In February 2011 ''Time Out'' surveyed 150 film industry experts to produce its list of "The 100 best British films."

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing '' Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...

's ''

Don't Look Now ''Don't Look Now'' ( it, A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit=In Venice... a shocking red December) is a 1973 English-language film in the thriller genre directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Mauri ...

'' topped the list. An updated list was published in May 2021, retaining the same rankings but adding four films (''

The Souvenir ''The Souvenir'' is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Joanna Hogg. A semi-autobiographical account of Hogg's experiences at film school, it stars Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke and Tilda Swinton. ''The Souvenir'' had its world premie ...

'', '' Scum'', ''

God's Own Country "God's Own Country" is a phrase meaning an area, region or place supposedly favoured by God. Examples Australia In Australia, the phrase "God's own country" was often used to describe the country in the early 1900s, but it appears to have gr ...

'', and ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Listen to Britain ''Listen to Britain'' is a 1942 British Propaganda film, propaganda Short subject, short film by Humphrey Jennings and Stewart McAllister. The film was produced during World War II by the Crown Film Unit, an organisation within the British Gover ...

'', ''

Penda's Fen ''Penda's Fen'' is a British television play, written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke. It was commissioned by BBC producer David Rose, and first broadcast on 21 March 1974 as part of the corporation's ''Play for Today'' anthology seri ...

'', ''

I'm All Right Jack ''I'm All Right Jack'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney based on the 1958 novel ''Private Life'' by Alan Hackney. The film is a sequel t ...

'', and ''

School for Scoundrels School for Scoundrels may refer to: * ''School for Scoundrels'' (1960 film), a British comedy film starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Alistair Sim * ''School for Scoundrels'' (2006 film), an American film based on the above, featuring Bil ...

''.

List breakdown

*The 1960s came out as the most popular decade, with 19 films (the 1940s and 1970s each had 17 films), and the most popular years were 1968, 1970, 1980, and 1999, with four films each. The earliest films chosen were from 1929 (''

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

'', ''

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

'', and ''

A Cottage on Dartmoor ''A Cottage on Dartmoor'' (a.k.a. ''Escape from Dartmoor'') is a 1929 British silent film, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Norah Baring, Uno Henning and Hans Adalbert Schlettow. The cameraman was Stanley Rodwell. It was the last of A ...

''). The most recent film was from 2009 (''

Fish Tank An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

''). *The most popular director was

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

, with seven films, six of which were directed with

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...

as the team of

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. T ...

("The Archers").What's the Best British Film of All Time? It's Not 'The King's Speech', TIME.com
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Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

, and

had four films each. Seven of the films were produced by

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

The list

External links

''Time Out'' list"What's the Best British Film of All Time?" ''TIME'' Magazine

References

{{reflist Lists of British award winners Lists of British films Top film lists 2011 in British cinema

List breakdown

The list

See also

External links

References