Culture of the United Kingdom

http://www.all-laptopfan.com/,http://www.all-keyboard.com/ The culture of the United Kingdom is the pattern of human activity and symbolism associated with the United Kingdom and its people. It is influenced by the UK's history as a developed island country, a liberal democracy and a major power, its predominantly Christian religious life, and its composition of four countries—England, HP Pavilion dv6-1045ee CPU Fan Northern Ireland,Scotland and Wales—each of which has distinct customs, cultures and symbolism. The wider culture of Europe has also influenced British culture, and Humanism, Protestantism and representative democracy developed from broader Western culture. HP Pavilion dv7-4050ev CPU Fan British literature, music, cinema, art, theatre, media, television, philosophy and architecture are influential and respected across the world. The United Kingdom is also prominent in science and technology. Sport is an important part of British culture; numerous sports originated in the country, including football. HP Pavilion dv6t-3200 CTO CPU Fan The UK has been described as a "cultural superpower",^[3][4] and London has been described as a world cultural capital.^[5][6][7][8] The Industrial Revolution, with its origins in the UK, had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world. Toshiba Satellite L505-144 CPU Fan As a result of the British Empire, significant British influence can be observed in thelanguage, culture and institutions of a geographically wide assortment of countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa and the United States. Toshiba Satellite A205-S5804 CPU Fan These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere, and are among Britain's closest allies.^[9][10] In turn the empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine.^[11] The cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness. Toshiba Satellite L500-1XC CPU Fan First spoken in early medieval England, the English language is the de facto official language of the UK, and is spoken monolingually by an estimated 95% of the British population.^{[12][note 1]} However, individual countries within the UK have frameworks for the promotion of their indigenous languages. Toshiba Satellite A660-BT2N22 CPU Fan In Wales, all pupils at state schools must either be taught through the medium of Welsh or study it as an additional language until age 16, and the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages should be treated equally in the public sector, so far as is reasonable and practicable. Toshiba Satellite P305-S8814 CPU Fan Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited use alongside English in Northern Ireland, mainly in publicly commissioned translations. The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act, passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2005, recognisedGaelic as an official language of Scotland, commanding equal respect with English, Toshiba Satellite L550-13U CPU Fan and required the creation of a national plan for Gaelic to provide strategic direction for the development of the Gaelic language.^{[note 2]} There is also a campaign under way to recogniseScots as a language in Scotland, though this remains controversial. The Cornish language enjoys neither official recognition nor promotion by the state in Cornwall. Lenovo IBM ThinkPad Edge E420 Keyboard Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the UK Government has committed to the promotion of certain linguistic traditions. The United Kingdom has ratified the charter for: Welsh (in Wales), Scottish Gaelic and Scots (in Scotland), Cornish (in Cornwall), and Irish and Ulster Scots (in Northern Ireland). British Sign Language is also a recognised language. HP Pavilion G61-336NR CPU Fan At its formation, the United Kingdom inherited the literary traditions of England, Scotland and Wales, including the earliest existing native literature written in the Celtic languages, Old English literature and more recent English literature including the works ofGeoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and John Milton. HP Pavilion dv7-6184ca CPU Fan The early 18th century is known as the Augustan Age of English literature. The poetry of the time was highly formal, as exemplified by the works of Alexander Pope, and the English novel became popular, with Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1721), Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1740) and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1749). HP Pavilion dv7-3125eo CPU Fan From the late 18th century, the Romantic period showed a flowering of poetry comparable with the Renaissance 200 years earlier and a revival of interest in vernacular literature. In Scotland the poetry of Robert Burnsrevived interest in Scots literature, and the Weaver Poets of Ulster were influenced by literature from Scotland. HP Pavilion dv7-2185dx CPU Fan In Wales the late 18th century saw the revival of the eisteddfod tradition, inspired by Iolo Morganwg. