Want to know the best Richard Attenborough movies? How about the worst Richard Attenborough movies? Curious about Richard Attenborough box office grosses or which Richard Attenborough movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Richard Attenborough movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well, you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Richard Attenborough (1923-2014) was an Oscar®-winning English actor, producer, and director. Most of Attenborough’s movies were ones in which acted. He did direct 12 movies, including 1982’s Gandhi which won him Best Director and Best Producer Oscars®. His IMDb page shows 78 acting and 12 direction credits from 1942 to 2007. This page will rank Richard Attenborough movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows and movies that were not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings. To do well in our overall rankings a movie has to do well at the box office, get good reviews by critics, be liked by audiences, and get some award recognition.
Richard Attenborough Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
| Year | Movie (Year) | Rating | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Movie (Year) | Rating | S |
| 1982 | Gandhi (1982) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Director Win |
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| 1966 | The Sand Pebbles (1966) AA Best Picture Nom |
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| 1963 | The Great Escape (1963) | |
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| 1993 | Jurassic Park (1993) | |
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| 1977 | A Bridge Too Far (1977) |  |
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| 1946 | Stairway To Heaven / A Matter of Life And Death (1946) | |
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| 1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) | |
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| 1998 | Elizabeth (1998) AA Best Picture Nom |
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| 1978 | Magic (1978) | |
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| 1993 | Shadowlands (1993) | |
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| 1965 | The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) | |
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| 1967 | Doctor Dolittle (1967) |  |
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| 1996 | Hamlet (1996) | |
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| 1959 | I'm All Right Jack (1959) | |
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| 1969 | Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) |  |
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| 1964 | Guns at Batasi (1964) | |
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| 1987 | Cry Freedom (1987) | |
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| 1958 | Dunkirk (1958) | |
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| 1950 | Operation Disaster/Morning Departure (1950) | |
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| 1994 | Miracle on 34th Street (1994) | |
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| 1947 | Brighton Rock (1947) | |
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| 1972 | Young Winston (1972) | |
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| 1962 | Only Two Can Play (1962) | |
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| 1992 | Chaplin (1992) Director |
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| 1971 | 10 Rillington Place (1971) | |
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| 1951 | The Magic Box (1951) | |
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| 1959 | SOS Pacific (1959) | |
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| 1969 | The Magic Christian (1969) |  |
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| 1964 | Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) | |
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| 1997 | Closing The Ring (1997) | |
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| 1985 | A Chorus Line (1985) | |
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| 1977 | The Chess Players (1977) | |
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| 1962 | Trial and Error (1962) | |
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| 1964 | The Third Secret (1964) |  |
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| 1952 | Glory At Sea/Gift Horse (1952) | |
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| 1979 | The Human Factor (1979) | |
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| 1999 | Grey Owl (1999) |  |
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| 1975 | Conduct Unbecoming (1975) | |
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| 1968 | Only When I Larf (1968) | |
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| 1974 | Ten Little Indians (1974) |  |
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| 1975 | Brannigan (1975) | |
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| 1968 | The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968) | |
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| 1970 | The Last Grenade (1970) | |
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| 1970 | Loot (1970) | |
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| 1975 | Rosebud (1975) | |
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| 1971 | A Severed Head (1971) | |
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| 1996 | In Love and War (1996) | |
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| 1996 | E=mc2 (1996) Film Festival Circuit Only |
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Richard Attenborough Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Richard Attenborough movies by his co-stars
- Sort Richard Attenborough movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Richard Attenborough movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Richard Attenborough movies by how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Richard Attenborough movie received.
