A simple technique for introducing a hybrid alignment or a homeotropic
(vertical) alignment into liquid crystal films, which, by their nature,
tend to have a horizontal alignment of liquid crystal molecules. The
technique does not require special alignment films.A liquid crystal
composition for forming a liquid crystal film contains a polymerizable
liquid crystal compound and a hydrolysate of an alkoxysilane compound.
The hydrolysate of the alkoxysilane compound contains a siloxane oligomer
of which degree of polymerization is from 2 to 25. Furthermore, the
alkoxysilane compound is a trialkoxysilane compound having a functional
group. This liquid crystal film composition can be produced by
hydrolyzing an alkoxysilane compound to obtain a hydrolysate and then
uniformly mixing the hydrolysate with a polymerizable liquid crystal
compound. Alternatively, it can be obtained by uniformly mixing the
alkoxysilane compound with the polymerizable liquid crystal compound and
subsequently hydrolyzing the alkoxysilane compound in the mixture. One
mole of the alkoxysilane compound is preferably hydrolyzed with 0.1 d to
2.0 d mol of water, given that the number of alkoxyl groups in a molecule
of the alkoxysilane compound is d. An optically anisotropic film can be
obtained by applying the liquid crystal film composition to a base film,
causing the liquid crystal molecules in the composition to alignment in a
nematic alignment, and curing the composition. The alignment of the
liquid crystal molecules in the film is preferably a nematic hybrid or
nematic hemeotropic (vertical) alignment.