It was in 1947 when the biggest names in the British film industry gathered together at the Hyde Park Hotel with the aim of recognising the outstanding work that has and will help to advance British film. Two years later in 1949, the first awards ceremony took place at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, London.
We now find ourselves in 2017 and the 70th British Academy Film Awards is upon us. The event will take place on February 12th at the Royal Albert Hall in London to honour and celebrate the best British and international contributions to film from the previous year.
Throughout its history, we have seen a wide range of films of different genres that have picked up the prestigious awards in the form of a bronze mask supported by a marble base. Such awards include Best Film, Best British Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Leading Actor and Actresses and even Best Make Up and Hair. So, in preperation for the 2017 BAFTAs we pay tribute to the annual award show by taking a look back at the top 10 films that have won the most BAFTAs in its history.
10 'The Hurt Locker' (6 awards)
The story about a US army bomb disposal team in post-invasion Iraq certainly went out with a bang, in a good sense, at the 2010 BAFTA awards. In an extremely strong field of nominees, which included the likes of 'Avatar' and 'Inglorious Basterds', the film directed by Kathryn Bigelow ran away with the most awards for the year. 'The Hurt Locker', which has a mere box office figure of 49 million dollars compared with Avatars 2.7 billion dollars, didn't let that affect its performance as it stole the show with 6 awards. The war thriller which stars Jeremy Renner, Amthony Mackie and Brian Gergahty, won Best Film, Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay as well as more.
9 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' (6 awards)
8 'Cabaret' (7 awards)
Set during the Weimar Republic in 1931 and during the rise in power of the Nazi Party, the 1972 musical drama, 'Cabaret' was received with glowing reviews and a strong box office performance. The film about an American club entertainer and her romance stories with two men also had a successful trip to the BAFTAs in 1973 as it managed to pick up 7 awards. The musical, which was originally a production on Broadway released in 1966, was turned into a film and won awards for best film, Best director, Best actress and Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles.
7 'A Man for All Seasons' (7 awards)
This 1966 British biographical drama tells the story of Sir Thomas More, who was Lord Chancellor of England in the 16th century and was known for refusing to sign a letter of annulment for King Henry VII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The film was a success both critically as well as in the box office arena, which led to the film directed by Fred Zinnerman winning 7 awards at the 1968 BAFTAs including Best British film, Best British actor (Paul Scofield), Best British screenplay and Best British costume design. A truly British affair to say the least.
6'Schindler's List' (7 awards)
There is no real surprise that a Steven Spielberg film has popped up on an awards list. His 1993 film, 'Schindler's List' was nominated for 13 BAFTAs in 1993 and ended up winning an impressive 7. The remarkable true story of Oskar Schindler ( Liam Neeson) who saved approximately 1,200 jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factory, was presented with the bronzed mask awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Fiennes) and Best Film Music for John Williams' soundtrack.
5 'The Artist' (7 awards)
This silent spectacular managed to clean up at the 65th BAFTA awards in 2012. This romantic-comedy, which is shown in black and white as well as having no dialogue, may seem quite peculiar especially in this day of age. However, the 2011 French film directed by Michel Hazanavicius is a clever and well structured production and it reaped its rewards winning 7 awards including Best Film and Best Screenplay. Jean Dujardin also won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the production also won Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography.
4'Slumdog Millionaire' (7 awards)
The British movie filmed in Mumbai emerged as the biggest winner at the 2009 BAFTAs winning 7 awards ranging from Best Direction given to Danny Boyle, Best Film Music for A.R. Rahman's soundtrack and the award for Best Film. With a fairly small budget of £10 million, '
Slumdog Millionaire' managed to fight off competition from the likes of The Dark Knight, 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and 'Quantum of Solace' to walk away with the highest number of awards that year.
3 'The King's Speech' (7 awards)
I'm sure you can sense a theme going on here with the amount of films that have received 7 awards in this list, but we assure you this is the last one! 'The King's Speech' certainly reigned over the BAFTA awards in 2011 as it was nominated for 14 and eventually won 7. The film, telling the story of King George VI and his ascension to the throne with the help of his speech therapist, fittingly won Best British Film. On top of this, the protagonist Colin Firth won Best Actor, meanwhile Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter both walked away with Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role respectively.
2 'The Killing Fields' (8 awards)
A film telling the remarkable true story of two journalists and their experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime which took place in Cambodia from the late 1960s until the late 1990s. Directed by Roland Joffé, this British drama was released in 1984 and featured Haing Ngor in his film debut who was a non-acting Cambodian doctor who survived the Cambodian holocaust. Remarkably, Ngor won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Most Promising Newcomer. Further awards that the film was presented with at the 38th BAFTAs included Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Production Design.
1 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (9 awards)
With 9 BAFTA awards to its name, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' is (for now) the film that has received the highest number of awards in the history of the BAFTAs. This 1969 American Western took the 24th BAFTAs by storm after it was nominated for 10 awards and left with all but one, winning 9 awards. Telling the story of Wild West outlaws Butch Cassidy Paul Newman and his trusty partner Harry Longabaugh (Robert Redford), also known as "The Sundance Kid", who are on the run after a string of robberies. No awards were stolen, instead they were rightly earned as the film was presented with Best Film, Best Direction by George Roy Hill, Best Film Music and Best Screenplay. Redford also won Best Actor in a Leading Role whilst Katherine Ross was awarded with Best Actress in a Leading Role.