About a century later Hollywood and British films have improved rapidly but in totally different ways. Nowadays we can tell the difference between most British and Hollywood films just by looking at the first scene. The questions that arise from this interpretation are how and why. How can we tell the difference and why is this difference apparent? The answer to the first question is pretty straightforward as its based on pure facts, which people cannot deny, but the second question (apparent difference) has many reasons and has no straight resolution.
British films are nearly always about real problems, they are usually about working class people, the story lines are seen as ‘gritty’, they are unglamorous, they do not cast big stars, unfortunately they have limited funding, many films do not have a mainstream release, they have very limited advertisement even in Britain, they are set in British locations, which anyone can see as being very limited and I have not seen any British film which actually has any major special effects. To understand a Hollywood film, just imagine the exact opposite of everything I have just stated about British films. This means that they include major special effects, they cast A-list stars, the story lines are fantasy related not real life etc. As I mentioned earlier, it is not that confusing to realise the difference between Hollywood films and British films when it comes to ‘how’. What’s debatable is why.
From early Hollywood to recent Hollywood there is one similarity, which has not changed. This is the marketing they use. British films have never actually emphasised on the advertisement of a film. There is one major reason for this and this sad reason is because they cannot afford it. I would like to believe that advertising is not that important but unfortunately in the world we live in it is. Not everyone is a film buff and many people strictly choose which films to watch depending on the advertisement they have seen. For example The Fast and The Furious, one of the worst Hollywood films of all time made so much money on the box office because of advertising. People would see the film just because they had heard so much about it and although they might hate the film afterwards and realise they were victims of advertisement; they still paid to see it. This processes into the cycle of filmmaking and makes money for the company, which can then make more films. A British film will not advertise much and rely on word of mouth, they will fail to make a lot of money in the box office and so they will not be able to accumulate enough money to make new films. Although the film might be great, if no one hears about it, no one will see it. America has funded many British films that have made money in the box office in Britain. This brings a new question, which has been debated for many years. What qualifies as a British film?
According to the Film Act of 1985, a British film has to have 92.5% of the films running time created in Britain. The labour costs must go to British citizens and a British registered company must make the film. This means that British films, which have been funded by America, are not officially British. For example, Four Weddings and a Funeral, was made with British expertise but it was funded by America and most of the money made from the film was sent back to America. This can be debated as to whether or not the film is British.
Another big problem, which British film companies face, is the government funding that they receive. Two companies, which fund films in Britain at the moment are the National lottery (which has only recently been able to do so as the law over public funding eased) and the Film Council (low budget). Most film makers work independently using poor equipment, facilities etc. They do not rely on film making as a career and Britains most talented artists move to Hollywood (Alfred Hitchcock) because they do not feel they can perform to their full potential as they do not have the money or the locations.
British films undergo poor distribution around the world that result in British films only being able to be seen in Britain and maybe some European countries. People expectations of British films being low budget and too real (many people go to the cinema to escape real life and be entertained) which result in people turning to Hollywood films. Until recently cinemas in Britain were small, smelly and warm, which stopped people wanting to see films in the cinema. Now we have been introduced to multiplexes and cinema admissions are rising.
All these are reasons as to why British films do not make as much money as Hollywood films and many of the differences in both sort of films arise from this. But this does not mean that neither British films nor Hollywood films are bad it just means they are different. They both have their good and bad points and both sides have their share in good and bad films. Although Hollywood films have more choice over what they can do because of all the advantages they have, they still make more really bad films than good per year.
To conclude, I believe that British cinema is great. Although they may not have enough funding for special effects, the narrative of the film is good enough for us to forget that. Hollywood films use lots of special effects but while doing that I think they forget that they actually need the narrative to make sense and (e.g. The Fast and The Furious). They may not have blond actresses and sexy actors, but at least they cast people that can act. What they need is funding and maybe make some films that can attract a global audience. As you can see to qualify as a British film, most of the money has to go back to British citizens, but to gain this the government has to fund films first. They let Hollywood fund films and when the film is a box office hit, Hollywood acquires all the money made from the film, which result in British companies making no money to make other films again. I also believe that a film should still be seen as a British film whether or not America funds it was still made by British talent.
Lastly, I do believe that the British film industry has a rosy future because they make great films and sooner or later people will realise how great the films are. The only thing they need is for the government to trust them a bit more and fund them to gain this. This way all the British talent which are hiding or doing other jobs can have a chance and create great films for all to see.