- Sort Richard Attenborough movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Gandhi (1982) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Director Win |
Ben Kingsley & Directed by Attenborough |
52.80 | 224.4 | 543.20 | 11 | 85 | 11 / 08 | 99.9 | |
| 2 | The Sand Pebbles (1966) AA Best Picture Nom |
Steve McQueen & Candice Bergman |
33.80 | 383.5 | 383.50 | 3 | 83 | 08 / 00 | 99.2 | |
| 4 | The Great Escape (1963) | Steve McQueen & James Garner |
15.80 | 229.2 | 229.20 | 13 | 89 | 01 / 00 | 98.7 | |
| 3 | Jurassic Park (1993) | Sam Neill & Laura Dern |
381.10 | 1,150.6 | 3,042.80 | 1 | 81 | 03 / 03 | 98.4 | |
| 5 | A Bridge Too Far (1977) | Michael Caine & Directed by Attenborough |
56.80 | 318.1 | 318.10 | 9 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 94.5 | |
| 8 | Stairway To Heaven / A Matter of Life And Death (1946) | David Niven | 4.10 | 144.8 | 144.80 | 84 | 86 | 00 / 00 | 94.3 | |
| 6 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) | Jeff Goldblum & Directed by Steven Spielberg |
229.10 | 623.9 | 1,684.70 | 3 | 59 | 01 / 00 | 91.2 | |
| 7 | Elizabeth (1998) AA Best Picture Nom |
Cate Blanchett & Geoffrey Rush |
30.10 | 80.2 | 219.00 | 63 | 80 | 07 / 01 | 89.3 | |
| 10 | Magic (1978) | Anthony Hopkins & Directed by Attenborough |
29.50 | 157.5 | 157.50 | 21 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 89.1 | |
| 11 | Shadowlands (1993) | Debra Winger & Directed by Attenborough |
25.80 | 78.0 | 78.00 | 59 | 84 | 02 / 00 | 86.4 | |
| 9 | The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) | James Stewart & Ernest Borgnine |
7.30 | 89.4 | 89.40 | 40 | 79 | 02 / 00 | 86.0 | |
| 13 | Doctor Dolittle (1967) | Rex Harrison & Samantha Eggar |
8.80 | 90.4 | 90.40 | 34 | 54 | 09 / 02 | 77.8 | |
| 12 | Hamlet (1996) | Charlton Heston & Robin Williams |
4.70 | 13.3 | 47.60 | 153 | 83 | 04 / 00 | 76.5 | |
| 14 | I'm All Right Jack (1959) | Peter Sellers | 1.00 | 21.0 | 21.00 | 145 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 71.4 | |
| 16 | Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) | John Gielgud & Directed by Attenborough |
2.90 | 25.2 | 25.20 | 75 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 67.1 | |
| 17 | Guns at Batasi (1964) | Mia Farrow | 2.10 | 28.0 | 70.10 | 109 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 67.0 | |
| 15 | Cry Freedom (1987) | Denzel Washington & Directed by Attenborough |
5.90 | 18.9 | 82.80 | 98 | 72 | 03 / 00 | 65.8 | |
| 18 | Dunkirk (1958) | John Mills | 0.90 | 18.5 | 122.60 | 149 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 62.8 | |
| 19 | Operation Disaster/Morning Departure (1950) | John Mills | 0.50 | 13.7 | 13.70 | 202 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 62.0 | |
| 23 | Miracle on 34th Street (1994) | Elizabeth Perkins | 17.30 | 53.1 | 141.70 | 82 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 60.7 | |
| 20 | Brighton Rock (1947) | Hermione Baddeley | 0.20 | 7.2 | 7.20 | 178 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 60.5 | |
| 22 | Young Winston (1972) | Robert Shaw & Directed by Attenborough |
6.50 | 47.9 | 47.90 | 55 | 57 | 03 / 00 | 57.7 | |
| 22 | Only Two Can Play (1962) | Peter Sellers & Mai Zetterling |
1.10 | 18.4 | 18.40 | 118 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 56.5 | |
| 24 | Chaplin (1992) Director |
Robert Downey Jr. & Directed by Attenborough |
9.50 | 28.6 | 28.60 | 97 | 62 | 03 / 00 | 56.4 | |
| 23 | 10 Rillington Place (1971) | John Hurt | 1.10 | 8.4 | 8.40 | 151 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 55.2 | |
| 24 | The Magic Box (1951) | Peter Ustinov & Robert Donat |
0.40 | 8.9 | 8.90 | 234 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 54.9 | |
| 27 | SOS Pacific (1959) | Eddie Constantine | 0.40 | 8.4 | 8.40 | 164 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 52.9 | |
| 28 | The Magic Christian (1969) | Peter Sellers & Ringo Starr |
2.00 | 17.6 | 17.60 | 98 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 48.0 | |
| 27 | Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) | Kim Stanley | 0.30 | 4.3 | 4.30 | 150 | 66 | 01 / 00 | 47.2 | |
| 28 | Closing The Ring (1997) | Christopher Plummer & Directed by Attenborough |
0.10 | 0.1 | 4.10 | 280 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 46.9 | |
| 33 | A Chorus Line (1985) | Michael Douglas & Directed by Attenborough |
14.20 | 50.0 | 50.00 | 62 | 50 | 03 / 00 | 45.9 | |
| 31 | The Chess Players (1977) | Sanjeev Kumar | 0.10 | 0.3 | 0.30 | 163 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 43.2 | |
| 34 | Trial and Error (1962) | Peter Sellers | 1.00 | 16.2 | 16.20 | 123 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 40.2 | |
| 32 | The Third Secret (1964) | Stephen Boyd & Jack Hawkins |
0.30 | 4.3 | 4.30 | 151 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 38.2 | |
