 Certificate
28-Apr-08
black & white and colour
UK
Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired
Published/distributed by BFI
ISBN/EAN: 5035673007563
Ratio 1.33:1
Price:
£25.99
(Including VAT at 17.5%)
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Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930 - 1950 Various
4-disc set with 13 hours of re-mastered footage, in deluxe presentation box with 96-page booklet.
A landmark BFI collection, and the first major retrospective of the documentary film movement during its period of greatest influence. These films - many of which are being made available here for the first time since their original release - capture the spirit and strength, concerns and resolve of Britain and its people before, during and after the Second World War.
These diverse and compelling films are fascinating historical documents, bearing witness to the social and industrial changes of the rapidly changing world. Yet they are also striking in their different approach to the form. Using poetry, dramatic reconstruction, the techniques of modernism and explicit propaganda, the filmmakers found fresh, new ways to get their message across.
Complete film listing:
Disc One
* Industrial Britain (Robert Flaherty, 1931)
* Shipyard (Paul Rotha, 1935)
* Workers and Jobs (Arthur Elton, 1935)
* Housing Problems (Arthur Elton, Edgar Anstey, 1935)
* Children at School (Basil Wright, 1937)
* Farewell Topsails (Humphrey Jennings, 1937)
* Today We Live (Ruby Grierson, Ralph Bond, 1937)
* Eastern Valley (Paul Rotha, Donald Alexander, 1937)
* People of Britain (Paul Rotha, 1936)
* If War Should Come (no director credited, 1939)
Disc Two
* Britain at Bay (Harry Watt, 1940)
* Transfer of Skill (Geoffrey Bell, 1940)
* They Also Serve (Ruby Grierson, 1940)
* Tomorrow is Theirs (James Carr, 1940)
* Words for Battle (Humphrey Jennings, 1941)
* Ordinary People (Jack Lee, J B Holmes, 1941)
* Five and Under (Donald Alexander, 1941)
* Night Shift (J D Chambers, 1942)
* The Countrywomen (John Page, 1942)
* Summer on the Farm (Ralph Keene, 1943)
* Listen to Britain (Humphrey Jennings, Stewart McAllister, 1942)
* Builders (Pat Jackson, 1942)
* Words and Actions (Max Anderson, 1943)
* A Diary for Timothy (Humphrey Jennings, 1946)
Disc Three
* Land of Promise (Paul Rotha, 1946)
* The Balance (Paul Rotha, 1947)
* What a Life! (Michael Law, 1948)
* The Dim Little Island (Humphrey Jennings, 1948)
* Britain Can Make It (No 1) (Francis Gysin, 1946)
* Fenlands (Ken Annakin, 1945)
* Children's Charter (Gerard Bryant, 1945)
* Chasing the Blues (J D Chambers, Jack Ellitt, 1947)
* Cotton Come Back (Donald Alexander, 1946)
* Five Towns (Terry Bishop, 1947)
Disc Four
* A Plan to Work On (Kay Mander, 1948)
* Mining Review 2nd Year No 11 (Peter Pickering, 1949)
* From the Ground Up (no director credited, 1950)
* Transport (Peter Bradford, 1950)
* The Undefeated (Paul Dickson, 1950)
* Family Portrait (Humphrey Jennings, 1950)
Extras* Close Up: Recollections of British documentary (40 mins) - new interviews with directors Pat Jackson, Peter Bradford, Peter Pickering and Paul Dickson, and with cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky
* John Grierson at the NFT (1959, 13 mins)
The set is completed by a 96-page illustrated booklet with introductory essays, biographies and notes on all of the films by leading researchers and scholars
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