British Gems
I love British Films. I love the feel of them. From their quirky strangeness to their sobering reality, their black humour to their sometimes dark sinister slants. I lived in America for many years and whenever a British film came on it felt like coming home. I remember as a child a series by Anglia Television called ‘Best of British’ wherein the greats of British Cinema would be celebrated, analysed and discussed. The show would always close with soul stirring montages; Laurence Olivier in gleaming armour atop a proud horse, Sherlock Holmes striding through a swirl of white mist that clung to his ankles, Julie Christie reaching a desperate hand through a Venetian gate, breathing the world ‘darling’ to her soon to be murdered husband, Richard E Grant, hammering out an impassioned soliloquy, drenched in whisky and ruin, Kenneth Williams nostrils flaring, Barbara Windsor bra flinging. A mishmash of iconic moments which embodied all that was glorious and great about our nation’s celluloid masterpieces. Enjoy a few of my favourite here.