The Great British Films

by Jerry Vermilye, Deborah Kerr (Foreword)

Illustrates and provides synopses of the best British films imported to the United States from 1933 to 1971, including The Lavender Hill Mob, Women in Love, Tom Jones and A Night to Remember

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most "best and greatest lists" books, I wondered why certain films were included or omitted but that is typical since the choices are those of the author. With that said, it does contain most of the great British films from The 39 Steps to Dead of Night to Richard III to Tom Jones et al. I have seen many of them and the author's comments on each are enlightening and added to my knowledge of the British film.

Be warned...........this book is old and only covers 75 films up to the 1960s but hey, so what! It covers the classics and actors that have become essential watching for the film buff. As the author stated, "It is hoped that many of the titles that have been included will stir enough pleasurable memories to help compensate for all those excellent films that had to be left out"

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really did not think this would be a book I could sit down and read. After all, it's a reference book, and my tendency with reference books is to pick-and-choose my way through them, either narrowing focusing on a subject or wandering aimlessly from entry to entry. And, yet, as I started through this book, I was drawn from film to film, rediscovering many old favorites, as well as films I'd only heard of and, best of all, films I knew I would have to one day see for the first time. There is always a bit of personal bias in reviewing a book like this, wondering, both, why some films were included while others were left out, but, overall, the author has done an excellent job in selecting entries and explaining why they were chosen. For those interested in British cinema, this is a must-have volume.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think 1971 is a perfect cut off point actually!

Here are a good list of the classics

1959 Look Back in Anger
1959 Room at the Top
1960 The Entertainer
1960 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
1961 A Taste of Honey
1962 A Kind of Loving
1962 Lawrence of Arabia
1962 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
1963 Billy Liar
1963 The Sporting Life
1964 Dr. Strangelove
1964 A Hard Day's Night
1964 King and Country
1965 Darling
1965 Help!
1965 The Knack
1965 The War Game
1967 Accident
1967 Blow-Up
1967 How I Won the War
1968 Petulia
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey
1969 If...
1969 Kes
1969 Women in Love
1970 The Music Lovers
1970 Performance
1971 A Clockwork Orange
1971 The Devils
1971 The Go-Between
1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday
1971 Walkabout

---

And then the decline

1972 Family Life
1973 Don't Look Now
1973 O Lucky Man
1975 Barry Lyndon
1976 The Man Who Fell to Earth
1977 Providence
1979 That Sinking Feeling
1979 Thriller
1980 Bad Timing
1980 The Shining
1981 Chariots of Fire
1981 Gregory's Girl
1982 The Draughtsman's Contract
1982 Gandhi