The main things that make a film British, that most people would define it as, is that it has reference to obvious cultural elements such as, it is set in the UK or focuses on British people on holiday or abroad,a British cast with most of the cast being British, a storyline about some aspect of British life — past, present or future — or notably by, or based on a work by, a British author. For example the film This is England is full with a British cast, and is set in Sheffield and is set in the 1980's and is focusing on racism in England and how the people regarded as 'skin heads' acted and lived their lives. Another film which is British but is not set in Britain, or has British actors, is British simply because it is made by British people and so it does not fit into the original ideas of what makes a British film, however it did very well with the money it made and awards it won.
Exhibition issues - Box Office in the UK
The King's speech gave an inspiring performance in the Box Office, because of its successful storyline. Its distributor 'Momentum Pictures' had its expectations exceeded with a £3.52m opening weekend, including modest previews of £227,000. There are elements appealing to the older generation from Colin Firth's character as it was set in the 1930's prior to the second world war and so it appeals widely to older people who were around at these times.
Exhibition Issues and reviews: the film's reception
"Tom Hooper's drama transcends its historical setting to present a compelling portrait of quiet heroism" - quote from The Guardian.
"Although it doesn't cut quite as deep as it might, Tom Hooper's film is fraught and fascinating with some excellent performances" - quote from the Telegraph
"Colin Firth's so impressive a Facebook campaign wants him to ascend to the throne" - a quote from The Guardian
From the three quotes above which were from reviews from newspapers, they show the film to portray history well, also the acting to have been presented very well and also Colin Firth to have become an impressive icon to people saying they want him to 'ascend to the throne'. The film did very well by winning 12 Oscars and 14 Baftas, and even though the stroyline used was said to be going to be uninteresting, the film makers turned it into an interesting and moving film which spoke out to people, however, as well as having such good reviews there are also some critical ones....
Critical Reviews of the Film
"The portrayal of Winston Churchill and the royals in The King's Speech is a blatant rewriting of history" - quote from The Guardian
This quote by Christopher Hitchens, shows he is critical about some aspects of the film's historical accuracy and how this can influence audiences wrongly.
There are also many other faults picked up in the film which are mainly historic inaccuracies, including women in seamless stockings which were not invented until later, there is a scene when the character 'Bertie' is wearing a kilt however the kilt he wore isn't Scottish and is infact just an Irish kilt designed in 1997.
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