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) by Mary Wollstonecraft, is one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. In the 19th century, major poets in English literature included William Blake, IBM MCF-C10AM05 CPU Fan William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. The Victorian period was the golden age of the realistic English novel, represented by Jane Austen, theBrontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne), Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy. SONY Vaio VGN-SZ2XP/C CPU Fan World War I gave rise to British war poets and writers such as Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Gravesand Rupert Brooke who wrote (often paradoxically), of their expectations of war, and/or their experiences in the trench. The most widely popular writer of the early years of the 20th century was arguably Rudyard Kipling. DELL Latitude E4300 CPU Fan To date the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Kipling's novels include The Jungle Book, The Man Who Would Be King and Kim, while his inspirational poem If— is a national favourite. Like William Ernest Henley's poem Invictus,^[16] it is a memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism, a traditional British virtue.^[17] HP Pavilion dv7-2025es CPU Fan Notable Irish writers include Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, George Bernard Shaw andW. B. Yeats. The Celtic Revival stimulated a new appreciation of traditional Irish literature. The Scottish Renaissance of the early 20th century brought modernism to Scottish literature as well as an interest in new forms in the literatures of Scottish Gaelic and Scots. FUJITSU LifeBook A6030 CPU Fan The English novel developed in the 20th century into much greater variety and it remains today the dominant English literary form. Other globally well-known British novelists include George Orwell, C. S. Lewis, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells,D. H. Lawrence, Mary Shelley, Lewis Carroll, J. R. SONY Vaio VGN-FS115Z CPU Fan R. Tolkien, Virginia Woolf, Ian Fleming, Walter Scott, Agatha Christie, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, E. M. Forster, Aldous Huxley, Roald Dahl, Helen Fielding, Arthur C. Clarke, Alan Moore, Ian McEwan, Anthony Burgess, Evelyn Waugh, William Golding, Salman Rushdie, Douglas Adams, P. G. Wodehouse, HP 532617-001 CPU Fan Martin Amis, Anthony Trollope, Beatrix Potter, A. A. Milne, Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett, H. Rider Haggard, Neil Gaimanand J. K. Rowling. Important British poets of the 20th century include Rudyard Kipling, W. H. Auden, Ted Hughes, Philip Larkin, John Betjeman and Dylan Thomas. ACER Aspire 5730Z CPU Fan In 2003 the BBC carried out a UK survey entitled The Big Read in order to find the "nation's best-loved novel" of all time, with works by English novelists Tolkien,Austen, Pullman, Adams and Rowling making up the top five on the list. HP G56-126NR CPU Fan From its formation in 1707, the United Kingdom has had a vibrant tradition of theatre, much of it inherited from England and Scotland. The West End is the main theatre district in the UK, which is located in the West End of London.^[19][20] The West End'sTheatre Royal in Covent Garden in the City of Westminster dates back to the mid 17th century, making it the oldest London theatre.^[21] HP Pavilion dv7-6166nr CPU Fan In the 18th century, the highbrow and provocative Restoration comedy lost favour, to be replaced by sentimental comedy, domestictragedy such as George Lillo's The London Merchant (1731), and by an overwhelming interest in Italian opera. Popular entertainment became more important in this period than ever before, FUJITSU Lifebook A3210 CPU Fan with fair-booth burlesque and mixed forms that are the ancestors of the English music hall. These forms flourished at the expense of legitimate English drama, which went into a long period of decline. By the early 19th century it was no longer represented by stage plays at all, but by the closet drama, plays written to be privately read in a "closet" (a small domestic room). DELL Precision M6400 CPU Fan In 1847, a critic using the pseudonym Dramaticus published a pamphlet^[22] describing the parlous state of British theatre. Production of serious plays was restricted to the patent theatres, and new plays were subjected to censorship by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX CPU Fan At the same time, there was a burgeoning theatre sector featuring a diet of low melodrama and musical burlesque; but critics described British theatre as driven by commercialism and a 'star' system. A change came in the late 19th century with the plays on the London stage by the Irishmen George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, who influenced domestic English drama and vitalised it again. HP Pavilion dv2660se CPU Fan The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was opened in Shakespeare's birthplaceStratford upon Avon in 1879; and Herbert Beerbohm Tree founded an Academy of Dramatic Art at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1904.^[25] ProducerRichard D'Oyly Carte brought together librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, and nurtured their collaboration.^[26Toshiba Satellite L500-1XC CPU Fan ^] AmongGilbert and Sullivan's best known comic operas are H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.^[27] Carte built the West End's Savoy Theatre in 1881 to present their joint works, and through the inventor of electric light Sir Joseph Swan, the Savoy was the first theatre, and the first public building in the world, to be lit entirely by electricity.