Britbox (A ITV, Channel 4 & BBC Colaboration) streaming hit our streaming services late 2019 and has slowly been building the content on the platform into somewhat of a sleeping giant. With the likes of the rebirth of Spitting Image and older classics such as Blakes Seven, Box Of Delights, Inbetweeners, RentaGhost, The Lenny Henry Show, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Allo Allo, Dad’s Army, Gerry Andersons children classics such as Thunderbirds and the most recent Britbox platform release of The Beast Must Die, plus much, much more, Britbox is fast becoming extremely worthy of your monthly subscription fee (Currently £5.99 a month).
But what you may not be aware of is the plethora of British movies on the platform. An absolute tresure trove of classics and exclusives await you the subscriber. Here at Screen One we’ve been on the platform since day one and in that time we have delved into Britbox’s movie vault and now bring you our top five movies on the platform that if you haven’t watched before, you absolutely should. If you have already seen them, they now might be the time to revisit them once more.
So we here at Screen One present the 5 Must Watch Movies on Britbox for your viewing pleasure. Let us know what you thinkl of the list via the comments below or online via our social media channels!
5. Clockwise (1986)
It’s basically Fawlty Towers the movie, with Cleese playing an extenstion of Basil’s character this time as Brian Stimpson a time obsessed head teacher. If you you’re a fan of Cleese’s manic performances then this 80’s classic will bring you absolute joy.
School headmaster Brian Stimpson (John Cleese) is obsessed with timeliness, order and discipline. After meticulously preparing a speech for an education conference, Brian misses his train. With no one else to turn to, he asks young former student Laura Wisely (Sharon Maiden) for a ride. Laura, upset over a break-up, impulsively agrees to drive him in her parents’ car — which alarms her mother and father, who worry that she has run away with a married man and subsequently alert the police.
4. Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966)
Another reason to subscribe to Britbox, is that for Doctor Who fans, the platform has ALL the classic episodes of Doctor Who from William Hartnell, upto and including Paul McGann’s one off in Doctor Who the Movie. It also has the spin off series K9 & Company and the rather excellent BBC drama An Adventure In Space & Time about the conception of the series with David Bradley as William Hartnell.
But aside from that Britbox has the ‘other’ Doctor, Peter Cushing in his two cinema versions of the time lord. The better of the two is Invasion Earth and here you can watch the drama unfold as he and companions (Bernard Cribbins & Roberta Tovey) battle the Daleks once more for the sake of planet earth. Complete with 60’s trippy visuals a fun adventure for all the family.
Doctor Who travels to Earth in the year 2150 with his niece and granddaughter. They are shocked when they learn that the planet has been invaded by the Doctor’s arch nemesis, the Daleks.
3. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
An absolute staple of the British movie industry was the Ealing Comedies. Britbox again play a masterstroke by having the majority of them on the platform. It’s hard to choose between the likes of Kind Hearts & Coronets, Whiskey Galore, The Titfield Thunderbolt, Passport To Pimlico, The Man In The White Suit, but with the omission of The Ladykillers, we’ve settled on The Lavender Hill Mob… Just. But in reality you should just watch them all. You can thank us later.
Henry, a shy bank clerk in charge of gold bullions, dreams of leading an opulent life. Soon, he comes in contact with a foundry owner, Alfred. Both plan to smuggle gold out of the bank.
2. Shallow Grave (1994)
Before Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor unleashed Trainspotting (Also available on Britbox) on the world, came along this brilliant Crime Thriller, Shallow Grave. Also starring Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox, about three flatmates who on discovering their fourth flatmate dead with a huge sum of money decide, to keep the money and bury the body their collective worlds soon fall apart.
Three room-mates find their newly accepted fourth room-mate dead in bed with a huge amount of cash beside him. Greed gets the worse out of them and the room-mates find themselves on a downward spiral.
1. The Long Good Friday (1980)
Another Britbox exclusive, The Long Good Friday is probably THE best Brit Gangster movie of all time. Often imitated, but never bettered, the late great Bob Hoskins and British movie royalty Helen Mirren this tale of 1970s crime boss trying to go legit is probably top or there abouts for most British movies. From the stupendous and memorable theme (By Francis Monkman), to the veritable whos who of the British film industry, to the excellent plot and script to the violence and action to the very last scene, The Long Good Friday is still unmissable and a huge reason to subscribe to Britbox alone.
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins), a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
So there you have it, the 5 must watch movies on Britbox. There are plenty more to discover on there from the Carry On Series, the Tom Hardy starrer Legend about the notrious Kray twins (With Hardy playing both brothers), Time Bandits, Educating Rita, Hear My Song, Dog Soldiers and many more to choose from, it may very well be worth discovering Britbox soon.
To join Britbox with 50% off for a linited time click here: https://watch.britbox.co.uk/freetrial
