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SECTION 1:
British Feature Films Released Theatrically In The UK Between 1971 And 1981
Abbreviations used:
ORT: title under which film was originally registered
ALT.T: alternative title
RN: registration number
RD: date of registration
RE: registering company
RT: running time
MFB: Monthly Film Bulletin
DIR: director
NOTES
Change of title
Nearly all the films with title changes are sexploitation
films. As these do not tend to have any distinctive
features, a change of title can bring in another
audience the second time round.
Series
These have been counted as single films but all the
separate episodic titles are given under the series
entry in the main alphabetical sequence.
Nationality
A film can be registered British but still have the
involvement of non-British companies, e.g. co-productions,
minority partners.
Britain has signed co-production treaties with
France (1965), I t a ly (1967), Fe d e ral Rep u blic of
Germany (1975) and Canada (1975). Any film made
under the terms of these treaties has a C included in
the registration number, e.g. the registration number
for ‘The Day of the Jackal’, a British/French co-production,
is BR/E 36860C/17/6/78.
Because there was a strong Empire Lobby at the time
of the formulation of.the first Cinematograph Films
Act in 1927, ‘British’ also includes the
Commonwealth.
Although films from EEC member states are counted
as British for quota purposes, they are allocated an
EEC and not a British registration number.
Date of registration
This cannot be taken to be synonymous with either
the year of production or the year of re l e a s e
(although it will probably be closer to the latter than
the former).
Registering Company
The Registering Company is normally the distributor.
When the Department of Trade has been notified
of a change of distributor, the entry has been
amended. But, as films go out of distribution, companies
go bankrupt, rights change, etc., the information
will in some cases be out of date and should be
treated with caution as a guide to current distribution.
However, the more recent the registration, the-
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more likely it will still be current.
Running time
The running time given is that of the distribution
company’s original release print. The presence of
two running times indicates the availability of alternative
versions. In some instances after the film’s
initial release, it is decided that the film would be a
more attractive and convenient proposition if shorter,
and cuts are then implemented, though not necessarily
in consultation with the director. Where the
running time has changed, the original registered
running time is given in brackets.
When calculating its own statistics, the Department
of Trade breaks up its register into three sections:
over 72 minutes, 33 1/3 -72 minutes and under 33 1/3
minutes. As this catalogue aims to cover British features,
it was felt that there were some films under 72
minutes which should be included, but to take the
full range of the middle category would involve
including some shorts. So 52 minutes, which falls
half way between 33 1/3 and 72 minutes, was considered
to be an appropriate break-off point (Table I
gives details of how many films fall into this section.)