A new study has found that the UK was a key source of films that were made in the US in the 1970s.
Read more about the study hereThe research, led by Professor Tom Glynn from the School of Cinema and Television at the University of Sheffield, was carried out between 1993 and 2004.
It examined the distribution of films released in UK cinemas in the 70s.
“We wanted to know if the US was a particularly attractive destination for filmmakers and their teams,” said Professor Glynn.
“When we did this we were surprised to find that it was.”
While the research has revealed that the majority of American films made were released there, it also found that films from the UK were released on US screens in many cases.
“The majority of movies made in America in the 1980s and 90s were made there, but only a few of the most important American films, including The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and The Jazz Singer, were made here,” Professor Glynne said.
“So it’s interesting to find films from overseas that were in American cinemas, and that’s the result of the films we were studying.”
“The British film industry was also one of the main sources of American film in the 1960s and 70s,” he added.
“American filmmakers were very passionate about American films and American cinema, and so a lot of American directors and producers were working on American films.”
“In terms of American cinema today, there are a number of American producers working on films here and a lot are making American films here,” he said.
But while the research shows that British film-makers had access to American directors, they were more likely to be making American movies than American directors had access.
“That’s the difference,” Professor Gleason said.
“It shows that when British filmmakers were making American and European films, they weren’t always able to make American films.”
British filmmakers were more successful in the States than American filmmakers,” he continued.”
But American filmmakers were much more successful at making British films than British filmmakers.
“Professor Gleason’s research was supported by the British Film Institute, the Arts Council of New Zealand and the National Film and Television Archive.
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