The Bigger Picture: Notting Hill and the British romcom

We're back, renamed as The Bigger Picture, but as bumbling, charming and cor-gosh-blimey British as ever!

This episode - at the start of our second season - we're talking about Notting Hill, which has been re-released for Valentine's Day. Richard Curtis's film, about a famous film star who falls for an everyman, sold the world a vision of Britain that was posh, white and amiable. We talk about the film and its place in the rickety genre of British romcoms: what they were, why they happened and why they died. On the way we go gaga for Hugh Grant, because... why wouldn't you?

The Bigger Picture, presented by the BFI, is...

BFI Southbank Programmer Anna Bogutskaya

BFI Digital editor Henry Barnes

Producer Peter Sale

Flowers, chocolates, reading:

• Why we fell out of love with the British romcom (via the Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/02/not-love-actually-british-romcoms-bridget-jones-relationship-go-so-wrong

• Hugh Grant talks about his iconic film roles (via GQ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2YoUbAEFTI

• The best romcoms that pass the Bechdel test (via Broadly): https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/wj4xd4/best-netflix-romantic-comedies-that-pass-the-bechdel-test

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