Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Over the years we have seen British directors really make an impact on UK and global cinema.

Our celebration of British cinema continues after we looked back over the Best British films through the decades last week... and today we look at those behind the camera.

- Alfred Hitchcock

When we talk about influential British directors you cannot overlook the impact that Hitchcock had on film during his incredibly successful career.

He was nicknamed the master of suspense and he pioneered so many techniques in the psychological thriller genre.

Hitchcock developed the use of the camera that was designed to act like a person's gaze - giving audiences a first hand account of what is happening.

The director was not afraid to deliver scenes that were filled with crime and violence... and the shower scene remains one of the greatest cinematic moments.

Psycho changed the way that horror movies were made forever as he showed that you didn't need to have a traditional plot structure or have your leading characters alive when the credits rolled.

- Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin is one of cinema's greatest icons and he was just as influential behind the camera as he was in front of it.

He wrote, directed, produced and starred in many of his movies and he is widely regarded as one of the first real artists of cinema.

It was back in 1915 when The Tramp was released and yet that character still remains one cinema's universal icons -nearly a hundred years after the movie was released.

As a director Chaplin was one of the people that really pushed the comedy movie forward and he was the first to popularise the feature length comedy movie.

Chaplin created rich characters and films that were able to really connect with audiences - many of his works are still considered to be classics today.

- David Lean

David Lean created some of the most epic movies of all time and he was a director who really did craft his wonderful films.

Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge Over The River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago were just some of those sweeping epics that lit up the big screen.

He was a director that carefully worked on each scene and brought to life movies that were filled with great characters, emotion as well as being truly beautiful.

While these movies were epic in terms of scale they were character driven stories that saw the director balance these epic and intimate elements perfectly.

While Lean didn't always make the sweeping epic but these are the movies that he is remembered for; these types of films really influenced the likes of Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

- Michael Powell

Michael Powell is another director who really paved the way for British cinema throughout the late twenties right through to the seventies.

But it was his partnership with Emeric Pressburger - know as The Archers. They made twenty four films together and were at the height of the power throughout the 1940's and 50's.

They were behind movies such as 49th Parallel, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and Black Narcissus.

Powell is widely regarded as one of the most original British directors and influenced the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and George A. Romero.

- Nicholas Roeg

Nicholas Roeg was behind movie such as Performance and Don't Look Now and we widely regarded as one of Britain's most adventurous directors.

He was not afraid to put together his film in a rather disorganised fashion that made audiences have to do the work - he was never about straight-forward filmmaking.

He was an unpredictable and intriguing filmmaker that liked to tease and thrill his audiences.

As well as being quite experimental with his style he also made movies that deal with real and raw emotion - and that was shown in fine style with Don't Look Now; which is recognised as one of his greatest cinematic achievements.

Other greats of British cinema include Carol Reed, Terence Davis, Ken Loach and Alexander Mackendrick


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
find me on and follow me on