Which British movies are the best that this country has produced? In this volume Don Shiach encapsulates the peaks of the British film achievement from the beginning of the sound era to the first decade of the 21st century.

The giant figures of the 1930s, Alfred Hitchcock and Alexander Korda, set a standard for the domestic film industry in its attempt to challenge the domination of the Hollywood film. Many saw the 1940s as the Golden Age of British cinema with directors such as Carol Reed and Michael Powell leading the way in establishing British cinema as worthy of serious consideration. From then on there were as many troughs as there were triumphs, but the industry continues to produce the odd masterpiece to extend the great tradition.

Covering The Third Man, Black Narcissus, Lawrence of Arabia, Carol Reed, Alfred Hitchcock, Ealing Comedy, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, British New Wave and much more, Great British Movies is a useful reference book, a celebration, and a starting point for the argument about what really does represent the best of British - a must for all fans of British cinema.