^[28][29] DELL GM0503PEB1-8 (L2.M) CPU Fan Sadler's Wells, under Lilian Baylis, nurtured talent that led to the development of an opera company, which became the English National Opera (ENO), a theatre company, which evolved into the National Theatre, and a ballet company, which eventually became the English Royal Ballet. HP Pavilion dv7-1098eo CPU Fan Making his professional West End debut at the Garrick Theatre in 1911, flamboyant playwright, composer and actor Noël Coward had a career spanning over 50 years, in which he wrote many comic plays, and over a dozen musical theatre works.^[32] In July 1962, a board was set up to supervise construction of aNational Theatre in London and a separate board was constituted to run a National Theatre Company and lease the Old Vic theatre. Toshiba Satellite A205-S5804 CPU Fan The Company was to remain at the Old Vic until 1976, when the new South Bankbuilding was opened. A National Theatre of Scotland was set up in 2006. Today the West End of Londonhas a large number of theatres, particularly centred on Shaftesbury Avenue. A prolific composer of musical theatre in the 20th century, HP Pavilion dv7-1240us CPU Fan Andrew Lloyd Webber has been referred to as "the most commercially successful composer in history".^[24] His musicals which include; The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, have dominated the West End for a number of years and have travelled to Broadway in New York and around the world as well as being turned into films.  DELL yy529 CPU Fan Lloyd Webber has worked with producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, lyricist Sir Tim Rice, actress and singer Sarah Brightman, while his musicals originally starred Elaine Paige, who with continued success has become known as the First Lady of British Musical Theatre.^[33] Toshiba Qosmio G40-10E CPU Fan The Royal Shakespeare Company operates out of Stratford-upon-Avon, producing mainly but not exclusively Shakespeare's plays.^[34]Important modern playwrights include Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Alan Ayckbourn, John Osborne, Michael Frayn andArnold Wesker. SONY Vaio VGN-CR407E CPU Fan While the British national anthem "God Save the Queen" and other patriotic songs such as "Rule, Britannia!" represent the United Kingdom, each of the four individual countries of the UK also has their own patriotic hymns. Edward Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory", and Hubert Parry's "Jerusalem" set to William Blake's poem And did those feet in ancient time, HP Pavilion dv6-3131tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan are among England's most patriotic hymns.^[37] Scottish patriotic songs include "Flower of Scotland", "Scotland the Brave" and "Scots Wha Hae"; patriotic Welsh hymns include "Bread of Heaven", set to the tune "Cwm Rhondda", and "Land of My Fathers"; the latter is the national anthem of Wales.^[38] HP 622029-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The patriotic Northern Irish ballad Danny Boy is set to the tune "Londonderry Air". The traditional marching song, "The British Grenadiers", is often performed by British Army bands, and is played at the Trooping the Colour.^[39] Written by British Army bandmaster F. J. Ricketts, Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7047 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan the "Colonel Bogey March" is often whistled, becoming part of British way of life during World War II.^[40] George Frideric Handel composed Zadok the Priest in 1727 for the coronation of George II, which has been performed at every subsequent British coronation, traditionally performed during the sovereign's anointing. Jeremiah Clarke's "Trumpet Voluntary" is popular for wedding music, and has featured in royal weddings.^[41] HP Pavilion dv7-4170ez Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Other notable British composers: Henry Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Gustav Holst, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Henry Wood, John Taverner, John Blow, Arthur Sullivan, William Walton, John Stafford Smith, Henry Bishop, Ivor Novello, Malcolm Arnold, Michael Tippett and John Barry have made major contributions to British music, and are known internationally. HP Pavilion dv4-1506tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Living composers include Sir George Martin, Harrison Birtwistle, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Oliver Knussen, Harry Gregson Williams, Mike Oldfield, John Rutter, James MacMillan, Joby Talbot, John Powell, David Arnold, Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, John Murphy, Brian Eno, Clint Mansell,Craig Armstrong and Michael Nyman. Compaq Presario CQ61-411WM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The traditional folk music of England has contributed to several genres, such as sea shanties, jigs, hornpipes and dance music. It has its own distinct variations and regional peculiarities. Wynkyn de Worde's printed ballads of Robin Hood from the 16th century are an important artefact, as are John Playford's The Dancing Master and Robert Harley's Roxburghe Ballads collections.^[42] IBM FRU 46L4753 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Some of the best known songs are Greensleeves, Scarborough Fair, Pastime with Good Company, Over the Hills and Far Away amongst others. The bagpipes have long been a national symbol of Scotland, and the Great Highland Bagpipe is widely recognised. The most famous Scottish folk song, Auld Lang Syne, is well known throughout the English-speaking world, and is often sung to celebrate the start of the New Year, especially at Hogmanay in Edinburgh.