| 34 | Glory At Sea/Gift Horse (1952) | Trevor Howard | 0.40 | 10.1 | 10.10 | 229 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 34.2 | |
| 35 | The Human Factor (1979) | John Gielgud & Directed by Otto Preminger |
0.40 | 1.9 | 1.90 | 162 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 31.9 | |
| 36 | Grey Owl (1999) | Pierce Brosnan - Directed by Attenborough | 0.60 | 1.6 | 1.60 | 202 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 29.8 | |
| 38 | Conduct Unbecoming (1975) | Michael York | 2.50 | 15.2 | 15.20 | 101 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 28.5 | |
| 38 | Only When I Larf (1968) | David Hemmings | 0.10 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 191 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 23.7 | |
| 40 | Ten Little Indians (1974) | Oliver Reed | 0.80 | 5.4 | 5.40 | 136 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 19.3 | |
| 44 | Brannigan (1975) | John Wayne & Mel Ferrer |
6.10 | 37.0 | 37.00 | 64 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 17.8 | |
| 41 | The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968) | Shirley MacLaine | 2.00 | 19.1 | 19.10 | 118 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 17.6 | |
| 44 | The Last Grenade (1970) | Stanley Baker | 0.70 | 5.5 | 5.50 | 154 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 14.2 | |
| 42 | Loot (1970) | Lee Remick | 0.10 | 0.4 | 0.40 | 185 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 14.0 | |
| 45 | Rosebud (1975) | Peter O'Toole | 1.90 | 11.3 | 11.30 | 119 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 12.7 | |
| 45 | A Severed Head (1971) | Lee Remick | 0.10 | 0.4 | 0.40 | 188 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 10.8 | |
| 47 | In Love and War (1996) | Sandra Bullock & Directed by Attenborough |
14.50 | 41.0 | 71.80 | 103 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 10.2 | |
| 47 | E=mc2 (1996) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Jeremy Piven | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 287 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 9.5 |
Possibly Interesting Facts On Richard Attenborough
- Richard Samuel Attenborough was born in Cambridge, England in 1923.
2. Richard Attenborough joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and served in the film unit. He went on several bombing raids over Europe and filmed action from the rear gunner’s position.
3. Richard Attenborough’s life ambition was to direct Gandhi (1982).
4. Richard Attenborough made a cameo appearance as a patient wearing glasses in A Bridge Too Far (1977). This was his only acting role in a film that he directed.
5. Richard Attenborough directed Anthony Hopkins in five films: Young Winston (1972), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Magic (1978), Chaplin (1992) and Shadowlands (1993).
Check out Richard Attenborough’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Richard Attenborough Movies Ranked By IMDb and Joel Hirschhorn’s Rating The Movie Stars book (these movies are mostly from his early English movie career and we can not find any box office grosses).
- The Angry Silence (1960) 83.20%
- Eight O’Clock Walk (1954) 80.20%
- The League of Gentlemen (1960) 73.80%
- All Night Long (1962) 72.60%
- Ducimer Street/London Belongs To Me (1948) 72.00%
- Breakout (1959) 71.40%
- The Outsider/The Guinea Pig (1948) 70.80%
- PT Raiders/The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) 70.80%
- Dancing With Crime (1947) 70.20%
- The Lost People (1949) 70.20%
- Desert Patrol (1958) 70.20%
- Journey Together (1945) 69.60%
- Secret Flight (1946) 69.60%
- Private’s Progress (1956) 69.60%
- Brothers in Law (1957) 69.60%
- Strange Affection/The Scamp (1957) 69.60%
- The Smugglers/The Man Within (1947) 69.00%
- The Man Upstairs (1958) 69.00%
- Jet Storm (1959) 67.80%
- SOS Pacific (1959) 67.20%
- The Hundred Pound Window (1944) 66.60%
- Boys in Brown (1949) 66.60%
- Hell Is Sold Out (1951) 65.40%
- The Baby and the Battleship (1956) 62.40%
- Father’s Doing Fine (1952) 61.80%
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Richard Attenborough, is the # 16 most connected actor of the 1970’s.
HI STEVE:Thanks for the feedback. Always good to have YOUR thoughts down on paper.
I will forgive you most things but whilst The Meg is no Olivier to put it in the same bracket as Sly is criminal Come on – let’s get real here!
Do you think that Our Leader takes into consideration Brit classics that don’t feature Sir Maurice?
DID YOU KNOW: That although a British film made in England and packed with Brits likee Donat and the young Sir Johnnie Mills at the British Division of MGM studios here The Library of Cogress has preserved 1939’s Goodbye Mr Cogerson as one of the 100 greatest AMERICAN films of all time – the cheek!
