BFI Top 100 British films

In 1999 the British Film Institute surveyed 1000 people from the world of UK film and television to produce the BFI 100 list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. [http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/] Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were 'culturally British'. A few of the selected films were wholly or partly produced by non-UK companies, but were perceived by voters as having significant British involvement.

The 1960s came out as the most popular decade, with 26 films, and 1963 and 1971 as the most popular years, with four films each. The earliest film chosen was from 1935 ("The 39 Steps"), with only two other 1930s films featuring in the list. After 1935, 1974–78 was the only period of more than a year from which no films were chosen.

The most popular director was David Lean, with 7 films in the list. Powell and Pressburger ("The Archers") and John Schlesinger had 4 films each while Alexander Mackendrick and Tony Richardson had 3 films each. Six of the films were produced by Ealing Studios.

The films

# "The Third Man" (1949), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/53986 @ The BFI]
# "Brief Encounter" (1945), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/27702 @ The BFI]
# "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/39897 @ The BFI]
# "The 39 Steps" (1935), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/54031 @ The BFI]
# "Great Expectations" (1946), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/35242 @ The BFI]
# "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/255464 @ The BFI]
# "Kes" (1969), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/38887 @ The BFI]
# "Don't Look Now" (1973), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/31673 @ The BFI]
# "The Red Shoes" (1948), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/47991 @ The BFI]
# "Trainspotting" (1996), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/529312 @ The BFI]
# "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/27691 @ The BFI]
# "if...." (1968), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/240830 @ The BFI]
# "The Ladykillers" (1955), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/39562 @ The BFI]
# "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (1960), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/49467 @ The BFI]
# "Brighton Rock" (1947), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/27738 @ The BFI]
# "Get Carter" (1971), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/34517 @ The BFI]
# "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/39852 @ The BFI]
# "Henry V" (1944), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/36154 @ The BFI]
# "Chariots of Fire" (1981), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/60706 @ The BFI]
# "A Matter of Life and Death (1946)", [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/42156 @ The BFI]
# "The Long Good Friday" (1980), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/63434 @ The BFI]
# "The Servant (1963)", [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/50122 @ The BFI]
# "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/488859 @ The BFI]
# "Whisky Galore!" (1949), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/57856 @ The BFI]
# "The Full Monty" (1997), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/497684 @ The BFI]
# "The Crying Game" (1992), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/462143 @ The BFI]
# "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/31544 @ The BFI] (a US production)
# "Monty Python's Life of Brian " (1979), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/63864 @ The BFI]
# "Withnail and I" (1987), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/400331 @ The BFI]
# "Gregory's Girl" (1980), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/62392 @ The BFI]
# "Zulu" (1964), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/59259 @ The BFI]
# "Room at the Top" (1958), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/48820 @ The BFI]
# "Alfie" (1966), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/27656 @ The BFI]
# "Gandhi" (1982), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/3104 @ The BFI]
# "The Lady Vanishes" (1938), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/39600 @ The BFI]
# "The Italian Job" (1969), [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/37932 @ The BFI]
# "Local Hero" (1983)
# "The Commitments" (1991)
# "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988)
# "Secrets & Lies" (1996)
# "Dr. No" (1962)
# "The Madness of King George" (1994)
# "A Man for All Seasons" (1966)
# "Black Narcissus" (1947)
# "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943)
# "Oliver Twist" (1948)
# "I'm All Right Jack" (1959)
# "Performance" (1970)
# "Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
# "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985)
# "Tom Jones" (1963)
# "This Sporting Life" (1963)
# "My Left Foot" (1989)
# "Brazil" (1985)
# "The English Patient" (1996) (a US production)
# "A Taste of Honey" (1961)
# "The Go-Between" (1971)
# "The Man in the White Suit" (1951)
# "The IPCRESS File" (1965)
# "Blowup" (1966)
# "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (1962)
# "Sense and Sensibility" (1995)
# "Passport to Pimlico" (1949)
# "The Remains of the Day" (1993)
# "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1971)
# "The Railway Children" (1970)
# "Mona Lisa" (1986)
# "The Dam Busters" (1955)
# "Hamlet" (1948)
# "Goldfinger" (1964) (a joint UK-US production)
# "Elizabeth" (1998)
# "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1939)
# "A Room with a View" (1985)
# "The Day of the Jackal" (1973)
# "The Cruel Sea" (1952)
# "Billy Liar" (1963)
# "Oliver!" (1968)
# "Peeping Tom" (1960)
# "Far from the Madding Crowd" (1967)
# "The Draughtsman's Contract" (1982)
# "A Clockwork Orange" (1971)
# "Distant Voices, Still Lives" (1988)
# "Darling" (1965)
# "Educating Rita" (1983)
# "Brassed Off" (1996)
# "Genevieve" (1953)
# "Women in Love" (1969)
# "A Hard Day's Night" (1964)
# "Fires Were Started" (1943)
# "Hope and Glory" (1987)
# "My Name Is Joe" (1998)
# "In Which We Serve" (1942)
# "Caravaggio" (1986)
# "The Belles of St. Trinian's" (1954)
# "Life is Sweet" (1990)
# "The Wicker Man" (1973)
# "Nil by Mouth" (1997)
# "Small Faces" (1995)
# "Carry On up the Khyber" (1968)
# "The Killing Fields" (1984)