The highs undoubtedly have been the talented performers, film makers and movies created over the century. Legends such as Alexander Korda, Michael Powell, David Lean and Alfred Hitchcock have produced some of the finest examples of cinema.

Actors such as Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and Dame Judi Dench prove that the industry is capable of producing the finest performing talent.

However, the lows have been the constant struggle to raise finance and ensure a British reflection on life is seen on the cinema screen.

But there have been decades of excellence, with the 1960s perhaps a high point in critical success. Yet these are offset by moribund decades such as the 1970s when the power and influence of Hollywood made it difficult for British film makers to compete.