^[43] HP Pavilion dv6-3190sf Laptop CPU Cooling Fan From the mid-16th century, nursery rhymes began to be recorded in English plays.^[44] Some of the best known nursery rhymes from Britain include; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Roses are red, Jack and Jill, Cock a doodle doo, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, The Grand Old Duke of York, London Bridge Is Falling Down, Hey Diddle Diddle, SONY Vaio VGN-FZ21E Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Three Blind Mice, Little Miss Muffet, Pat-a-cake, Pop Goes the Weasel, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Peter Piper, Hickory Dickory Dock, Rock-a-bye Baby,One for Sorrow, This Old Man, Simple Simon, Old Mother Hubbard, Little Bo Peep, Sing a Song of Sixpence, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Old King Cole and Humpty Dumpty.^[45] HP G42-415DX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work by John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain who lists twenty five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of 'wassailers', who went from house to house.^[46] Some of the most notable carols from the UK include; We Wish You a Merry Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful, HP 646578-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The First Noel, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, The Holly and the Ivy, I Saw Three Ships, Deck the Halls, In the Bleak Midwinter, Joy to the World, Once in Royal David's City, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, What Child Is This?, Good King Wenceslas, Here We Come A-Caroling and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan The music of Christmas has always been a combination of sacred and secular, and every year in the UK there is highly publicised competition to be the Christmas number one single, which has led to the production of music which still provides the mainstay of festive playlists. During WWII, Vera Lynn was known as the Forces' Sweetheart,  Dell Latitude E6500 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan with "We'll Meet Again", sung to British troops, among the songs most associated with her.^[47] The UK single and album charts are revealed every Sunday on BBC Radio 1, with Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" the best-selling single in the UK, and Queen's Greatest Hits the best-selling album. SONY Vaio VGN-NR120Q Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The United Kingdom supports a number of major orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, thePhilharmonia, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. London is one of the world's major centres for classical music: Toshiba Satellite A205-S5879 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan it has several important concert halls and is also home to the Royal Opera House, one of the world's leading opera houses. British traditional music has also been very influential abroad. The Brit Awards, the BPI's annual pop music awards, take place at The O2 Arena every February.^[54] HP KSB06105HA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The UK was one of the two main countries in the creation and development of many genres of popular music, including; rock music; The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks; hard rock; Led Zeppelin, Cream, Def Leppard, Whitesnake; progressive rock; Pink Floyd,Genesis, Yes; Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan glam rock; Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, T. Rex, blues rock; The Yardbirds, The Animals, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits; heavy metal; Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Judas Priest; punk rock; Sex Pistols, The Clash, Billy Idol; new wave;The Police, Elvis Costello, Culture Club, Duran Duran; goth rock; HP Pavilion dv6-2016ax Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees; art rock; The Moody Blues,Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Procol Harum, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush; folk rock; Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Donovan, Mumford & Sons; soft rock; The Hollies, blue-eyed soul; Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, Steve Winwood; disco; SONY Vaio VGN-CR11S/P Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Bee Gees; synth pop; Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys; reggae; UB40; pop rock; Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Sting, Joe Cocker, Robert Palmer, Bonnie Tyler; alternative rock; The Smiths, New Order, Radiohead, Coldplay; symphonic rock; ELO, Muse; Britpop; Oasis, Blur, The Verve; soul; Sade, Amy Winehouse, Adele. HP Pavilion dv7-6b55dx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The UK has also pioneered various forms of electronic dance music including dubstep, acid house, uk garage, drum and bass and trip hop, with acts including; The Prodigy, Massive Attack, Jamiroquai, The Chemical Brothers, Gorillaz, Calvin Harris and Fatboy Slim. Other notable British artists in pop music include; APPLE MacBook Pro 15 inch MA610LL Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Spice Girls, George Michael, Seal, Leona Lewis, One Direction and Robbie Williams. In 2009, British artists topped the decade end ranking, with "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol announced as the most widely played song of the decade in the UK, and Back to Bedlam by James Blunt the best selling album of the 2000s in the UK.