Heritage film

Heritage film is a term used to refer to a genre of British historical films which are argued to depict pre-World War II Britain in a nostalgic and sentimental fashion. The term was coined by 20th-century writers on the British left, and although originally used in a critical manner has now broadened out to a more neutral descriptor. It has also been used to describe historical films with high-quality production values produced in Europe and beyond.

Many heritage films were adapted from British classic literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Heritage films have been argued to have a particular aesthetic approach (the "heritage" or "museum" aesthetic), marked by scrupulous attention to historical detail and the prominent depiction of the English countryside. The genre began during the second half of the 20th century, coinciding with the British heritage industry's rise to prominence since the 1970s. Critics have argued that the emergence of the heritage film was influenced by successive Conservative Party ministries under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which promoted a notion of the UK's cultural heritage which was politically conservative, pro–free enterprise and biased towards upper class values.

At a time of British industrial decline, stagnant economic growth, political polarisation and social unrest, heritage films were appealing to many because they projected a nostalgic image of Britain as a prosperous, powerful and socially cohesive nation. Many heritage films were set in the British Empire, particularly in India. While these films have been described as glorifying and romanticising the past, they have also been argued to contain critiques of British society. Other critics point out that the representations, themes and perspectives presented in heritage films are varied, not homogeneous, and many of them are romance narratives, suggesting that the pleasures they offer to audiences are more diverse and less necessarily conservative than those assumed by their original critics.