Part 4 - A History of British Film Since 1984

Q1. What have been the primary developments in the UK film industry in the last 25 years?

It seems that in the last 25 or so years, film in the UK has generally become more commercial. With the introduction of the first UK multiplex in 1985, film became a more immersive, more glamorous experience, and audience numbers quickly began to increase. With more money in the industry, more films could be funded and produced, including successful indie films like Withnail and I and costume dramas like A Room with a View. Costume dramas were particularly successful in the USA, causing more money to come into the UK film industry. Films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral in the mid '90s were very successful as they were quintessentially British yet also entertaining and accessible, and proved a big hit in the US. This was followed by Sense and Sensibility, another big hit for the same reasons, which also starred Hugh Grant. The late 90s saw the development of more gritty British cinema such as Trainspotting, a film about hard drug culture in Edinburgh. This was followed by similar films such as The Acid House. The most successful films in the UK continued to be gritty dramas with a humorous aspect with films such as The Full Monty and Billy Elliot doing well. Notable exceptions were films such as Notting Hill (very much like Four Weddings and a Funeral, and with the same director and lead male) as well as Sliding Doors. Both films made use of an American star as the female lead, assuring box office success not only in the UK but in the USA as well.

Q2.



Q3. What kinds of films do Momentum Pictures look to distribute and why?

Momentum Pictures is a UK distribution company which has distributed many critically acclaimed films. Generally, they distribute dramas that look at characters rather than big budget blockbusters that focus more on an adventure or an epic event. Examples of this are Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola's character study set in Tokyo, the Oscar-winning The King's Speech which tells the story of a King taking elocution lessons and Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in which a couple remember their failed relationship. By doing this, Momentum Pictures can avoid spending large amounts of money on high budget blockbusters and instead spend less money on lower budget dramas that go on to be very successful due to the amount of thought and care put into them, which allows audiences to relate to them more.