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Product Description
Featuring 40 films over four DVDs, this extensive collection is a major retrospective of the British documentary film movement during its period of great influence. These films many of which are 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These diverse and compelling films are fascinating historical documents, bearing witness to the social and industrial transformations of the rapidly changing world. Using poetry, dramatic reconstruction, modernist techniques and explicit propaganda, the filmmakers found fresh, news ways to get their message across.
Extra Features:
- Includes fully illustrated 96 page perfect bound book with contextualising essays on all of the films
- Includes interviews with some of the directors featured on the discs
- Includes a 15 minute film of John Grierson (the father of documentary) at the National Film Theatre in 1959
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
These are splendid examples of their type - the sort of thing we were often shown in school in the fifties. The main thing one notices is the faces - real faces of real people in real life; it show up the falsehood of reality TV. A number of the films use actors where required, although they are honest enough to say so - note, for example, Arthur Howard as a pension office clerk, and of course there are actual 'stars' in some of morale boosting episodes - note especially in Gielgud's Hamlet, George Woodbridge as the gravedigger, a part in which, according to Gielgud himself, he starred. Much as I enjoyed the films themselves, it is so sad to see that few of the 'promises' have been kept - note especially those about modern school buildings, class sizes and improved, affordable housing. Films showing work processes and industrial manufacturing techniques are especially fascinating - the sort of film which these days seem to exist only on children's television; there seems to be a horror of showing factual material material outside natural history programmes and suchlike, which is a great shame. The sound seemed fine to me - even using a laptop - the the images, although some were unsurprisingly, dulled a little by age, are often as haunting now as they were when they first appeared. I had a marvellous time watching these - how lucky we are that the films still exist to show just what a set of fine film makers we had then, and their reputations can only be enhanced by making these films available; more, please BFI.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
As someone who usually asks for BFI dvds for birthdays and Christmas, this new release was a must.
I've always been into social history and the variety of styles and subjects presented on Land of Promise delivered the goods.
The selection is fascinating and despite being born in 1949 I can relate to so much of it. It stirred many memories as someone who lived on the edge of a post war housing estate alongside a lane used daily by farmers, with a mainline railway across a cow pasture and a colliery 2 miles behind that in semi rural South Yorkshire.
The only downside is that we still do not seem to have learnt from the message of the documentary makers!
I've always been into social history and the variety of styles and subjects presented on Land of Promise delivered the goods.
The selection is fascinating and despite being born in 1949 I can relate to so much of it. It stirred many memories as someone who lived on the edge of a post war housing estate alongside a lane used daily by farmers, with a mainline railway across a cow pasture and a colliery 2 miles behind that in semi rural South Yorkshire.
The only downside is that we still do not seem to have learnt from the message of the documentary makers!
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
This excellently produced BFI 4 disc set is the major retrospective of British documentaries between 1930 and 1950 that is currently available.Most of the come from official and semi=official source.They not only reflected life as it was lived but greatly influenced public attitudes and opinions since they were shown in the cinema at a time when that was overwhelmingly the major source of public entertainment and information.We know of the "Hollywood Dream'engendered in many by American films ,but there was also a British Dream reflected in many of these films a determination that the peace as well as the war was going to be won in the sense that life after the war was going to be better than life before.Despite the fact that many of these documentaries are 'official' they very much reflect the changing mood in the country before, during and after the second world war
These documentaries are not only of interest to those who want to learn of their countries
past,of how we came to be the country that we are today,however but also show a valuable insight into the changes that were taking place in film technique , many of the pioneered by the documentary film makers well known now but highly innovatory then
Of course any collection of 40 films is bound to be of varying quality and appeal.My personal favourites are both directed by the great Humphrey Jennings .The first was 1942s "Listen To Britain ' which must be one of the most poignant pieces of propaganda ever made largely because it shows the lives of ordinary people faced with the most immediate peril but does not go in for overt preaching.It is interesting I think that another great film maker Terence Davis said that this was a major influence on his own acclaimed 'Of Time And The City. The other was Diary For Timothy which shows what the people of this country had fought for and what the hopes for the future were I suppose that this seems so poignant to me because as a wartime baby it did as much to influece my attitudes as the much vaunted 1960 s
Finally the highest praise for the production values. Great pains have been gone to to provide the highest possible technical values and the set is accompanied by an exemplary 96 page book which has full details of each of the films and some excellent essays on documentary film in this period.The Dvd s also contain extras which really do contribute something
All in all it is difficult to praise this set too highly It is a box set worthy of the name and will be a standard work for decades to come
o
These documentaries are not only of interest to those who want to learn of their countries
past,of how we came to be the country that we are today,however but also show a valuable insight into the changes that were taking place in film technique , many of the pioneered by the documentary film makers well known now but highly innovatory then
Of course any collection of 40 films is bound to be of varying quality and appeal.My personal favourites are both directed by the great Humphrey Jennings .The first was 1942s "Listen To Britain ' which must be one of the most poignant pieces of propaganda ever made largely because it shows the lives of ordinary people faced with the most immediate peril but does not go in for overt preaching.It is interesting I think that another great film maker Terence Davis said that this was a major influence on his own acclaimed 'Of Time And The City. The other was Diary For Timothy which shows what the people of this country had fought for and what the hopes for the future were I suppose that this seems so poignant to me because as a wartime baby it did as much to influece my attitudes as the much vaunted 1960 s
Finally the highest praise for the production values. Great pains have been gone to to provide the highest possible technical values and the set is accompanied by an exemplary 96 page book which has full details of each of the films and some excellent essays on documentary film in this period.The Dvd s also contain extras which really do contribute something
All in all it is difficult to praise this set too highly It is a box set worthy of the name and will be a standard work for decades to come
o
Most Recent Customer Reviews
PRICELESS
SO MANY RICH AND VARIED FILMS DONT LIKE THE DVD INSERT CASE MUCH
BUT THE DOCUMENTARYS ARE EXCELLENT BUY
IT HAVE ORDERED VOLUME 2 ON THE STENGTH OF THIS ONE.
BUT THE DOCUMENTARYS ARE EXCELLENT BUY
IT HAVE ORDERED VOLUME 2 ON THE STENGTH OF THIS ONE.
Published 12 months ago by Mr. Aa James
An excellent collection
This collection of 40 films, made between 1930-50, have running times that vary from 3 to 63 minutes. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Alan James
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