This five-week series highlights films on the British Film Institute's Top 10 list. The Jan. 31 feature is "The Third Man," Tea and cookies will be served.
The British Film Institute conducted a survey in 1999 asking influential people from the world of British film and television to produce a list of the greatest 100 British films of the 20th century that were all "culturally British." Tea and cookies will be served starting at 2:45 pm during this afternoon film series. The schedule is as follows:
Jan. 3: "The 39 Steps" (1939, 1 hour 26 minutes) This spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the 1915 novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps" by John Buchan, recounts the story of a man in London who tries to help a counter-espionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring that is trying to steal top-secret information.
Jan. 10: "Great Expectations" (1946, 1 hour, 58 minutes) Directed by David Lean the script, based on a slimmed-down version of Dickens' epic 1861 novel, recounts the story of a humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent who is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.
Jan. 17: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949, 1 hour, 46 minutes) In this black comedy directed by Robert Hamer a distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.
Jan. 24: "Kes" (1969, 1 hour, 50 minutes) Directed by Ken Loach and based on the 1968 novel "A Kestrel for a Knave" by Barry Hines, this film follows the story of Billy, who comes from a dysfunctional working-class family. Billy struggles at school and home, but discovers his own private means of fulfilment when he adopts a fledgling kestrel and proceeds to train it in the art of falconry.
Jan. 31: "The Third Man" (1949, 1 hour, 44 minutes) A classic film noir directed by Carol Reed. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centers on American Holly Martins who arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime, only to learn that Lime has died. Martins decides to stay in Vienna and investigate the suspicious death.
