British history of film

The British participated in the invention of the film. 1889, W. Donisthorpe made a camera and a turntable in England to take a panoramic view of Trafalgar Square. 1895, B. eccles invented the "electric light", and photographed the horse racing in Epsom, the rowing competitions in Oxford and Cambridge, and the opening ceremony of the Kiel Canal. This is the earliest news documentary in the world, but there was no projector at that time, so it could not be shown in time. R.W. Paul 1896 gave the audience the first commercial screening of the film in Olympia Hall on March 26th. The screening program is his own film "Wild Waves on the Sea of Dover". Later, Paul made many short comedies, including "Private Courtship", which can be played for one minute. Paul also built a production workshop in southgate. Equipped with special effects facilities.

The most influential people in early English films were several photographers in Brighton. Among them are E. Collins, A. G. Smith, J. Williamson, etc. These film pioneers were later called Brighton School. First, they adopted the techniques of twice exposure, mobile photography, overlapping printing, panorama, reverse shooting and stop shooting. Collins made 30 films, of which only one, Interrupted Melody, survived. In Grandmother's Magnifier (1900), Smith used a large close-up, and the enlarged stopwatch, caged birds and human eyes appeared on the screen. His first work, Night, shows the police patrolling at night with lights to illuminate beggars, drunkards and thieves along the way. He replaced people's eyes with cameras and turned people into living things. This new technology can be said to be the beginning of modern montage. On the other hand, Williamson freely changes the location of events in news films, and adopts location shooting. His two films, Soldiers Return and Pre-war and Post-war Reserve Soldiers, described real life segments and raised social issues on the screen for the first time.

At that time, film artists and technological innovators included C. Hepworth. From 65438 to 0897, he wrote An Introduction to Cinematography, which is one of the earliest films in the world. He improved the equipment for developing film, the printer and the film punch. 1898 filmed "The Express Train in the Cut-off Railway"; Then the movie Alice in Wonderland (1903), 800 feet long, is divided into 16 scenes, and the scenes blend together; Another film, The Prodigal Son (1905), tells a story with a camera, which is complex in structure and adopts storyboards in series, editing, shaking and low-angle photography. In 1907, he also designed a recording system. At the same time, F.S. Motshaw also made a feature film. His Robbery of the Mail Car and Robbery in broad daylight (both shot at 1903) established the status of British thrillers.

In addition to documentary photos and feature films, early British films also appeared landscape films, such as Robert Pantinger's? Scott's visit to the South Pole (19 13) is very popular. 19 14, British filmmakers produced the first cartoon. The Study of Blood Characters, directed by G Pearson, is the first detective film adapted from the story in Sherlock Holmes. Another of his films, Eltas-Survivors (19 16), was filmed after the French film Von Homas, which is the first action thriller series.

In the 1920s, Hepworth became famous for shooting several successful works such as Alf's Button (1920). Pearson's films are All Careless (1920), Firecrackers (192 1), Love Life and Laughter (1923) and Wake Up (1924). He is the most popular star in British silent film era, B. Ballmer. Another popular film is Kipps by H. Shaw (1921), but the most outstanding and commercially successful work is Woman to Woman by G. Katz (1923), and its success is attributed to producer M. Balcaen, director V. Saville and playwright. Hitchcock became famous in gainsborough Film Company in the late 1920s, and directed Happy Garden (1925) and Tenant (1926). Other successful products of this company are Katz's Mouse (1925), A. brunell's home in England (1927) and the eternal fairy (1928). At the same time, several other newcomers have emerged: director and producer H. willcocks directed the films Ten Nights Talk (1924), The Only Way (1925) and Nelgwen (/klgwen) after his famous work Zhu Jinzhou. L. Dai? Có rdoba directed her (1925); M. Elway directed by Miss armand Tell (1926) and Admiral's adjutant (1926).

With the development of film production, Britain's film screening venues have gradually separated from amusement parks and built cinemas that can accommodate hundreds of audiences. At that time, pianists and small bands were hired to accompany films. Soon, a number of large cinemas opened, but since 1909, American and French films have occupied the British market, and domestic films only account for 15% of the total national films. Therefore, Britain can neither recover a lot of money from the domestic film market, nor have enough financial resources to invest in making high-quality films and compete with foreign films for domestic and foreign markets. After the outbreak of World War I, British film production was even more affected. Starting from 19 16, Britain increased the entertainment tax, which was even more unfavorable to the cinema business, and the film industry was further in crisis. After World War II, American movies kept coming, which made only 5% of British movies released in China, and only a handful of them were exported. So some famous producers such as Hepworth had to close their studios at 1924. In order to protect national films, the government authorities formally passed the film bill in 1927, which stipulated the quota allocation ratio, requiring 1935 to reach 20% of the total, so that the proportion of British films shown in cinemas nationwide increased year by year. At this time, new studios such as Gumont Company, British International Film Company and British Lion Company were established one after another. By the end of the 1920s, Britain had produced a number of remarkable films, such as duel field by Hitchcock (1928), Meteor by Asquith (1928) and Underground (1928), and E.A. DuPont. Due to the quota allocation of cinema release rate, a large number of films are needed to fill the vacancy, which has stimulated the prosperity of British films. However, good movies need to spend a lot of money and time. In order to meet the market demand, the products are still a lot of mediocre films with poor quality, which saves labor and time.

