This film is part of Free

Big Pit
Memories of Blaenavon Colliery, Monmouthshire, as it nears its end.
Overview
Images of Blaenavon Colliery, Monmouthshire, nearing its death, starkly adorn the soundtrack’s fascinating and poignant oral history, courtesy of men whose memories of mining there stretch back to the turn of the 20th century. This commemorative film was produced, in a nicely understated style, by the film unit of the National Coal Board - the body responsible for managing and, now, closing the pit.
Blaenavon had witnessed many changes - of both ownership and technology - but the one constant was the camaraderie of the men who worked there. Director-cameraman John Reid, a thirty-year veteran of coal filmmaking, wisely sticks with a simple and spare technique, making for a moving rather than sentimental viewing experience. The mine, the film dares suggest, "will leave more than a passing imprint". And in fact it has. Blaenavon today is the site of The Big Pit National Coal Museum of Wales.
Related

Miner Miner
Documentary 1950 36 mins Silent Location: Featherstone
Absorbing overview of coalmining in the early years of nationalisation.

Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 2 mins
Miners' safety training - marked by stylish animation and gallows humour.

Energy Energy
Advert 1935 42 mins Silent Location: Cardiff/Caerdydd
Coal, between the world wars, makes the industrialised world go round and Cory Bros & Co Ltd, with collieries in south Wales and oil refineries across the globe, is a major player.

Guilty Chimneys Guilty Chimneys
Documentary 1954 18 mins
Elegiac sponsored film imploring viewers to "allow the sun to penetrate the haze of ignorance" and relieve British cities of pollution.

People Will Always Need Coal People Will Always Need Coal
Advert 1975 1 mins
Deliriously kitsch recruitment ad for the implausibly glamorous world of coalmining.

Campaign to Organise the General Strike Campaign to Organise the General Strike
Campaigning film 1984 32 mins
Young Socialists take the lead in the struggle against the "Tory dictatorship" led by Margaret Thatcher.

Biography of a Blind Man Biography of a Blind Man
Biopic 1960 14 mins Location: Varteg
Blinded at 15, Michael has never sought the support of other blind people, preferring to mix with the sighted, despite the difficulties.

Afrika Bambaataa on Afrofuturism (Q&A) Afrika Bambaataa on Afrofuturism (Q&A)
Inside Film 2014 45 mins
Afrika Bambaataa and DJ, musician and filmmaker Don Letts discuss the development of Afrofuturism and its key artists.

Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.

Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.

Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.