American vs English movies

Could not think of a better title.. if mods feel the title is a little too ambiguous, feel free to change.

Haven't seen Four Lions yet but listening to the Mark Kermode review and he made an interesting point that the father of one of the deceased in the 7/7 attack in London said that it was a little close to the bone. He didn't condemn it in the slightest, only said it was close to the bone.

What I found interesting is the mentality between English and American viewpoints - by that I mean their reactions to movies based around terrorist attacks.

Everything I've heard of Four Lions (which, by the way, does anyone know where it is playing around the country, preferably outside of Dublin, but am willing to travel to see this and Lebannon when that is released) is that none of the guys are portrayed as monsters as such. They are going to do a monstrous thing but they are normal people doing a mission they see right.

Would a movie based around terrorists hijacking a plane be made or even screened in America? Yes, I admit that September 11th and the July 7th attacks were massively different on scale but the end result was the exact same.

But this is not the only example of this:
Some people may know a trailer for Spiderman that was cut following the September 11th attacks. The trailer features the Twin Towers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc0eP7ausWE

Admittedly it came out the year after the September 11th attacks but it is possible to compare that to V for Vendetta that was released the year of the July 7th attacks in London.

For those who have seen the movie, and apologies for those who haven't, there is a scene towards the conclusion that features the bombing of the London Underground, which as you can imagine, is a little close to the bone and I remember discussion when this movie was released that there was consideration to cut out that scene, but it was decided not, because the English people didn't want it.

What are people's opinions or am I being a little far fetched?

johnny_ultimate

I don't think American's are completely unable to examine these issues. United 93 (admittedly a co-production with the UK) is a pretty direct documentation of the 9-11 bombers, with little moments such as them praying in their hotel room before they leave. I haven't seen World Trade Centre, but that's another that deals directly with the attacks. However, I'd say on the whole the American reaction to terrorism cinema wise is to increase the patriotism a notch, and celebrate victories against the enemy. Even United 93 is basically about the triumph of civilians over the terrorists (as in stopping the terrorists destroying a landmark as they had intended). Even stuff like Spiderman 2 - to go back to your example above - features a sequence or two that are directly influenced by 9-11. Of course, it takes the form of a waving American flag and New Yorkers exhibiting an 'us vs them' attitude with pride. It's almost propaganda really, but it's definitely amongst the way Americans deal with threats, and I'd say the vast majority of American citizens welcome the patriotism streak.

Four Lions is a significantly different film, and anyone who would come out against it clearly hasn't watched it yet. It's a deeply intelligent film about the motivations behind terrorism, a side of the story you don't usually get to see. Yeah, it's also very funny, but laughs can make us think about the issues in a way drama can't. The Brass Eye special on peadophilia is genuinely one of the most brilliant satires of all time, which tackles a deeply controversial subject but also successfully illustrates the general absurdity of media coverage of these issues - and funnily enough, the media outrage to the episode completely backed up Chris Morris' point. Many British film-makers are definitely more willing to approach the 'difficult topics', but then again even something as silly as South Park (see the recent Mohammad controversy) shows some Americans aren't afraid to tackle them either.

Renn

Plus didn't Chris Morris come up with the idea for Four Lions a couple of years prior to the 7/7 attacks?

karma_

I'm a big fan of British cinema, always have been since childhood and seeing the likes of Kes & Gregory's Girl.

Seems to me the Brits have always had a more mature attitude to filmmaking and unafraid to tackle difficult issues, I'm thinking of films like 'The War Game' and 'Cathy Come Home'.

Maybe it's because we can identify on a personal level with a lot of these films more than we can with the fantastical stuff hollywood has an obsession with.

MrSir

I think it's unfair to compare British to American Films.American films usually have to think more about financial success so the material they use quite a lot isn't going to be all that edgy.Where as British cinema is much smaller in comparison so of coarse the filmmakers have greater license to explore certain issues

ScumLord

In America films have good guys and bad guys and a love story between a man and a woman as god intended it to be. Everything else is just trimming.


Just about everything out of the states these days is dripping in religious undertones as well.

Spiritoftheseventies

Yes would maybe consider pitching in British cinema with Irish cinema before a lot of Irish directors made films with an english flavour. Neil Jordan made Mona Lisa which was quintesentially an english film while Im not there and East is East were both english films but directed by Irish directors.
Hard really to compare the two though because American studios have bigger budgets to work with.