^[55][56HP G71-340US Laptop CPU Cooling Fan ^] Since the mid 2000s, British rap is becoming increasingly popular, mainly within the youth of large cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds and Sheffield. Popular British R&B artists include Taio Cruz, Jay Sean, M.I.A. and Jessie J. The UK has had a large impact on modern cinema, producing some of the greatest actors, directors and motion pictures of all time, including Sir Alfred Hitchcock, HP Pavilion dv7-6166nr Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Charlie Chaplin, David Lean, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Audrey Hepburn, John Gielgud, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins and Daniel Day-Lewis. The BFI Top 100 British films is a poll conducted by the British Film Institute which ranks what they consider to be the 100 greatest British films of all time. HP Pavilion dv6-3050et Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Two of the biggest actors in the silent era were Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. English photographer Eadweard Muybridge pioneered motion picture,^[57] while pioneering Scottish documentary maker John Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film in 1926.^[58] Dell Vostro 3500 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Hitchcock's first thriller, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1926), helped shape the thriller genre in film, while his 1929 film, Blackmail, is often regarded as the first British sound feature film.^[59][60] The 39 Steps (1935) features a signatureHitchcock cameo, and established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' Madeleine Carroll as the template for his succession of ice cold and elegant leading ladies.^[6HP KSB06105HA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan ^1] Sir Alexander Korda's The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), was the first British production to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Boris Karloff played the leading role in several major Hollywood horror films in the 1930s. Famous for recording many motion picture film scores, the London Symphony Orchestra first performed film music in 1935. HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The first British Academy Film Awards ceremony took place in 1947. Sir Laurence Olivier starred in and directed Henry V (1944), and Hamlet (1948), the latter being the first non-American film to win the Academy Award for Best Pictureand also picked up the BAFTA Award for Best Film. HP Pavilion dv7t-6100 CTO Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The third Shakespearean film directed by Olivier was Richard III (1955). The British film-making partnership of Powell and Pressburger made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s, with The Red Shoes (1948) their most commercially successful film. Carol Reed directed The Third Man (1949), regarded among the best British films of the 20th century.^[64] Compaq Presario CQ61-435SA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan David Lean emerged as a major filmmaker in the 1940s with Brief Encounter (1945) and Great Expectations (1946), and his first big-screen epic The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) won seven Academy Awards. Towards the end of the 1950s, Hammer Films embarked on their series of influential and wildly successful horror films,  ASUS M51SE Laptop CPU Cooling Fan including lavish colour versions of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula(1958) and The Mummy (1959), with actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee at the forefront. The Dam Busters (1955), recreates the true story of the RAF's raid on dams in Nazi Germany using Sir Barnes Wallis's invention the "bouncing bomb".HP G42-415DX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The Carry On series, which consists of 31 comedy motion pictures, commenced in 1958. A West Country native where many well-known English pirates hailed from, Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in 1950s films popularised the stereotypical West Country pirate accent.^[65] ACER Aspire 4736ZG Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Films that explored the "Swinging London" phenomenon of the 1960s included, Alfie (1966), Blowup (1966) and Bedazzled (1967). TheJames Bond film series began in the early 1960s, with Sean Connery in the leading role. Bond, portrayed by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the AFI.^[6 HP Pavilion dv4-1133tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan ^6] After The Beatles films A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), it became standard for each new pop group to have a verité style feature film made about them. A Man for All Seasons (1966), based on Sir Thomas More, is listed by theVatican as being among the greatest religious movies of all time.  HP Pavilion dv6-3043ee Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Other major British films of the 1960s included Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Tom Jones (1963), Zulu (1964) and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). Four of the decade's Academy Award winners for best picture were British productions, including six Oscars for the film musical Oliver! (1968), based on Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist.  