lambchopnixon

I'm a great fan of British film like Blackmail from the '20's, The Man Who Could Work Miracles from the '30's, Matter of Life and Death from the '40's, The Maggie from the '50's, erm Plague of the Zombies from the '60's, Get Carter from the '70's and Secrets and Lies from the '90's but PLEASE anyone tell me of the good ones they know from the '80's.. The Britfilm industry seemed to be booming especialy from around '83 on but where's the good stuff??!

Steve Crook

The following are all listed in the IMDb as being made between 1980 & 1983 and are a UK production or co-production. I kept my tongue firmly in my cheek when adding some of them to the list.

The Elephant Man (1980)
Educating Rita (1983)
Eye of the Needle (1981)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Gandhi (1982)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)
Hawk the Slayer (1980)
Local Hero (1983)
The Long Good Friday (1980)
Look Back in Anger (1980)
Looks and Smiles (1981)
McVicar (1980)
The Meaning of Life (1983)
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
The Missionary (1982)
The Monster Club (1980)
Raise the Titanic (1980)
Rhubarb Rhubarb (1980)
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1981)
The Shining (1980)
Superman II (1980)
Superman III (1983)
Time Bandits (1981)
Victor/Victoria (1982)
Who Dares Wins (1982)
Yentl (1983)

Steve Crook

PaPAS

DB7

Sink Lew Grade. wink

Steve Crook

Wasn't his other comment that it would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic? :)

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

Hugo

LOOK BACK IN ANGER was made in 1959

DB7

It's Lindsay Anderson's straight to video version.

I'd add Gregory's Girl and The Dresser to Steve's lidt.

Steve Crook

The one made in 1980 wasn't :)

As mentioned above, this is the one directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Malcolm McDowell as that Angry Young Man Jimmy Porter (yes, I know that tag was really applied to the writers of that genre but Jimmy Porter gets pretty angry)

How did I miss The Dresser & Gregory's Girl?
Yes, both good additions.

The early 1980s weren't a brilliant period for British films but there are quite a few that are well worth watching.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

JamesM

Also I would have thought these were also important films of the time, not neccessarily my personal favourites

Terence Davies Trilogy (1976,1981,1983)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Brittania Hospital (1982)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Rememberance (1982)
Honory Counsel (1983)
Krull (1983)
Another Time, Another Place (1983)
Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980)
Breaking Glass (1980)
Bullshot (1983)
The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
Flash Gordon (1980)
The Gamekeeper (1980)
Heat and Dust (1984)
House of the Long Shadows (1982)
Local Hero (1983)
Outland (1981)
Party Party (1983)
Scrubbers (1983)

but not

Yellowbeard or The Boys In Blue

Gibbie

Chariots of Fire, definitely! The British film of the 80s. It was this picture that revitalized the British film industry. Although, the film industry went in a very different direction.

Lady Jane was well done with Helena Bonham Carter.

The Whistle Blower was a significant part of the Cold War movie canon. Michael Caine stood above the crowd. The ending was a bit of a political straw man, but the suspense was pretty strong. Captures the zeitgeist of 80s Britain very well.

British related, but in fact an Aus picture, was The Year of Living Dangerously, one of the best about journalists and those places in the 60s where they were not having fun.

Gibbie

JamesM

The other films you mention, Gibbie, come into a later period but still relevant to the original post. Myself and steve were discussing the relatively dry period between 1980 and 1983. I wish IMDB searches could exclude video games and shorts then we could assess the true volume of films made in any time period.

There was certainly a boom post 1983 that brought back the likes of Mike Leigh, Mike Hodges, Alan Clarke, John Sclesinger and others back to British cinema as well as seing the likes of Neil Jordan, Ken Loach, Bruce Robinson and Roland Joffa return to form or come of age

Steve Crook

Use the IMDb Power Search. That let's you combine many elements of the search and "exclude TV movies", "exclude videos" and "exclude TV series". I find that gets rid of a lot of the dross for most searches I want to do.

You can set the Year (e.g. 1980-1983)
The Country (UK)
and even things like the IMDb ratings to get the most popular ones.

For more specific searches you can specify cast/crew (joined with AND/OR connectors), genre, production company and many other things.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

Gibbie

Thanks for the clarification, I took around 83 to be the central focus for the whole of the 80s. Although, I think the best movies came from the early/mid decade not later.

Steve is right about the power searches - they always help you clarify and narrow your searches.

Gibbie

JamesM

I was using the power search mentioned but I feel it would be more helpful if there was an option to exclude video games and include or exclude short films

DB7

It's not a film that has stood the test of time well, certainly compared to the likes of the iconic Long Good Friday. Any 'revitilization' never happened as the goverenment left the industry high and dry and Colin Welland's infamous 'British are Coming" boast soon looked like nothing but hot air. In many retrospectives it tends to be observed as reflecting the nationalistic Thatcherite values of the time.

glyn horton

Re the original request here are four overlooked British films from the early 80s that might be ready for re-evaluating :

Memoirs of a Survivor(1981)
Priest of Love(1981)
Privileged(1982)
Another Country(1984)

Also, by no means a great film, but one that symbolises much of the outlook of the decade - Shadey(1985)