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British Cinema History |
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Part of the failure of the British cinema to achieve an independent stature is undoubtedly due to the accident of a shared language with the United States. American influence and domination of the distribution companies in Britain have led to the dichotomy of British production. On the one hand American companies have regarded Britain as an American out post , a place in which to make films. But the financing of such films was bound to be superior to that of the completely British product, largely because the market potential in Britain is too small to produce a profit return on anything more than the most modestly budgeted production. The second factor, seemingly in contradiction, is that of quota. The 'quota quickies' of the thirties may have kept people in work, but they did little to generate enthusiasm for British films, and until the Second World War they were, with few exceptions, notorious for their shoddy and vapid values. Timeline: The 80's and 90's have seen a resurgence in British film fortunes, starting with Channel4 offshoot FilmFour Ltd. Since Channel 4 was launched in 1982 it has funded a large amount of home-grown successes such as Trainspotting, Brassed Off, Elizabeth, The Full Monty, Naked and Secret's and Lies. It has been and continues to be at the forefront of the recent renaissance in British film making. Timeline: |
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