Awfully British
Complicated us Brits. We’re two sides of the same pound coin. Speaking the Queen’s English on telly and pronouncing “bottle of water,” “bo'ohw'o'wo'er” at home; prizing our stiff upper lips, but also knowing when to put the kettle on for a cosy chat about it. ‘Awfully British’ isn’t just a collection of classic and Cult British films, it’s a butcher’s at what it means and feels like to be made in Britain and how all those dichotomies have resulted in cinema that can be splendid, saucy, scary, socially conscious, or all of the above.
In here you’ll discover everything from lurid gothic Hammer horror to gory black comedy, from the nation that was banning video nasties one decade and making terrifying chillers and full-on bloodbaths the next. Class is always inescapable in Blighty and ‘Awfully British’ features sharp stabs at social commentary, from posh public school attitudes to council estate kitchen sink drama, but always with at least a snatch of our singular sense of humour and that certain something that on the other side of the Channel they call je ne sais quoi, but over ‘ere is just ‘Awfully British’.
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Countess Dracula
1971 • United Kingdom • Directed by Peter Sasdy
In 17th-century Hungary, elderly widow Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy maintains her misleading youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi.
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Vampire Circus
1972 • United Kingdom • Robert Young
As the plague sweeps the countryside, a quarantined village is visited by a mysterious travelling circus. Soon, young children begin to disappear, and the locals suspect the circus troupe might be hiding a horrifying secret...
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Distant Voices, Still Lives
1988 • United Kingdom • Directed by Terence Davies
Winner of the International Critics' Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, Terence Davies' feature debut heralded one of Britain's finest filmmaking talents. Loosely based on the director's own family and upbringing, Distant Voices, Still Live...
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A Serial Killer's Guide to Life
Serial murder meets self-help in A Serial Killer's Guide to Life - a darkly satirical cross between Thelma & Louise and Sightseers from the creative team behind the award-winning short film This Way Out (Best Comedy, Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2013). Self-help addict Lou (Katie Brayben, Luthe...
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Horror Express
1972 ･ United Kingdom ･ Directed by Eugenio Martín
Horror royalty and Hammer alumni Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee reunite for this tale of mad monks, primitive humanoids and bloodthirsty zombies set aboard a train bound for Moscow - all aboard the Horror Express! Renowned anthropologist Saxt...
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The Last Movie: Stanley Kubrick and 'Eyes Wide Shut'
1999 • United Kingdom • Directed by Paul Joyce
A documentary chronicling the making of Kubrick's final film, 'Eyes Wide Shut', and his legacy.
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Still Tickin': The Return of A Clockwork Orange
2000 • United Kingdom • Directed by Paul Joyce
Stanley Kubrick's masterful classic A Clockwork Orange and its controversy through the years are discussed by contemporary film directors (like Sam Mendes, Mary Harron and Tony Kaye), critics and lead actor Malcolm McDowell, in this fascinating docu...
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Hell On Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of Ken Russell's The Devils
2002 ･ United Kingdom ･ Directed by Paul Joyce
Hell on Earth is about Ken Russell's 1971 film, The Devils which is one of the most controversial films ever made. Included are chats with Russell as well as films stars Georgina Hale and Murray Melvin. Also included are scenes which were cut from... -
Dark and Deadly: Fifty Years of Film Noir
A documentary looking at the renaissance of the film noir genre, and talking to directors who are using it to reflect contemporary fears and fascinations.
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Black Rainbow
Mike Hodges ('Flash Gordon', 'Get Carter') wrote and directed this supernatural chiller as a meditation on the human race's ability to destroy the world, a gothic tale of suspense and the occult, guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.
Martha Travis (Rosanna Arquette, 'Pulp Fiction', 'Crash...
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The Ghoul
Chris is a homicide detective called to London to investigate a strange double murder. Both victims appear to have continued moving towards their assailant despite multiple gunshots to the face and chest. On a hunch, and with the help of an old colleague Chris decides to go undercover as a patien...