As I don’t like war films Zulu would be one of my own least liked-Sir Maurice movies. I watched it when it was released way back in 1964 but have not bothered with it since. Sir M didn’t win me over until I saw his Harry Palmer in The Ipresee file one rainey afternoon in London the following year. I have watched that many times and it along with Educating Myrna are my tow Micklewhite faves.
MORNING DEPARTURE 1946 – MORNING DEPARTURE [Operation Disaster] 1950
1946 CAST LIST – 1950 CAST LIST
STAMFORD Nigel Patrick/ ARMSTRONG John Mills
OAKLEY John Stevens/ OAKLEY Peter Hammond
McFEE Ronald Adam/ McFEE Andrew Crawford
STOKER SNIPE Anthony Hudson/ STOKER SNIPE Richard Attenborough***
JAMES Kenneth More/ JAMES Kenneth More
TEABOY Maurice Micklewhite/ TEABOY Maurice Micklewhite
MANSON Nigel Patrick in 1950 version
ADDITIONAL TRIVIA
1/*** Lord Dickie doesn’t seem to have been in 1946 TV movie according to those cast lists.
2/The film version also has additional characters, due to the insertion of flashback scenes and scenes from the rescue operation on the surface.
FOOTNOTE: There has been much confusion over the credits for Morning Departure [aka Operation Disaster] with many people seeming assuming [as certainly I did] that the 1946 TV movie and the 1950 cinema release were one and the same- ie a TV production being re-released on the big screen. They were though definitely two distinctly separate productions with seemingly only Kenneth More playing the same role in both of them unless Sir Maurice was in both versions as some sources suggest.
However James Canon last year wrote a lengthy article based on a series of interviews with Caine/Micklewhite but James doesn’t mention the latter being in the 1946 version under either name.
“Caine’s love of acting only grew from there [Acting School] as he gained some valuable experience in those drama classes. Alongside that, the future star had also taken his first steps in the world of work, trying his hand as a file clerk for London movie companies. Then, in 1950 his career took a very exciting turn.
That year, Caine made his movie house debut in a film titled Morning Departure. And while it was only a small role, there would be many more opportunities to come in the future.”
The two separate cast lists are set out in Part two for the purposes of comparison and the differences are striking. I may have started the ball rolling in creating the impression that the two versions were the same product. If so I sincerely apologize. “When I’m wrong I SAY I’m wrong.” [Jake Houseman Dirty Dancing 1987]
TOP 20 GREATEST ALL-TIME BTITISH FILMS ACCORDING TO THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE
1/The Third Man
2/Brief Encounter
3/Lawrence of Arabia
4/The 39 Steps
5/Great Expectations – my own 3rd favorite.
6/Kind Hearts and Coronets
7/Kes
8/Don’t Look now
9/The Red Shoes – did they belong to Laddie or The Duke
10/Trainspotting
11/Bridge on River Kwai
12/If
13/The Lady Killers
14/Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
15/Brighton Rock
16/Get Carter
17/The Lavender Hill Mob
18/Olivier’s Henry V
19/Chariots of Fire
20/A Matter of Life and Death
Dickie’s Ghandi is ranked 34 and his classic Brighton Rock 15 as of course shown above. Sir Maurice does exceptionally well in the list with 7 entries-
16/Get Carter – As above
31/Zulu
33/Alfie
36/The Italian Job [1969]
59/The Ipcress File
67/Mona Lisa
84/Educating Myrna
Sorry WORK HORSE Sir M’s Morning Departure didn’t make the cut; but would you believe it STEVE?: no 99 is Carry On Up the Khyber. Shows you what British Film Institute thinks of my tastes!
Hey Bob….good list….glad Michael Caine did so well on the list. Looks like his 1960s British movies are well thought of….Zulu would be my favorite of this group of films….good stuff.
Hi Bob, good list I have to admit, even the Americans should be impressed with those films. Will you ever forgive me for dismissing our great classics so easily and comparing them unfavorably with Rambo IV and The Meg?
Looking at the list I do have an an all time favorite up there – Lawrence of Arabia, in my top 5 I would say. But Lawrence had an American producer and was made with American money.
Which is my favorite totally British film? I dunno… difficult to say. Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes is a huge favorite, some of the early Hammers are up there too. I’ll have to think about it.
Other big favorites from that list you posted – Zulu, Bridge on the River Kwai, Matter of Life and Death and The 39 Steps.
I like The Third Man but it’s not a favorite, if Orson Welles wasn’t in it I doubt I’d be interested in it. But there was a guy on my forum who worshipped that film. Probably has the Anton Karras theme music as his ringtone.