International Cinema Festival of India

Although Hollywood is closely associated with movies, celluloid film was invented in London in 1890. The British public were visiting purpose-built cinemas 15 years later, once inventors managed to team additional sound with minute-long films. Whether you were watching the news or even horse racing, these cinemas were the origins of the complexes we know today.

However, it was the Americans who established a film industry first. During and after the First World War, the States set up Universal, Paramount, Fox and MGM Studios. Gradually, this thriving industry tempted away British talent from the UK, including the loveable Charlie Chaplin and suspense guru Alfred Hitchcock.

The Golden Age of British film occurred during the Twenties and Thirties, however it was interrupted by the Second World War. Consequently, filmmakers focused on perfecting propaganda documentaries and heroic war spell films. The Fifties were dominated by domestic film tastes, with Ealing comedies being succeeded by Hammer horrors and ‘Carry-Ons’. It was during the Sixties that British films went global. Its New Wave movies challenged audiences with sex and class themes. However, it was the British escapism of the Sixties that stole the hearts of audiences across the globe, which included the ‘Bond’ films, ‘Doctor Zhivago’, ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘The Sound of Music’.

Seventies’ cinemas struggled to fill seats as a result of the recession and a TV boom. However, it was the Eighties recession that dealt British cinema its biggest blow. After more than half a century span, the Rank Organisation shut down. This was the largest film company in Britain, which provided production, distribution and exhibition facilities.

British films and film stars have been enjoying worldwide success and Oscar recognition as a result of increasing international cooperation in moviemaking talent since the 1990s. Social comedies ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ and ‘The Full Monty’ earned box office smash hit status, as well as royal dramas ‘The Queen’ and more recently, ‘The King’s Speech’. Many critics will agree that we are currently basking in the new Golden Age of British cinema.

Jenny Bailey is a film writer who loves researching the history of movies. For more information, visit theartsdesk.com