UK Film Directors

Once upon a time Hollywood was the name and place known for its stellar and consistent delivery of high quality, emotionally moving cinema to the silver screens. The art of storytelling and high-level production behind the ‘Hollywood’ name has made the rest of the world looked stateside for the gold standard of filmmaking. However, on the other side of the pond, us Brits have been carving our own creative path. Although not as explosive as our US counterparts, the UK has spawned several generations of organic tales, all representing a different facet of our diverse British culture. Here are a handful of our favourite filmmakers, all hailing from this little island.

Alfred Hitchcock

​Beginning with a legend of cinema, even several years after his death, legendary director Alfred Hitchcock directed roughly fifty films in a span of 6 decades. A London native, Hitchcock introduced new filmmaking techniques that established a new relationship between audience and film- effectively bridging a gap between reality and fantasy with his new “Hitchcockian” style of filming.  ​“The Master of Suspense” ‘s filmography, beginning in the late 1920s and spanning to almost the beginning of the eighties, were typically thriller/ psychological horror in its elements.  Some of his best-known works that feature these themes are Vertigo, Psycho, Rope- all films with murder being the act that is foregrounded in the events of the film. His work still influences having established a new layer of cinematography that some of our greatest filmmakers today have incorporated into their work.

It is almost fate that this UK director bears a name with a resemblance to an iconic American action movie star, as the same star power is reflected in this filmmaker’s work. Favouring an exploration of race, sexuality and violence, McQueen's style is derivative of experimental creatives such as Andy Warhol and Buster Keaton to name a few. Any fans of McQueen’s work will notice the same tone reflected in his work; a consistent theme cultivated through his collaborative efforts with fellow Brit Michael Fassbender. This was first seen in his first feature length (having previously produced short films under his director credit) film Hunger (based on the real events of the 1981 Irish hunger strike) and again Shame (another Fassbender/McQueen collab dealing this time with sex addiction), starring another UK talent Carey Mulligan

Steve McQueen

. Many of us, film fans or otherwise will remember the ground-breaking feature film 12 Years a Slave, where McQueen made history back in 2013 for being the first black director to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Sam Taylor-Johnson

 She started working in photography and film in the 1990s, alongside fellow Young British Artists, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.  And now her latest work A Million Little Pieces has a star studded cast including her partner Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy-Bob Thornton, Juliette Lewis and Charlie Hunnam. Another adaptation from a novel based on a writer's rehab journey.One for the Ladies! Known for her directorial debut of Nowhere Boy based on the early life of John Lennon, Sam Taylor-Johnson hails from London and is now taking the world on with her directional work. Stepping into the Hollywood scene, Taylor-Johnson directed Fifty Shades of Grey. The adaptation of the best selling series is just one of the projects that have taken her name international and broke records for the biggest opening for a female director within the industry.

​Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later…what do these blockbusters have in common? No, it is not a winningly brave protagonist, but being directed by award winning British director Danny Boyle. Having a strong affinity for the underdog protagonist, Boyle has made films that possess both grit ­and heart. Trainspotting (1996), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and 28 Days Later (2002) all carry the typical qualities of a Boyle piece- the background being as important to the plot as the main characters delivering dialogue in the foreground.  Everything moves in a Boyle production, that is forces you as the audience to pay attention. So, despite the hallucinogenic drug haze we fall down the rabbit hole into or waking up in an apocalyptic horror of a world taking most of our focus, there is a method to Boyle’s madness.

Danny Boyle

Ridley & Tony Scott

The Scott Brothers combined are arguably some of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Ridley (the elder of the two, and surviving his brother), and Tony have delivered timeless films in the action, sci-fi, historical and biopic genres beginning their respective careers in the 1960s. While Tony was known for his forays into action and thriller- style films such as the commercially successful Top Gun (starring a lesser-known Tom Cruise in his breakout role) back in 1985, Ridley had a reputation for dabbling in different genres, yet ensuring his trademark filmmaking were a consistent theme in his productions. ​Some of his science fiction-based work includes the cult Alien series (he is directed the first original Alien film and two of its prequels: Prometheus and Covenant). ​

In stark contrast, his other credits include several war-based films, with diverse time periods (Kingdom of Heaven- 2005) or settings in space such as the steampunk landscape found in the original Blade Runner released back in 1982. Tony, while still capable of delivering the same atmospheric tone as his brother, opted for the more rooted action/thriller movies. Denzel Washington fans will have caught his work in Crimson Tide (another war based in solely in a submarine), Man on Fire and other Tom Cruise collaboration Days of Thunder (1990).

Though this is a list of only 5 of the UK's film directors, there are countless of internationally known visionaries and of course the many up-and-comers from around the UK that we love to see grow! Some Honourable Mentions for some of the many UK Film Directors: Guy Ritchie, Gurinder Chadha, Tom Hopper, Lynn Ramsay, Ken Loach, Christopher Nolan, Richard Ayoade.

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