfriends and family troubles along the way. From an early
career in television, MacKinnon progressed to make a variety of feature
films, including Regeneration, based on Pat Barker's Booker Prize-winning
novel. Small Faces is an unsentimental and thoroughly enjoyable gem.
99. Carry On Up The Khyber (1968)
Directed by Gerald Thomas
Cast: Kenneth Williams, Sidney James, Charles Hawtrey, Bernard Bresslaw,
Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth, Roy Castle, Terry Scott, Angela Douglas, Cardew
Robinson, Julian Holloway, Peter Gilmore
British India, 1895. The Burpas are revolting and Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond
is trying to prevent the Khasi of Kalabar from inciting a full-scale rebellion.
The Third Foot and Mouth regiment are keeping the British end up in the
Khyber Pass - actually filmed on a mountainside in Wales, of course. This
entry, coming about half way through the series, is one of the very best
Carry Ons, offering more action than usual. The Peter Rogers productions,
based at Pinewood Studios and all directed by Gerald Thomas, remain a splendidly
vulgar British institution, concerned with saucy puns, over-the-top spoofs
and bodily functions. Here, the regular cast give their usual broad, endearing
performances.
100. The Killing Fields (1984)
Directed by Roland Joffe
Cast: Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig
T. Nelson
A moving directorial debut for Roland Joffe, with a terrific script by Bruce
Robinson, based on the memoirs of a New York Times reporter who remained
in Cambodia after the American evacuation, thereby putting his local assistant
and translator Dith Pran in grave danger. There is a wonderful performance
by Ngor (who had lived through the situation in real life) as Pran, as the
second half of the film traces his experiences in Cambodia. He won the Best
Supporting Actor Oscar® for his role in this Lord (David) Puttnam production;
Oscars® also went to cinematographer Chris Menges and editor Jim Clark.
