BBFC is an independent, non governmental body which classifies and censors film, video as well as computer console based games released in the UK.
BFI is a government backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.
UK Film Council promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and television heritage and culture.
British Academy of Film and Television Arts have aims to support, develop and promote the art of the moving image.
British Council is the official UK agency for official cultural relations. Its film department promotes new British films features and shorts internationally principally through festivals and showcases.
The whole purpose of having a British Film Industry from this research is to express the British culture to a wider audience, to educate younger generations and to also allow them to make their own personal opinions on different lifestyles around the world.
Main British Production Companies
Film 4 - The Lovely Bones, Enduring Love, Never Let Me Go, Wuthering Heights
Working Title Films - Four Weddings and a Funeral, Deadman Walking, The Borrowers
Pathe - 127 Hours, Adulthood, Chicken Run, ThunderPants, Slumdog Millionaire
BBC Film Network - Goodbye Mr Pink, The End of an Era
Momentum Pictures - Chalet Girl, Safe Haven, The Baby Maker
In my opinion I think that the UK film industry is predominantly dominated by Film 4 and Momentum Pictures, however in a lot of their films they do partner up with other film industries to produce some top rated films.
Dredd
The director of Dredd is a man named Pete Travis who is British, he worked alongside Alex Garland who produced the film, he in which is also British. Karl Urban who played Judge Dredd in this film however is not British but from New Zealand. Olivia Thurlby who plays Judge Cassandra Anderson is American. The man took hostage was played by Wood Harris who is also American. From this we can see that the cast of this film is not really British and therefore doesn't meet the criteria. The main part of production which took place for Dredd was done by DNA Films which is A British Film company, therefore this section fits the criteria to be classed British. The content of the film has nothing to do with the British lifestyle and culture, as it is all set in America and the mise en scene of the film doesn't match the typical British theme.
BFI create a science fiction/crime identity for this film, events which take place are after a nuclear war where all criminals now rule the city and the Judges are feared. This however has no link to the British Culture, but may have certain aspects and significance to countries elsewhere around the globe.
Judge Dredd had many production companies working for it to ensure the film was a hit, even though most of them were in fact British, Lionsgate worked with the producers as distributors for the film, and as we know they are a North American company.
Although Dredd is produced by British Film companies, in order for it to meet the criteria to be a British Film it must have numerous characteristics such as a British Cast, British Culture etc. Dredd inly qualifies as a British film from the companies that worked on the film, and therefore in my opinion shouldn't actually be classed as a British film, due to its lack of culture represented and the lack of British members of the cast.
The importance of having a British Film industry is so that our culture is known worldwide, Dredd doesn't do this for us as a nation, and therefore shouldn't be called a British film.
Attracting Audiences
The Duchess starring Kiera Knightly, is a British Film produced by Gabrielle Tana and Michael Kuhn. This film attracts an audience from the global market as it offers the stereotypical British lifestyle which large audiences seem to enjoy. The mise en scene reflects olden day Britain, how people used to dress, speak like and also their day to day activity. Adults may show this to children around the world to educate them on what our country is represented as.
Lesbian Vampire Killers is a British Horror Comedy film which would only appeal to a British audience. The global market wouldn't understand the idea around this film like the British public would. The only real reason people watch this film is because it stars James Cordon (known as Smithy) and Matthew Horne (known as Gavin) from the hit British Comedy show Gavin and Stacey. The location it was filmed was also British - Norfolk, England which will also attract the locals.
Slum dog Millionaire is another British film, however this film won many global awards. This is down to the fact that it outlines and covers many cultures in one film which appeals to a huge audience. The director of this film (Danny Boyle) is an award winning British man who is known for making brilliant films, and therefore, there will have also been high expectations for it, which also attracts masses of people.
Bridget Jones would only appeal to a British audience, as it does represent in some aspects a British Culture, however you could say it was done in a cheesy way which only appeals to us Brits. However many top British actors star in this film which could question actually if only a British audience would enjoy this.
