Editing Cinema of the United Kingdom (section)

===1980s===
[[File:Richard Attenborough.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Richard Attenborough]] in 1983]]
In 1980, only 31 British films were made,<ref name="FF12-03"/> a 50% decline from the previous year and the lowest number since 1914, and production fell again in 1981 to 24 films.<ref name="FF12-03"/> The industry suffered further blows from falling cinema attendances, which reached a record low of 54 million in 1984, and the elimination of the 1957 [[Eady Levy]], a tax concession, in the same year. The concession had made it possible for an overseas based film company to write off a large amount of its production costs by filming in the UK – this was what attracted a succession of big-budget American productions to British studios in the 1970s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} These factors led to significant changes in the industry, with the profitability of British films now "increasingly reliant on secondary markets such as video and television, and [[Channel 4]]&nbsp;... [became] a crucial part of the funding equation."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1304135/index.html |title = BFI Screenonline: Channel 4 and Film |access-date = 15 January 2012 |archive-date = 29 October 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191029174304/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1304135/index.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

With the removal of the levy, [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex cinemas]] were introduced to the United Kingdom with the opening of a ten-screen cinema by [[AMC Cinemas]] at [[The Point, Milton Keynes|The Point]] in [[Milton Keynes]] in 1985 and the number of screens in the UK increased by around 500 over the decade leading to increased attendances of almost 100 million by the end of the decade.<ref name="amc">{{cite web|url=http://www.amccinemas.co.uk/about-amc/a-uk-story/|title=AMC CINEMAS® BRINGS THE MULTIPLEX TO THE UNITED KINGDOM|access-date=3 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104014126/http://www.amccinemas.co.uk/about-amc/a-uk-story/|archive-date=2015-01-04|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/nov/11/multiplex-cinemas-the-point-milton-keynes |title=How multiplex cinemas saved the British film industry 25 years ago |last=Hoad |first=Phil |date=11 November 2010 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=2 April 2020 |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506185812/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/nov/11/multiplex-cinemas-the-point-milton-keynes |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1980s soon saw a renewed optimism, led by smaller independent production companies such as [[Goldcrest Films|Goldcrest]], [[HandMade Films]] and [[Merchant Ivory Productions]].
[[File:Terry Gilliam 01.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Terry Gilliam]] in 1985]]
Handmade Films, which was partly owned by [[George Harrison]], was originally formed to take over the production of ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'', after EMI's [[Bernard Delfont]] (Lew Grade's brother) had pulled out. Handmade also bought and released the gangster drama ''[[The Long Good Friday]]'' (1980), produced by a Lew Grade subsidiary, after its original backers became cautious. Members of the Python team were involved in other comedies during the decade, including [[Terry Gilliam]]'s fantasy films ''[[Time Bandits]]'' (1981) and ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985), the black comedy ''[[Withnail & I]]'' (1987), and [[John Cleese]]'s hit ''[[A Fish Called Wanda]]'' (1988), while [[Michael Palin]] starred in ''[[A Private Function]]'' (1984), from [[Alan Bennett]]'s first screenplay for the cinema screen.<ref>Michael Brooks, [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/499846/ "HandMade Films"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111031539/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/499846/ |date=11 January 2013 }}, BFI screenonline.</ref>

Goldcrest producer [[David Puttnam]] has been described as "the nearest thing to a mogul that British cinema has had in the last quarter of the 20th century."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/470271/ |title = BFI Screenonline: Puttnam, Lord David |access-date = 15 January 2012 |archive-date = 26 July 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130726040133/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/470271/ |url-status = live }}</ref> Under Puttnam, a generation of British directors emerged making popular films with international distribution. Some of the talent backed by Puttnam &mdash; [[Hugh Hudson]], [[Ridley Scott]], [[Alan Parker]], and [[Adrian Lyne]] &mdash; had shot commercials; Puttnam himself had begun his career in the advertising industry. When Hudson's ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' (1981) won 4 Academy Awards in 1982, including Best Picture, its writer [[Colin Welland]] declared "the British are coming!".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/may/05/this-weeks-new-theatre-and-dance "This week's new theatre and dance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314074352/http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/may/05/this-weeks-new-theatre-and-dance |date=14 March 2016 }}. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 19 July 2012.</ref> When ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982), another Goldcrest film, picked up a Best Picture Oscar, it looked as if he was right.

