the BRITISH CINEMA

The United Kingdom has had a large impact on modern cinema and has one the most respected film industries in the world. Despite a history of successful productions, the industry is characterised by an ongoing debate about its identity (including economic and cultural issues) and the influences of American and European cinema, although it is fair to say a brief 'golden age' was enjoyed in the 1940s from the studios of J. Arthur Rank and Alexander Korda. The British film industry has produced some of the greatest actors, directors and motion pictures of all time including Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger,Sir David Lean, Sir Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Audrey Hepburn, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Sean Connery, Sir Michael Caine and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

The new century has so far been a relatively successful one for the British film industry. Many British films have found a wide international audience, and some of the independent production companies, such as Working Title, have secured financing and distribution deals with major American studios. Working Title scored three major international successes, all starring Hugh Grant, with the romantic comedies Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), which grossed $254 million worldwide; the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which earned $228 million; and Richard Curtis's directorial debut Love Actually (2003), which grossed $239 million. At the same time, critically-acclaimed films such as Gosford Park (2001), Pride and Prejudice (2005), The Constant Gardener (2005), The Queen (2006) and The Last King of Scotland (2006) also brought prestige to the British film industry. Although all of these films were financed and distributed by American film companies, so there was little financial benefit to the industry itself.

Some famous British actortsof nowadays

Colin Firth

Helen Mirren

Sir Ian McKellan

Catherine Zeta-Jones

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)

The British Academy of Film

and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a

charity in the United Kingdomthat hosts

annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television

craft, video games and forms of

animation.

BAFTA BAFTA was founded in 1947 as the British Film Academy, by David

Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton,  Roger Manvell and other leading figures in the British film industry. In 1958, the Academy merged with the Guild of Television Producers and Directors to form the Society of Film and Television, which eventually became the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1976.

BAFTA is an independent charity with a mission to "support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public". In addition to high profile awards ceremonies BAFTA runs a year-round programme of educational events including film screenings and tribute evenings. BAFTA is supported by a membership of around 6000 people from the film, television and video game industries. BAFTA's main office is on Piccadilly in London, but it also has branches in Scotland (BAFTA Scotland), Wales (BAFTA Cymru), New York City (BAFTA East Coast) and Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA).

The Academy's awards are in the form of a theatrical mask designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe, which was commissioned by the Guild of Television Producers in 1955. Since 1989, the Los Angeles branch, BAFTA/LA, holds its own awards ceremony each year, called the Britannia Awards.

In November 2007 a special tribute programme was shown on ITV in the UK celebrating 60 years of the organisation called Happy Birthday BAFTA.

The British Film Industry and Hollywood

Films with a British dimension have had enormous worldwide commercial success. The top seven highest-grossing films worldwide of all time have some British historical, cultural or creative dimensions: Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Harry Potter movies. The first culturally American film on the list, Star Wars at number 8, was filmed principally in the UK. Adding four more Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films, plus three about a Scottish ogre in British fairy tale setting (Shrek), and about two-thirds of the top twenty most commercial films, with combined cinema revenues of about $13 billion, had a substantial British dimension.

British influence can also be seen with the 'English Cycle' of Disney animated films, which include Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers.

The British cinema market is too small for the British film industry to successfully produce Hollywood-style blockbusters over a sustained period.. As such, the industry has not been able to produce commercial success internationally in comparison.

The British film industry consequently has a complex and divided attitude to Hollywood. On the one hand Hollywood provides work to British directors, actors, writers, production staff and studios, enables British history and stories to be made as films, and opens up the US and world markets to a limited participation by some in the British film industry. On the other hand, the loss of control and profits, and the market requirements of the US distributors, are often seen to endanger and distort British film culture.