1. What makes a film British

2. The general plot of this film involves the hunt of a Soviet double agent at the top of
the British secret service. It appears to be one of the four senior figures in the BI
(British Intelligence) . As a result, an operation is started in Hungary to identify who
it was.
1) The Cast
The cast are essential to a true ‘British’ film. If a so-called ‘British’ film
starred Will Smith, Brad Pitt and Channing Tatum we may find it particularly
difficult to associate the film with British culture. Especially because we
know those actors aren’t British. An all-British cast contributes to making a
successful British film.
This film cast includes the likes of :
Colin Firth (The Kings Speech, Love Actually)
Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Harry Potter)
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, 12 Years a Slave)
Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Branson)
Mark Strong (Stardust, Kick-Ass)
As we know, the actors are all British and just by them being included in the
film can give a ‘British’ feel to the movie. They can all be identified due to their
accents also.
What makes this film
‘British’

3. Its very likely that your average British film is to be filmed in Britain
also. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was filmed in a variety of locations in
London from North London to West London. The physics department
of Imperial College and Hampstead Heath were other places where
scenes were filmed. Audiences can identify with areas of England and
differ whether the film is in a British location or an American location.
London is very different to Washington D.C, and New York is very
different to somewhere like Essex. The locations can really help a
British film be ‘British’ and the setting can identify with the people of
Britain as they watch the film also. Being set in London the early
1970s.
Filming Locations/ Settings

4. This film was backed financially by the French Production company
‘Studio Canal’. Although this a French –based production it is
responsible for producing a large number of British films such as:
Nanny McPhee
Pride and Prejudice
Shaun of the Dead
I Give it a Year
A large number of the films produced by Studio Canal are British, and
therefore, this studio is a reasonable contribution to what makes it British
as it handles a quite a lot of British films.
Working Title is another company, which is actually based in London. This
film is responsible for the likes of About Time, The Worlds End etc.
The Studio Production

5. The film premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film
Festival on 5 September 2011.
StudioCanal UK distributed the film in the United Kingdom, where it was
released on 16 September 2011. The US rights were acquired by Universal
Pictures, which have a permanent first-look deal with Working Title
(British Company). Focus Features planned to give the film a wide release
in the United States on 9 December 2011, but pushed it to January 2012
where it was given an 800 screen release. This was released in various
cinemas like ‘Vue’ and Odeon’.
Distribution

6. The film has won ‘Outstanding British Film’ in the BAFTAs and also
‘Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema’. It has also won a number
of British Independent Film awards and European Film awards. Its
British contribution is highly praised and noted due to its many awards
attained relating to the nationality of the film.
Gary Oldman won a number of awards of the likes of ‘Best Actor’ in the
Empire Awards and various film critic awards also.
The director Tomas Alfredson, although being Swedish, has perceived the
film, actors and editing through a British light successfully. He has not
performed any British films prior to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Director and Achievements