1929, the audio movie came out. The problems Britain faces are roughly the same as those in other countries, such as poor recording methods and heavy equipment. The content of the film from beginning to end is either endless dialogue or song after song. Hitchcock's Blackmail was changed to a talking film in the middle of shooting. He is very creative in using sound effects. This is recognized as the first sound film in Britain, which is very inspiring to other directors. Since then, he has made many successful audio films, including Hitchcock's Murder (1930), Asquith Escaped from Dartmoor (1930), Telling about England (193 1) and Dancing, Beautiful Girl. W-Plan by Saville (1931) and Girls in the Office (1932), Rome Express by W. Ford (1932), Magic Night by Wilcock (/kloc-0

In 1930s, there was a brief boom in British films, with an annual output of 150 to 200 films. The revival of feature films has much to do with Kodak, a Hungarian-born filmmaker. After he settled in England on 1933 and founded the London Film Studio, he made many successful films, including The Private Life of Henry VIII. He used a new viewpoint to deal with historical themes, put forward the problem of social outlet, catered to the audience's democratic thoughts and achieved great success. This film enjoys a reputation far beyond that of other British films abroad. More importantly, Kodak's tireless enterprising spirit urges all employees in the film industry to strive to improve their professional level. He opened up broad prospects for British films to be exported abroad, and also injected optimism and efforts into the film industry. His company also recruited talents from all over the world and invited them to work in Britain, which promoted the development of the British film industry. For example, Queen Catherine (1934) directed by German director P. Sinner, Don Juan starring American star Van Punk (1934), Ghost Westbound (1935) filmed by French director Claire R, an American director and art designer. The films produced by this company, such as The Thorn on the River (1935) and The Hidden Elephant Prodigy (1937) directed by Z Kodak, and the Rembrandt Biography (that is, Passion Painting, 1936) produced by Kodak itself, are all successful.

During this period, other British producers and directors followed Kodak's footsteps, such as knowledgeable person (1934), Thirty-nine Steps (national defense secret, 1935) and Destruction (short-lived flower, 65438+). In addition, Saville's good partners (1933), Evergreen Tree (1934) and Iron Duke (1935), Nell of Wilcock? Gwen (1934), old Drewry's prosthetic leg (1935) and Queen Victoria (1937), Seuss the Jew by L Mendes (1934) and Old Antique by T Bentley. Ross (1936) and B. Viertl's Rhode Island (1936) both have high comments. By 1937, the production of British feature films had reached more than 200. However, the good times did not last long. Most producers don't pay attention to quality, and their films have no box office value. In addition, most of the funds come from borrowing, and the year-end settlement has little profit. By 1938, the output suddenly dropped. In order to save this situation, the British Parliament passed a new film bill this year, which stipulated that the distribution quota of British films in China should be increased from 1938 to 12.5%, and increased to 25% every year in 1947. Resist shooting films with low cost and poor quality; Allow foreign capital to invest in the British film industry. According to this clause, MGM and 20th Century Fox Film Company of the United States funded the establishment of several joint studios in Britain, such as A Yankee in Oxford (namely, the history of studying in Britain, 1938) and The Castle (namely, the Acropolis, 1938) invested by MGM. These films are directed by Hollywood directors and starred by Hollywood stars. The British side only provides venues, photographic equipment, technicians and individual actors. During this period, British film directors also produced several successful films, such as The Flower Girl by Asquith (1938), The Missing Woman by Hitchcock (namely, The Robbery of Qionghua, 1938) and bank holidays by Reed C (/kloc-0).

In recent years, the British film industry has also promoted the star system, with Howard, L, Lawton, C, G Fields, Donner, R, M Aublanc, M Lockwood, Vivien Leigh, Harrison, R, Oliver, L and so on.