Compaq Presario CQ61-421SG Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The caper film The Italian Job (1969), starringMichael Caine, is regarded as one of the greatest British films ever, with the line "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" by Caine voted favourite film one-liner in a poll.^[69] Other British actors in starring roles in 1960s films included Richard Burton,  HP Pavilion dv6-1101au Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Peter Sellers, Audrey Hepburn (played Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, 1964), Julie Christie, Peter Ustinov,Rex Harrison, Alec Guinness, David Niven and Julie Andrews, whose portrayal of English nanny Mary Poppins is named one of the greatest movie characters.^[70] HP Pavilion dv6-3125er Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969) starred Glenda Jackson, who won the Academy Award for best actress. In the 1970s, Ronald Neame directed the festive favourite Scrooge (1970). A Clockwork Orange (1971), based on Anthony Burgess' novella of the same name, starred Malcolm McDowell as the leader of a gang of thugs in a dystopian future Britain.^[71] HP 606575-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The British horror film The Wicker Man (1973), starring Christopher Lee, is considered a cult classic. Two adaptations of Agatha Christie stories Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978) were critically acclaimed. British musical comedy film The Rocky Horror Picture Show(1975) featuring Tim Curry,  HP Pavilion dv7-6185us Laptop CPU Cooling Fan is the longest-running theatrical release in film history.^[72] In the mid-1970s, seminal British comedy teamMonty Python switched their attention to films, beginning with Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), followed by Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), the latter regularly voted the funniest film of all time by the British public.^[73][ DELL DFS491105MH0T Laptop CPU Cooling Fan ^74] Hollywood blockbusters that were filmed at major British studios in 1977–79, include Star Wars (featuring Alec Guinness, and 'the dean of special effects' John Stears)^[75] at Elstree Studios, Superman (featuring Terence Stamp) at Pinewood, and Alien (directed by Ridley Scott) at Shepperton. HP 532613-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan British films won back to back Academy Award for best picture in the 1980s, with Chariots of Fire (1982), followed by Gandhi (1983).John Hurt won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his titular role as 19th-century Englishman Joseph Merrick in The Elephant Man (1980).Richard Marquand directed Star Wars Episode VICompaq Presario CQ60-417DX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan : Return of the Jedi in 1983, the only non-American to direct a Star Wars film. The 1985 dark comedy fantasy film, Brazil, is regarded as one of the best British films of the mid 1980s, while the 1987 black comedy, Withnail and I, has been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films".^[76] HP Pavilion dv7-3060us Laptop CPU Cooling Fan During the late 1980s, a number of young British actors who were becoming major stars, such as Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Tim Roth and Rupert Everett, were dubbed the 'Brit Pack'.^[77] The 1990s saw a large number of traditional British period dramas, including Sense and Sensibility (1995),  HP KSB06105HA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Restoration (1995), Emma(1996), Mrs. Brown (1997), The Wings of the Dove (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Topsy-Turvy (1999). Anthony Minghella's biggest directorial success was The English Patient (1996), winning nine Academy Awards. English film composer Michael Nyman wrote the critically acclaimed score for The Dell Latitude E6510 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Piano (1993). Elton John and lyricist Sir Tim Rice collaborated to write music for Disney's The Lion King (1994), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as did Phil Collins for Disney's Tarzan (1999). Scottish composer Craig Armstrong wrote the award winning score for the modern version of Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996). HP Pavilion dv6-2019er Laptop CPU Cooling Fan BAFTA award winning British films included Danny Boyle's drama Trainspotting (1996) that centres on life in Edinburgh, the 1997 comedy The Full Monty set in Sheffield, and the biographical drama Elizabeth (1998). Richard Curtis's 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral set a pattern for British-set romantic comedies, including Sliding Doors (1998) and Notting Hill (1999). HP Pavilion dv6-3126ea Laptop CPU Cooling Fan At the start of the 21st century, three major international British successes were the romantic comediesBridget Jones's Diary (2001), sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and Richard Curtis's directorial debut Love Actually(2003). In 2000, Leavesden Film Studios began filming the first instalment of the Harry Potter film series.