30 Great British Films You Need To See Before You Die

While some may say that the British film industry does not compare to the standards of French, Japanese and American, it has found a niche in the form of social realism and it would be hard to argue that a country anywhere else in the world quite captures the lives of ordinary, working class, poor people quite as well as the British. That, of course, is not the extent of what British films offer: Harry Potter and James Bond are also British exports and add some glamour to the grit. And while Britain's cinematic history may not seem the most storied and revolutionary is littered with gems and masterpieces, many of which have gone under appreciated on the world stage. Filmmakers such as Steve McQueen, Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Jonathan Glazer, Shane Meadows and Nicolas Roeg rank alongside the very best in the world and have all made films that deserve to be considered among the elite in world cinema. The small island may not have the pull of Hollywood, but it has a strong track-record for star-making, and for producing some essential and brilliant films that you definitely need to see before you die.

Nicolas Roeg's masterpiece defies the many conventions of the thriller genre and is an expert analysis of the process of grief and the crumbling of relationships.