From 65438 to 0929, with the support of the Film Department of the British Imperial Exchange Bureau, Grierson directed a documentary "Fishing boats with drifting nets", which reflected the life of herring fishermen in the North Sea and was poetic, making him the founder of the British documentary movement. He believes that the purpose of film art lies in social education, and the Soviet film is an example of showing the social function of film. He received financial support from industrial and commercial enterprises to attract artists interested in realistic films to participate in this movement. The members of Grierson Documentary School include P. Rotta, B. Wright, E. Ernst, A. Elton, H. Walter, D. Taylor, S. Ledger, A. Cavalcanti, etc. Their works reflect the acute problems in British society, such as unemployment, poor working conditions and poor living environment. And they also have new pursuits in artistic treatment.

After the outbreak of World War II, the British film industry could not produce normally, and most film talents were recruited into the army. The production of feature films decreased from 108 of 1940 to 46 of 1942. But the audience has increased, and the box office income of movies has soared. During the Second World War, the Film Bureau of the British General Post Office was merged into the Royal Film Bureau by the Ministry of Information, which gave documentary photographers a good opportunity to display their talents and produced a number of excellent documentaries. For example, the first day by Cavalcanti (1939), London must win by H. Jennings and H. Watt (1940), Watt's goal tonight (194 1), J. Holmes's. R. Boulting's Triumph in the Desert, P. Jackson's March to the West (1944) and True Glory (1945), co-produced by Britain and the United States, directed by Reed, C. and American G. Kanin. These documentaries played a great role in wartime. In addition, some feature films are also of great documentary or propaganda nature, such as Winged Lion directed by P. Hearst and brunell (1939), The Invaders by M. Powell (194 1), N. Coward and Lynn. Other feature films about the theme of war include Reed's "Iron Blood Loyal Soul" (1944) and Powell's "Spring Dreams of a Strong Man" (1943). There are many other films at the same time. The most prominent ones are Kodak's The Robber of Baghdad (1940), Dickson's Gas Lamp (1940) and Prime Minister (194 1), and B. Dean's Twenty-one Days (/kloc). Reid's kipps (194 1), L. Ellis's The Man in Gray (1943), Oliver's, L.' s Henry V (1944) and Gilliat's The Notorious Gentleman (65434 There are also the luxurious historical drama Caesar and Cleopatra (also translated as Cleopatra, 1945), A brief encounter with Coward and Lian, D. (1945) and so on.

J.A. Frank was a British film industry that rose during World War II. As early as 1930s, he began to make religious films. 1935, he founded the British National Film Company and made the first commercial film. In the same year, he co-founded a film distribution company with C.M. Woolf. 194 1, Rank has mastered two of the three major film projection networks in Britain. At the end of the war, his head office expanded into a powerful joint venture with most of the real power of production, distribution and projection in Britain. He is ambitious and plans to set up a huge feature film factory, including children's films and cartoons, produce news documentary series, start a film school and train promising child stars. He wants to use huge sums of money to enter the American market and save the British film industry from years of difficulties. 1947 went to the United States to discuss and promote his own films. Unexpectedly, the British government issued a decree at this time to levy a 75% tax on foreign films. American film companies resolutely resisted, and all Hollywood films stopped exporting to Britain, which greatly reduced the source of films in cinemas all over the country. Frank's plan to open the market in the United States also fell through, and the British film industry was in an extremely difficult situation. The British government then urged Frank and other producers to increase film production to fill the gap. However, the British film industry is financially strapped, and few films can recover their costs. 1948, the British government had to cancel the import tax on foreign films, and then a large number of American films poured in, leaving British films with no place on the local screen. The British government once again stipulated that a certain amount of profits made by American films from Britain must be invested in the British film industry, which made American film forces further penetrate into the British film industry. During this period, the outstanding works of Frank Film Company and other studios include: Bright Future (that is, the tears of a lone star, 1948) and Oliver Twist (1948) by Lynn based on Dickens' novels, and Rising Steps (that is, too fantastic) by Powell and Pressburger, 6000.00000000606

In order to maintain and protect the domestic film industry, the British government has to still adopt the quota allocation method, which stipulates that the quota allocated to British films should be increased from 1950 to 30%. Unfortunately, the entertainment tax still maintains wartime standards, and the film industry has benefited little. On 1949, the British government established the National Film Financing Corporation, through which it lent money to the film industry. Then, on 1950, the British Film Production Foundation was established to exclusively control the tax collected from movie tickets as a subsidy for film production. However, at this time, TV became more and more popular with the masses, and the attendance rate of cinemas began to decline at an alarming rate.