^[78HP 532613-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan ^] English composer Clint Mansell's score for Requiem for a Dream has been well received,^[79] and its main theme Lux Aeterna has gained wide usage in popular culture and has featured in a number of film trailers. Famous for his creation Mr. Bean, the much celebrated comedian Rowan Atkinsonstarred in Johnny English (2003). HP Pavilion dv6-3300ss Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Wallace and Gromit creator and four time Academy Award winning animator Nick Park directed Chicken Run(2000) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). Helen Mirren starred as Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), winning Academy and Bafta Awards for best actress. IBM Lenovo Thinkpad W500 Series Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Acclaimed British sci-fi films, 28 Days Later (2002), and Children of Men (2007), depict a dystopian Britain. Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (2008) was the most successful British film of the decade, receiving critical acclaim and won eight Academy Awards.^[80] Based on Mark Millar's comic, the superhero action comedy-film Kick-Ass (2010), HP 646578-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan directed byMatthew Vaughn and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the title character, won the Empire Award for Best British Film. Historical drama The King's Speech (2010), featuring Colin Firth as George VI, received widespread acclaim, won four Academy Awards and seven Baftas, and is being hailed as the most successful independent British film ever.^[81][8HP Pavilion dv5-1020et Laptop CPU Cooling Fan ^2] In 2012, the twenty-third James Bond film Skyfall became thehighest-grossing film of all-time in the UK. The five most commercially successful British directors in recent years are David Yates, Christopher Nolan,Mike Newell, Ridley Scott and Paul Greengrass.^[84] Other contemporary British film directors include Guy Ritchie, HP Pavilion dv5030 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Alan Parker, Tony Scott, Terry Gilliam, Richard Attenborough, Kenneth Branagh, Paul W. S. Anderson, Tom Hooper, Edgar Wright, Matthew Vaughn, Richard Curtis, Danny Boyle, Steve McQueen and Sam Mendes. British actors and actresses have always been significant in international cinema. Compaq Presario CQ61-416EG Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Well-known currently active performers include the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ian McKellen, Clive Owen, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Ewan McGregor, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth,Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Craig, Emma Watson, Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Orlando Bloom, HP 532614-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Tilda Swinton, Christian Bale, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Paul Bettany, Sacha Baron Cohen, Emma Thompson, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Laurie, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs, John Hurt, Emily Blunt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sienna Miller, Bill Nighy, HP Pavilion dv5-1020et Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Carey Mulligan, Ray Winstone, Peter O'Toole, Jeremy Irons, Gary Oldman, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson, Tim Roth, Robert Pattinson,Julie Andrews, Sean Bean, Gemma Arterton, Gerard Butler, Tom Hiddleston, Maggie Smith, Russell Brand, Andrew Garfield, Henry Cavill,Simon Pegg, Chiwetel Ejiofor,  HP 646578-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Tom Hardy, Patrick Stewart, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Caine. Hollywood films with a British dimension have had enormous worldwide commercial success. Many of the highest-grossing films worldwide of all time have a British historical, cultural or creative theme. HP Pavilion dv5-1020et Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Films based on British historical events; RMSTitanic,^[85] Piracy in the Caribbean,^[86] Mutiny on the Bounty,^[87] The Great Escape,^[88] historical people; William Wallace,Lawrence of Arabia, King Arthur, Elizabeth I, British stories; The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, James Bond, The Chronicles of Narnia, Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, HP Pavilion dv5030 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Treasure Island, The War of the Worlds among many others, while British video game Tomb Raider featuring English archaeologist Lara Croft, has been made into feature films. British influence can also be seen with the 'English Cycle' of Disney animated films, which feature Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Compaq Presario CQ61-416EG Laptop CPU Cooling Fan The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Rescuers andWinnie the Pooh. The UK has been at the forefront of developments in film, radio, and television. Broadcasting in the UK has historically been dominated by the taxpayer-funded but independently run British Broadcasting Corporation or BBC, HP 532614-001 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan although other independent radio and television (ITV, Channel 4, Five) and satellite broadcasters (especially BSkyB which has over 10 million subscribers^[90]) have become more important in recent years. BBC television, and the other three main television channels are public service broadcasters who, HP MCF-W13BM05 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan