Towards the end of the 19th Century, the UK became part of the film making process, as still images developed into moving images. George Smith, as well as others from Brighton were considered to have produced the very first film factory. Many films were made and produced from Smith’s garden, which can still be visited today! In the very early 20th Century many major countries took to producing and making films, and in particular the UK was the point of destination for many European films. This had an impact on British film production. Following this, the UK’s involvement in World War I meant that production had to stop due to the ‘men’ being conscripted. Post War saw Parliament bringing in the 1924 Cinematographers Trade Bill, which limited imports with a goal to encouraging the industry in the UK.
Of course, technology is ever evolving and so with films, which were initially silent, the ability to add sound helped to boost the industry. However, poorly made and very much rushed films were produced by Studios such as Rank and Odeon, which meant that the more carefully made American films were better received and the USA came to the forefront of the Industry. War always has an impact on the economy, as well as manpower and in 1939 the UK entered into World War II ‘ this mean that money was diverted into the war effort and any films made were purely for propaganda purposes. Films produced post war were different in that people wanted real stories from the war and thus, once war heroes were able to talk about their ‘adventures’, films were based on personal accounts ‘ The Colditz Story (Guy Hamilton,1955).
Technology intruded yet again, this time with the birth of the television set. Although not affordable to the majority of households, it did mean the cinema attendance declined, as people could now watch in the comfort of their own homes. This decline led to a change in the type of films produced in an effort to get the audiences back. Horror was the main focus for the UK and some may consider it is still. Hammer produced the horror films then and are still producing them now Woman In Black (James Watkins, 2012).
When the studio system collapsed in Hollywood, meaning directors and actors were no longer tied to a particular studio; the USA came to the UK particularly in the 1960’s and 1970’s to make and finance UK films. These films included another change in technology, special effects shown particularly in films such as Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) and Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977). Towards the end of the 1980’s, USA were able to start producing back in their own country and this resulted in a surge of independent British films being made, such as Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996) Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999) and The Full Monty (Peter Cattaneo, 1997). This resulted in the UK claiming back their own film industry.