Since 1950s, "Yiling comedy" hosted by Balcaen has appeared in Britain. Yiling is the name of the studio, located in the western suburbs of London. Yiling's comedies show real life, dare to break away from convention, describe the experiences of people who oppose bureaucracy, observe life with new eyes, and gently criticize the red tape of the aristocratic class and human customs. The most successful works are The Good Man and the Noble Man by Hammer (1949), Clean Island by mckendrick (1949), Man in White (1952) and Woman Seducer (1955). Other films worth mentioning are Scream by C. Clayton (1947), the riots in Mount Lavande (195 1), Passport of Smiljko by H. cornelius (1949) and Geneva Women (650).

After the British government restricted the high proportion of profits of American films from investing in British undertakings, American companies began to resume their business and cooperate with Britain in filming. At present, the better works co-produced by Britain and the United States include The Wandering Children by J. Nigel Leiskow (1950), Captain Horn blore by R. Walsh (195 1), and The Queen of Africa by Hughes Deng and J. (/kloc-). Dick (1956), and the most outstanding work is Lynn's Guihe Bridge (1957). This is a war film with the highest attendance at that time.

Due to the persecution of McCarthyism, some American filmmakers left Hollywood. After director J. Losey settled in London, Chaplin, C. R. Lester, Kubrick and Lumet also settled in one after another. These people have contributed to the British film art.

The British film industry has not been revitalized for many years. 1959, a group of young people competed with Lindsay. Anderson, Tony? Richardson, Karel? Ritz published a declaration and made a series of films to advocate the free cinema Movement, which was related to the opposition to traditional values in literature and drama, and also combined with the political and spiritual protests of the "angry young people" movement. Its basic content is to express the artist's social responsibility with a positive attitude and oppose bourgeois aestheticism. They clearly oppose the social reality and moral values of capitalism, such as J. Clayton's attic on the roof (that is, tears in the golden room, 1958), Richardson's angry review (1959), and the taste of honey (196). In addition, other important films include Schlesinger and J.' s The Art of Love (1962) and Billy the Liar (1963). By the mid-1960s, free cinema's tone had changed, and he regarded resistance only as an expression of personal life attitude, which no longer had social significance. Richardson's film Tom? Jones (1963) is the most vivid. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, free cinema's more important works were Anderson's films If (1968) and Oh Lucky (1973). In these two films, directors skillfully combine keen observation with unique generalization when expressing contemporary social conflicts, reaching new heights in thought and art.

In the 1960 s, Britain made many films with American funds, including J. Lee? Thompson's The Cannon of Navalon (196 1), Lynn's Lawrence of Arabia (1962), T. Yang's Dr. Wu (1962) and P. grenville's The Rope Ring (660. Other British business cards include Grimm's Angry Silence (1960), Cardiff and J's Sons and Lovers (1960), Clayton's Innocent Man (196 1) and B. Forbes's.

In the 1970s, the British Parliament passed a new film bill, which increased the quota of domestic films in cinemas to 30%. The budget of film financing companies has been increasing, because American investment in the British film industry has gradually decreased, or even stopped completely. With the increasing popularity of television, the attendance rate of cinemas has been declining. Despite the increase in ticket prices, 1976 also fell to the lowest point in box office receipts. In the same year, Britain promulgated a tax law, stipulating that 75% of foreign filmmakers' global income should be paid income tax, thus preventing foreign investment. This year, the output of British feature films dropped to 64; 1977 reduced to 42.

In the first half of 1970s, important British films (some of which were directed by American directors) included Ryan's Daughter by C. Myers (1970), Virgo and Gypsy (1970) and Macbeth by R. Polanski (197 1 0). Churchill in Youth by r( 1972), Class Branding by M. Frank (1973), Bell? Linden (1975), Tommy by Russell (1975), the emperor's father by Cooper (1975), etc.

In the late 1970s, the British film industry was restricted by American capital. Pine and Elstree, two major film companies, have invested in filming themselves, but mainly rented venues to cooperate with the United States. The famous American hit dramas Superman and Star Wars were shot in the studios of these two studios, and some British filmmakers went abroad to make movies.

In the 1980s, the British film industry improved. Chariots of Fire by 198 1 and Gandhi by 1982 won the best film awards in succession. Education Rita (1983), Local Heroes (1983) and A Journey to India (1984) have also been well received. 1986, A Room with a View by Avery and Qiao Fei's Mission.

During this period, the British film market was still monopolized by American films. Of all the box office receipts, British films only account for about 10%, and many films only recover 10 ~ 40% of their investment in China.

The major film studios in Britain are Pine Tree, Elstree, Kimberton and Tachanan. The main film education institutions are london film school, National Film Academy, Royal Academy of Art and London Television and Film Academy. The main film research institution is the British Film Academy (BFI) (established in 1933). London International Film Festival is a world-famous film festival, which is held every four years and is non-competitive. The main film publications are Picture and Sound (founded in 1932) and Screen (founded in 1959).