With so many movies around, not one or two have been shot on UK ground. In fact, some of the best movies in the world have had their taste of British land, what with the country having all the options and prospects that bestow many directors and producers with the desire of moving house in the UK. Not to mention that many actors already had their relocations here after starring in films shot in the Kingdoms – some of those films one might call ‘legendary’.
What constitutes as a legendary movie? Let’s have some ground rules for this definition: the movie has to be known to the worldwide audience even if it has not been seen, it has to be critically acclaimed, and it has to tell an epic or memorable tale. And what films has the UK housed? Let’s see some of them.
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
Starting with the classics, everybody has heard of this film. Lawrence of Arabia is a rags-to-riches tale of a man riddled with contradictions. The characters in the movie overflow with personality and even the desert itself develops one to add the atmosphere a legendary movie truly deserves. This movie stars amazing classical actors like Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Quinn who all give performance of a lifetime for everybody to remember.
Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979)
When using the words ‘legendary’ and ‘UK’ together, you cannot possibly fail to think about Monty Python’s Flying Circus. And more specifically, Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Now here is a legendary film filled with legendary amounts of humour, and often times called the funniest film ever made.
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle give you another performance of a lifetime, often imitated, never surpassed.
This satire about religion makes you both think and laugh and is one of the best things that the UK has ever hosted.
Trainspotting (1996)
Digging deep into the UK portion of the UK, we find ourselves in Scotland, and, more specifically, in Edinburgh’s dark streets where the life of everyday drug users is thoroughly examined in 'Trainspotting'. Danny Boyle’s movie based on the eponymous extraordinary novel by Irvine Welsh is nothing short from epic and legendary as it introduces characters and situations to be remembered and cited by anybody who has heard anything about British films. Welsh’s masterpiece characters are taken to new levels when portrayed by then up-and-coming actors like Johnny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, Richard Carlyle, and Ewan McGregor, the latter of whom created such a Renton that he basically jumpstarted his entire career off this one role.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Series (2005-2012)
While Batman is one of the most American characters ever to be created, it should be noted that parts of the trilogy were actually filmed on British ground. Battersea Power Station in London, Buckinghamshire’s Pinewood Studios, the Senate House of University College London and many other locations were used for a multitude of scenes in Christopher Nolan’s legendary trilogy, consisting of 'Batman Begins', 'The Dark Knight', and 'The Dark Knight Rises', starring grand actors like Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, and including the epic and never-to-be-forgotten performance of the late Heath Ledger.
These movies will be remembered for scale of the captivating scenes and characters, and the deep philosophical values in every movie’s core that adds something for the thinkers and not only for the lovers of big fights and explosion scenes – something often neglected in films when it comes to “comic book heroes”.
Star Wars (1977)
Speaking of legendary movies, how can one not go to the monster franchise that is 'Star Wars'? But before there was all the movies and reboots and the Extended Universe, and massive conventions, and even before the name “Episode IV: A New Hope” even existed, there was just a 2-hour movie in 1977 called simply 'Star Wars'. This seemingly strange movie captivated audiences’ imagination for decades to come and created a vibrant fandom that still exists and probably always will even when the name Lucas and Disney are long forgotten by the annals of history.
And, to the point, this franchise had parts of its start in Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire and Shepperton Studios, Surrey in the UK.
The UK has housed many grand scale films and these are here just to name a few. Legendary is only part of the descriptions you can give some of the films shot in the country, and some of their scenes would not have been the same had they been made anywhere else.
