Performance
Our look at the best British movies over the years continues today as we head into the seventies.
Throughout this decade we saw great British films in a wide range of genres including comedy, horror and crime drama.
We take a closer look at some of the movie that stood out during this terrific decade of film.
- Performance (1970)
Released in 1970 Performance really was a very daring film as it tackled issues such as sanity and identity - things that were not really touched upon in the mainstream of the day.
The film saw Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg team up in the director's chair while the former penned the screenplay.
There is a real avant garde style to the film that made it one of the visually impressive movies of the decade.
James Fox, Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg are all on the cast list and they all give truly riveting turns.
- Get Carter (1971)
There were a lot of iconic Michael Caine movie throughout the sixties - as we discovered yesterday - and that success continued into the seventies.
Get Carter remains one of his most famous movies as Get Carter was a gritty and realistic crime drama.
The movie saw Caine team up with director Mike Hodges while Ian Hendry and Britt Ekland were also on the cast list.
Jack Carter is one of the most iconic characters in British cinema as Caine delivered a ruthless, vicious and yet cool performance.
It is hard to believe that this was the first feature film for director Hodges but he delivered a hard hitting and cold film that really has stood the test of time.
- Don't Look Now (1973)
Nicholas Roeg found success with Performance and was back in the director's chair for Don't Look Now.
Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland starred in the film that was based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier.
The thriller followed a couple who travel to Venice following the recent accidental death of their daughter.
Don't Look Now is a superbly chilling movie that also looked at the impact and the strain that losing a child puts on individuals and on a relationship.
But there is a feeling of dread that hangs over the entire movie and that is thanks to Roeg's superb direction - he never lets the audience relax for a single second.
Don't Look Now remains one of the most adult horror movies that have ever been made.
- The Wicker Man (1973)
The Wicker Man remains one of the most iconic British horror movies of all time and was based on the novel Ritual by David Pinner.
Robin Hardy was in the director's chair for the film while Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland and Christopher Lee were all on a terrific cast list.
Over the years The Wicker Man has gained a cult following as it is a movie that is a mix of several genres; crime/drama, horror and occult.
Hardy's direction really is on the money as he keeps the mystery and the tension just bubbling nicely under the surface until the climax is finally revealed.
It is an end to a movie that you will never forget and it really is up there as one of the best horror movies of all time.
- Life Of Brian (1979)
The decade ended on a humorous note as Month Python's Life of Brian hit the big screen.
The Monty Python boys were back on top form with Life Of Brian and it is perhaps their most memorable film outing.
Brian is born on the original Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
The movie may have outraged the religious community but this is a film that pokes fun at religious attitudes not religion itself.
Life of Brian is a fun and cheeky movie from start to finish and it is a masterpiece of British comedy.
The seventies was another great decade for British film with Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Railway Children and The Go-Between being some of the other highlights.