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TV, radio, film, Arts

British films

(55 Posts)
Ellie Anne Mon 04-Aug-25 09:27:48

Looking for films on you tube I’ve found a few I really liked.
Come rain come shine with David Jason and Alison steadman.
Like father like son with Robson green.
Belonging with Brenda Blethyn.

Luckygirl3 Mon 04-Aug-25 09:28:48

Thanks for these ideas.

keepingquiet Mon 04-Aug-25 10:01:20

I absolutely loved The Ballad of Wallis Island- best film I've seen for ages!

MrsQuigley Mon 04-Aug-25 10:16:16

Only recently discovered the huge amount of stuff on YouTube. Watched The Missing Postman again last weekend, remembered fondly from seeing it in 1997.
Have watched 2 of the films the OP mentions. Will look for the other one.
Accidentally found loads films/series on there by entering “forgotten British TV”. The content changes quite often too.

clorion343 Mon 04-Aug-25 13:44:36

The Missing Postman, what a blast from the past! YouTube’s become a bit of a goldmine for these older British dramas. I just found Common as Muck the other day and ended up binge-watching half the series.

MayBee70 Mon 04-Aug-25 13:45:05

I’ve found several things on utube that I thought I would never get to see again. A sweet little film called The Shutter Falls ( which I think several other directors were influenced by), a Gabriel Byrne film set in Ireland and a cartoon of The Snow Queen that I watched as a child and was desperate to see again. Oh and also A Dog of Flanders, another film from my childhood. It makes me loathe to get rid of the many things I’ve recorded over the years because some of them were only on utube because someone somewhere had recorded it. There are also episodes of Take Three Girls and Love For Lydia. It’s so bitter sweet watching them again.

Ellie Anne Tue 05-Aug-25 09:47:06

I’ve just watched happy since I met you with julie Walter’s And written by the lovely Victoria wood. Definitely worth a look.

Cumbrianmale56 Tue 05-Aug-25 11:27:53

I think our film industry is seriously underrated and even in the dog years later in the seventies, there were still a few gems being made. I watched the film version of The Likely Lads recently and the bitter sweet, melancholic hunour and the bedroom farce near the end is still excellent.

escaped Tue 05-Aug-25 11:39:51

Anyone interested in British films should go to the British Film Festival in Dinard, Brittany in the Autumn. It's a bit like going to the Cannes Festival in May! There are some great new British films released, often made on a small budget. I go regularly, and was at the premier of The Queen with Helen Mirren about 20 years ago.
French school kids often turn up in groups to spend the day watching British films at the cinema. The French seem to love British films and TV programmes which they buy up.

PinkCosmos Tue 05-Aug-25 12:14:49

The Talking Pictures channel shows a lot of of old British films.

BBC 1 (or 2) seem to be showing old films on Saturday afternoon at the moment. Probably because the football has finished. Not necessarily British. All about Eve with Bette Davies was on last Saturday. Prior to the film there was a programme with several interviews with Bette Davies through her life - with interviewers such as Parkinson, Terry Wogan.

I think you can probably watch them on BBC IPlayer as well

Greyduster Tue 05-Aug-25 12:31:10

In love the old Powell and Pressburger films - “Stairway to Heaven” with David Niven; “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” with Roger Livesey; and my favourite “I Know Where I’m Going” also with Roger Livesey. A bit old hat, but very engaging.

Seabear Tue 05-Aug-25 14:58:36

escaped

Anyone interested in British films should go to the British Film Festival in Dinard, Brittany in the Autumn. It's a bit like going to the Cannes Festival in May! There are some great new British films released, often made on a small budget. I go regularly, and was at the premier of The Queen with Helen Mirren about 20 years ago.
French school kids often turn up in groups to spend the day watching British films at the cinema. The French seem to love British films and TV programmes which they buy up.

Why is a British film festival held in Brittany?

escaped Tue 05-Aug-25 15:22:14

Good question Seabear.

Because there is a very strong connection between the British and Dinard, where around the turn of the last century, wealthy British people used to come to the town to bathe. Several roads are named after people like Churchill, and there is a British church, the only one in Brittany I believe. The film festival is in its 36th year. The red carpet comes out and all the usual paraphernalia. Some great films have been premiered there, if I remember correctly Billy Elliot.

Just to say, it's NOT a fish and chip type resort. It's very classy.

keepingquiet Tue 05-Aug-25 17:53:46

Why all the focus on old films- there are so many good recent films too!

JaneJudge Tue 05-Aug-25 18:04:14

belonging is on prime so I'm going to watch it no before my husband gets home from work

JaneJudge Wed 06-Aug-25 15:36:53

Liked Belonging, now watching Come Rain Come Shine smile

petra Wed 06-Aug-25 15:46:57

keepingquiet

Why all the focus on old films- there are so many good recent films too!

I’m with you 🤷‍♀️

JaneJudge Wed 06-Aug-25 17:15:25

I liked come rain, come shine too

MayBee70 Wed 06-Aug-25 17:59:05

keepingquiet

Why all the focus on old films- there are so many good recent films too!

I think because the OP was alerting us to films that can be found on utube and they tend to be older films that some of us have seen in the past and would like to see again?

harrysgran Wed 06-Aug-25 19:58:49

I've watched the missing postman a couple of times nice gentle watch

keepingquiet Wed 06-Aug-25 22:39:02

I misunderstood. I went on the thread title!

Cumbrianmale56 Thu 07-Aug-25 11:02:56

A good British film that was way ahead of its time was Gergory's Girl, a comedy about a Scottish girl who plays football. Nothing unusual about girls playing football these days, but in 1980 it was almost unheard of and makes the film unique.

MayBee70 Thu 07-Aug-25 12:29:31

I’ve never watched Local Hero, and I realised that I’ve got a dvd of it…it was free in a newspaper years ago.

Mt61 Thu 07-Aug-25 12:35:37

Far from the maddening crowd, original version with Alan bates.

keepingquiet Thu 07-Aug-25 13:32:10

Local Hero is one of my favourite films- helped by Mark Knopfler's score of course!