Secrets Of Nature [DVD] [1922]

This awe-inspiring DVD presents 19 of the 144 "Secrets of Nature" theatrical short films made by British Instructional Pictures with great care and intelligence between 1922 and 1933. Each is transferred in high definition from the vintage nitrate or best preservation element in the BFI National Film and Television Archive, and the stunning image quality does justice to the breathtaking black-and-white photography of the original works. The series was designed to serve as popular entertainment, an intention especially apparent in the narrations of the early talkies, and achieved this so well that they were satirized by cartoons in "Punch;" however, the standard of production is very high and the editorial organization is a model of lucidity. Presented without ruffles or flourishes, the films frequently attain the eloquence of real visual poetry.

The DVD is organized in four sections: "Techniques," films which demonstrate microscopic, time-lapse, underwater cinematography and other special techniques of scientific filming, including "Fathoms Deep Beneath the Sea," "The Plants of the Pantry," "Magic Mixies (my personal favorite)," "The World in a Wine-Glass," "Romance in a Pond," and "Brewster's Magic;"; Birds, probably the most impressive section, including "The Cuckoo's Secret," "The White Owl," "The Bittern" and "The Nightingale;" Insects, which includes "Skilled Insect Artisans," "The Battle of the Ants," "Busy Bees" and "The Aphis;" and Plants, including "Floral Co-Operative Societies," "Peas and Cues," "Scarlet Runner & Co.," "The Strangler," and "Gathering Moss." There is also a 36-page booklet with excellent new essays by naturalists who are obviously impressed with the films and hold them in high esteem.

BFI presents "Secrets of Nature" as "forerunners of today's award-winning natural history television productions" but to my mind that is rather like saying that Mozart is a forerunner of Benjamin Britten. The measure of a work is its achievement against the possibilities of its time, and by that standard the best "Secrets of Nature" films are enduring accomplishments. Perhaps this DVD will restore the fame of Mary Field, Percy Smith, H. Bruce Woolfe and the other pioneers of British cinema who were responsible for them.

Whether as a matter of choice or of budgetary constraint (no explanation is offered), the DVD presents the eight silent films without musical accompaniment of any kind, although the essays state that music was played with them in theatres. This is an especially sad omission as the BFI has accompanists who provide brilliant scores for silent cinema; I found the silent films less arid and actually quite moving when I also played appropriate music from a CD. (The sound films on the set give a good idea of the musical settings intended by the filmmakers). Because of film shrinkage, some title cards shake and it would have been an improvement to stabilize them digitally, as well as to remove the frames full of hole punches from BFI's long-ago tests which estimated the longevity of the old nitrate film. However, these are minor reservations when measured against the pleasure of finally seeing and learning about the legendary and beautiful "Secrets of Nature."