It prompted a cycle of period films – some with a large budget for a British film, such as [[David Lean]]'s final film ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'' (1984), alongside the lower-budget [[Merchant Ivory Productions|Merchant Ivory]] adaptations of the works of [[E. M. Forster]], such as ''[[A Room with a View (1985 film)|A Room with a View]]'' (1986). But further attempts to make 'big' productions for the US market ended in failure, with Goldcrest losing its independence after ''[[Revolution (1985 film)|Revolution]]'' (1985) and ''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]'' (1986) were commercial and critical flops. Another Goldcrest film, [[Roland Joffé]]'s ''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]'' (also 1986), won the 1986 [[Palme d'Or]], but did not go into profit either. Joffé's earlier ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984) had been both a critical and financial success. These were Joffé's first two feature films and were amongst those produced by Puttnam.

Mainly outside the commercial sector, film makers from the new commonwealth countries had begun to emerge during the 1970s. [[Horace Ové]]'s ''[[Pressure (1976 film)|Pressure]]'' (1975) had been funded by the [[British Film Institute]] as was ''[[A Private Enterprise]]'' (1974), these being the first [[Black British]] and [[Asian British]] films, respectively. The 1980s however saw a wave of new talent, with films such as [[Franco Rosso]]'s ''[[Babylon (1980 film)|Babylon]]'' (1980), [[Menelik Shabazz]]'s ''[[Burning an Illusion (1981)|Burning an Illusion]]'' (1981) and [[Po-Chih Leong]]'s ''[[Ping Pong (1986 film)|Ping Pong]]'' (1986; one of the first films about Britain's Chinese community). Many of these films were assisted by the newly formed [[Channel 4]], which had an official remit to provide for "minority audiences." Commercial success was first achieved with ''[[My Beautiful Laundrette]]'' (1985). Dealing with racial and gay issues, it was developed from [[Hanif Kureishi]]'s first film script. ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' features [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] in a leading role. Day-Lewis and other young British actors who were becoming stars, such as [[Gary Oldman]], [[Colin Firth]], [[Tim Roth]] and [[Rupert Everett]], were dubbed the [[Brit Pack (actors)|Brit Pack]].<ref>Stern, Marlow, and in 1985 we saw the retirement of Roger Moore from the role of Bond after ''[[A View to a kill(film)|A View to a kill]]'',at the age of 58.[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/07/gary-oldman-talks-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-batman-retirement.html "Gary Oldman Talks 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,' 'Batman' Retirement"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031135913/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/07/gary-oldman-talks-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-batman-retirement.html|date=31 October 2014}}. ''[[The Daily Beast]]''. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2013.</ref>

With the involvement of Channel 4 in film production, talents from television moved into feature films with [[Stephen Frears]] (''My Beautiful Laundrette'') and [[Mike Newell (director)|Mike Newell]] with ''[[Dance with a Stranger]]'' (1985). [[John Boorman]], who had been working in the US, was encouraged back to the UK to make ''[[Hope and Glory (film)|Hope and Glory]]'' (1987). Channel Four also became a major sponsor of the British Film Institute's Production Board, which backed three of Britain's most critically acclaimed filmmakers: [[Derek Jarman]] (''[[The Last of England (film)|The Last of England]]'', 1987), [[Terence Davies]] (''[[Distant Voices, Still Lives]]'', 1988), and [[Peter Greenaway]]; the latter of whom gained surprising commercial success with ''[[The Draughtsman's Contract]]'' (1982) and ''[[The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover]]'' (1989). [[Stephen Woolley]]'s company [[Palace Pictures]] also produced some successful films, including [[Neil Jordan]]'s ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' (1984) and ''[[Mona Lisa (1986 film)|Mona Lisa]]'' (1986), before collapsing amid a series of unsuccessful films. Amongst the other British films of the decade were [[Bill Forsyth]]'s ''[[Gregory's Girl]]'' (1981) and ''[[Local Hero (film)|Local Hero]]'' (1983), [[Lewis Gilbert]]'s ''[[Educating Rita (film)|Educating Rita]]'' (1983), [[Peter Yates]]' ''[[The Dresser (1983 film)|The Dresser]]'' (1983) and [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s directorial debut, ''[[Henry V (1989 film)|Henry V]]'' (1989).