Richard E. Grant visits Pinewood Studios

Richard E. Grant takes a trip to Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire the home of the 'Carry On' films and the 007 franchise . The influential British directors who have made films at Pinewood include David Lean and Alfred Hitchcock. 'Young and Innocent', a film made by the young virtually unknown Hitchcock in 1937 at Pinewood, became the talk of the studios for many years. It included a then highly original shot right the way round a dancefloor ending up on the twitching eye of the villain. Stars have also been made at Pinewood. Among them, legendary British actor Sir Michael Caine. Sir Michael's 1965 spy thriller The Ipcress File launched the character of Harry Palmer and brought the actor to international attention. Another Pinewood protégé was comedy actor Sir Norman Wisdom who was a huge star in the 50s and 60s. When Rank, in partnership with the Pinewood estate's owner Charles Boot, founded the studios, they invested heavily to make them the best and most advanced in the world. Pinewood boasted multiple "units" to allow several films to be made at once. This reputation has been maintained over the decades and the British Film Commission pushes Pinewood when promoting the UK as an ideal location for international film-makers. The James Bond movies have always been among the most technically difficult films made at Pinewood. The World is Not Enough, from 1999, is an example of how Pinewood has always been able to meet these ambitious demands. The huge caviar factory in the movie was constructed over a specially-extended exterior tank, which was already the largest in Western Europe. This reputation has attracted many notable American blockbusters to the Buckinghamshire studio. During the making of Stanley Kubrick's 1999 Eyes Wide Shut, a large area of Pinewood was turned into a chunk of Manhattan in New York.