Posted on September 2, 2017 at 8:00 am
The BBC surveyed critics to come up with the top 25 funniest movies of all time. Of course there’s a lot of overlap with the AFI list. And some of the movies are just what you might guess: “Some Like it Hot,” “Airplane,” “Blazing Saddles.” If by any chance you’ve overlooked any of these, please try to find them. If you’ve seen them, watch them again!
Posted on May 28, 2016 at 3:30 pm
The BBC has assembled a thrilling tribute to the films they consider America’s best.
Posted on February 26, 2016 at 3:48 pm
You love British television but can’t tell Derbyshire from Yorkshire, or Bath from Bristol? Here’s a map that shows you exactly where all your favorite characters are. Look for “Downton Abbey,” “The Office,” “Poldark,” “Call the Midwife,” and, of course, “Dr. Who.”
Posted on September 25, 2015 at 2:24 pm
If you’re a Masterpiece Theatre/BBC in America fan, prepare for greatness. The BBC is going to start its own channel for streaming video in 2016. According to the Atlantic:
The archives the BBC (affectionately called “The Beeb” in the U.K.) could offer up are staggering to contemplate. The network has offered original TV programming since 1929, starting only three years after the invention of the television, and it’s impossible to summarize its greatest hits. Yes, there’s many a famed costume drama in its vaults, along with legendary sitcoms and sketch shows. There are some of the earliest and most influential pieces of science fiction, and gritty real-life dramas. Highlights might include Andrew Davies’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, or Monty Python’s Flying Circus, or Ricky Gervais’s The Office, or the 12 glorious episodes of Fawlty Towers, or the epic masterpiece of social storytelling that is Peter Flannery’s Our Friends in the North.
Posted on July 24, 2015 at 3:46 pm
The American Film Institute has its top 100 list and the Library of Congress has its National Film Registry. But how do movie critics around the world see our films? The BBC prepared a list of the 100 greatest American films, based on the selections of international movie critics. Of course there is a lot of overlap. You know “Citizen Kane” and “The Godfather” and “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Searchers” are going to be there. The top 10 are pretty easy to guess (though I still think “Vertigo” does not deserve to be ranked so high).
10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
But there are some nice surprises in the rest of the list, like “Ace in the Hole,” “Heaven’s Gate,” “Marnie,” and “Imitation of Life.” Crank up that Netflix queue and add some of the ones you haven’t seen yet.
