The only 10 British films to win the Palme d’Or
The only award in the film industry that matches the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar in terms of prestige and status is the Palme d’Or, the highest honour presented at the world-famous Cannes Film Festival. In fact, some might argue that the Palme d’Or award is a more essential prize in general.
The Palme d’Or has its good and bad choices, just like any other prize. However, one thing that the Palme d’Or does better than the Oscars is variety. The many Palme D’Or winners over the years are so astonishingly diverse. While the Academy Awards has – aside from the year when Parasite emerged victorious – exclusively given the top prize to English-language films, the Palme d’Or has gone to many foreign-language pictures. In fact, there aren’t necessarily that many American winners at all.
Similarly, although plenty of British projects have won the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar, very few films from the UK have snagged the Palme d’Or. At the very first Cannes Film Festival, 11 films tied for the top prize, and one of those movies was David Lean’s heartbreaking romantic drama Brief Encounter, a true classic of British cinema. Since then, only nine other UK films have won the Palme d’Or, including a couple in the 21st century, and they’re a surprisingly obscure bunch.
The second British film to win the award was 1949’s film noir effort The Third Man, a true masterpiece and one of the very best British films ever made. Additionally, two of the other British Palme d’Or winners are Lindsay Anderson’s If… and Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies, two widely acclaimed and beloved British classics from two of Ol’ Blighty’s most legendary filmmakers.
The other winners from the 20th century are relatively obscure efforts when viewed through today’s lens. The Knack… and How to Get It, The Go-Between, and The Hireling did well upon release but haven’t lingered in the public consciousness in later decades. The only British movie to win during the 1980s was The Mission, with Ennio Morricone’s beautiful score taking centre stage.
The two winners from the 21st century are The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, which were both directed by Ken Loach. Interestingly enough, both films beat out works from another acclaimed British filmmaker, Andrea Arnold. These were Red Road and American Honey, respectively, both projects that have perhaps endured better than either of Loach’s works.
The list of British films that have won the Palme d’Or isn’t an especially impressive round-up, and only The Third Man and Brief Encounter would rank among the best Palme d’Or winners. That’s not to outright criticise Cannes, it just seems like the United Kingdom hasn’t necessarily submitted its very best movies to compete for the Palme d’Or. That’s a shame, of course, because British cinema is really rather wonderful.
The British Palme d’Or winners:
- Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1945)
- The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
- The Knack… and How to Get It (Richard Lester, 1965)
- If… (Lindsay Anderson, 1969)
- The Go-Between (Joseph Losey, 1971)
- The Hireling (Alan Bridges, 1973)
- The Mission (Roland Joffe, 1986)
- Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)
- The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach, 2006)
- I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016)
