BFI Top 100 British films

In 1999, the British Film Institute surveyed 1,000 people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest British films of the 20th century. Voters were asked to choose up to 100 films that were "culturally British".

List breakdown

• The 1960s head the list with 26 films of merit for the decade.
• The most represented years, with four films each, are 1949, 1963, and 1996.
• The earliest film selected was The 39 Steps (1935), and only two other 1930s films made the list.
• David Lean is the most represented director on the list, with seven films, three in the top five and The Bridge on the River Kwai in eleventh place.
  • Michael Powell follows with five entries, co-directing four of them with Emeric Pressburger as part of the Powell and Pressburger ("The Archers") filmmaking partnership.
  • John Schlesinger also directed four.
  • Alexander Mackendrick and Tony Richardson each directed three films.
• Ealing Studios produced seven films on the list, all between 1949 and 1955.
• Alec Guinness is the most represented actor, with nine films – six in starring roles and three in supporting roles.
• Julie Christie is the most represented actress, with six films on the list.

Top 10

Rank	Title	Year	Director
1	The Third Man	1949	Carol Reed
2	Brief Encounter	1945	David Lean
3	Lawrence of Arabia	1962
4	The 39 Steps	1935	Alfred Hitchcock
5	Great Expectations	1946	David Lean
6	Kind Hearts and Coronets	1949	Robert Hamer
7	Kes	1969	Ken Loach
8	Don't Look Now	1973	Nicolas Roeg
9	The Red Shoes	1948	Powell and Pressburger
10	Trainspotting	1996	Danny Boyle

See also

• Time Out 100 best British films
• Films considered the greatest ever
• BFI TV 100 – a list of the best British television programmes
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
• 100 Italian films to be saved
• In 2004 the BFI compiled a list of the 100 biggest UK cinematic hits of all time based on audience viewing, the list was released as a book. The top 10 are available in this BBC News Online story.