All of the above films are distinctively different from Hollywood blockbusters, firstly the budget for the film will have been very small, therefore they have to downgrade sets and actor wages, meaning less actors would want to audition for the roles, and also all the editing, re-shoots, mise en scene etc will be of a bigger scale in a Hollywood Blockbuster, and British films just cannot create such a large budget to do this.
Audience Types
There are four main types of audience: Mainstream, Mainstream Plus, Aficionados and Film Buffs 1. Dredd isn't the all time blockbuster production in which Mainstream viewers seem to take an eye to, therefore, we can conclude that isn't the type of audience who viewed this particular film. On the other end of the scale, Film Buffs 1 only tend to watch films with extreme, esoteric and challenging subjects that films are either based on or tied around. Leaving the last two categories of audience types, one of which (Mainstream Plus) including audiences who watch mainly Hollywood blockbusters but like to see the odd other film on occasions, and the following category (Aficionados) which includes an audience who enjoy exploring a variety of film genres, which can be foreign or more adventurous than their preferred type of film. From this information I would place the audience of Dredd in the Aficionados section, due to the lack of positive critique and budget to allow it to become a mainstream view. The fact that Dredd is known as a 'British' film really says it all; the lack of British investments and large pockets of money, we can see big blockbuster films tend to be based in America. Due to Dredd being classified as a British film, even though it was produced with studios and companies in South Africa it hasn't publicised itself enough to gain a wide audience, and therefore my reasoning for it being placed in this section.
Box Office
The box office figures show that countries like America who have large sums of money, big bold ideas and investments from very rich entrepreneurs create a larger gross profit due to the fact that all features of a film are done to maximise sales in cinema, DVD and merchandise release. Britain and South Africa partner up with their main studios to create some impressive films, however, because they don't have a wide a budget as US films, they don't turn over the results of profit as critics don't value the cinema experience as much as if they were watching a Hollywood Blockbuster.
Distributors such as Disney, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers have bigger gross profits by September 2012, this could be suggested due to the amount of experience these companies have working in environments where there is a large sum of money to be used creatively and responsibly to produce a best selling film. Not only that, but also from past success ratings bigger production companies such as these mentioned writers are bound to contact the larger success stories first if within their budget, as they know it could possibly lead to creating a multi million pound consuming piece of graphic entertainment.
Dredd Continued
Dredd has three main producers - Alex Garland, Andrew MacDonald and Allon Reich
Distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors and Lionsgate
Exclusive and Limited runs distribution pattern, it has limited screenings in cinema, traditionally in larger areas in this country like Birmingham
The budget for this films was $45 million
Box Office Gross was $36.5 million
Directed by Pete Travis
Dredd - Karl Urban
Judge Cassandra Anderson - Olivia Thurlby
Kay - Wood Harris
MaMa - Lena Heady
In August 2012, the viral advertising site "Dredd Report" was launched. they also set up a completely fake website to advertise this film. There was also a trailer made, and also posters and large advertisement in cities where the film was released.
The critique for this film was mainly negative, they based this on the fact that Dredd's plot was identical to 'The Raid' who was also released in the same year.
The Los Angeles Times quoted - "a clunk-headed action picture"
Critics also said - "deadpan humor" and "mixed or average"
Dredd won The Art of 3D award at the 2013 Empire Awards and was nominated for Best British Film and Best Science-fiction/Fantasy
The film was shot digitally and primarily in 3D using RED MX, SI2K and Phantom Flex high-speed cameras. Multiple camera rigs were used. Some 2D elements were converted to 3D in post production.
The tie ins included being released on DVD, Bluray and Comics.
In my opinion, I believe that Dredd is a standard British film, which doesnt succeed in making back all its money however has a gripping story line that not really anyone other than a British audience will be attracted to. However, I do feel that because it doesnt include the normal British culture within its mise en scene this is why it didn't make back as much money as it should have, due to smaller audiences.
British Film
Overall, British film isnt as dominant as the US even when they partner up with South Africa to produce a film. The lack of budget and A class actors they employ could be part of the reason why they arent as successfull, but also they don't advertise and release their work to a wide enough audience, so they limit their income and profit.
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