The Humphrey Jennings Collection [1942]

Listen to Britain is a sublime composition of the sights and sounds of Britain in the midst of war. Its seamless sequence of images and sounds can be watched time and again for its beauty, connections and the economy with which it tells vast stories of the human spirit.

Diary for Timothy is set during 1944-45 in a nation utterly wearied by war, and this film diary for a newborn baby shows the world around him at that moment. There is a deep humanity here – Michael Redgrave captures the tone of E.M. Forster’s commentary perfectly, and its final sequence is one of the most moving in all cinema.

Finally, I Was A Fireman, about 24 hours in the work of a Fire Unit during the Blitz, should be as iconic to British cinema as Jean Vigo’s L’Atalante is to the French. In its respect for the stories of ordinary people, its use of non-professional actors and the poetry of its visual connections, it ushered in a realm of new cinematic possibilities in Britain.

Synopsis
A collection of Humphrey Jennings films. I WAS A FIREMAN presents twenty-four hours in the life of a fire crew in action during the Blitz; the sights and sounds of wartime Britain are captured in LISTEN TO BRITAIN; and DIARY FOR TIMOTHY paints a moving portrait of the life of a wartime baby.

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