The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free

Emily Jane
Out on the wiley, windy moors, by rundown stone cottages, the bonneted Brontë sisters feed their imagination, and Emily (aka Ellis Bell) dreams of meeting her Heathcliffe.
From the collection of:

Overview
This is a splendid documentary about Emily Jane Brontë, made on location by dedicated Leeds amateur filmmaker Jack Eley. With Jack’s typically enlivening commentary, it shows where the Brontës lived, settings for Wuthering Heights, fascinating historic items and period re-enactments drawn from the life of the sisters and their brother – with the hooded figure of Heathcliffe haunting the moors.
John (Jack) S. Eley was a major player in the very active Leeds Cine Club in the 1950s and ‘60s. He liked to make well-crafted documentaries like this one (made with the help of the Brontë Society and the Yorkshire Arts Association), with other films on Rupert Brooke and John Ruskin. His friend and fellow filmmaker Gordon Riley filmed Jack making the film, behind the scenes, for ‘The Shooting of Emily Jane’. The personnel playing all the characters in the film aren’t known, although Jack’s wife Gladys and daughter Sue are among them. A wonderful tour of the area seen in the film, including Top Withens, the possible location of Wuthering Heights, is provided by Brontë enthusiast Helen Broadhead.
Related

Mining Review 25th Year No. 9 Mining Review 25th Year No. 9
1972 10 mins Location: Mayfair
A painterly profile of County Durham's brilliant miner-artist Tom McGuinness.

Figures in a Landscape Figures in a Landscape
Documentary 1953 17 mins Silent Location: St Ives
A poetic portrait of sculptor Barbara Hepworth and the otherworldly Cornish landscapes which inspired her.

Dancers Dancers
1978 29 mins
Impressionistic portrait of life as a dancer in London’s Ballet Rambert.

Giacometti Giacometti
Documentary 1967 14 mins
Spend a few intense minutes with Giacometti in his Paris studio and see him at work on his striking sculptures.

Portrait of David Hockney Portrait of David Hockney
Documentary 1972 13 mins
Filmed at the time Hockney was painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, this compelling study concentrates on the textures and light which surround the artist in his home and studio.

Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt
Documentary 1984 61 mins
Discover the 'name behind the hairstyle', in this essential portrait of the bard of Salford, aka John Cooper Clarke.

Methodism in the Dales Methodism in the Dales
Travelogue 1949 28 mins Silent Location: Calver
A tour of chapels and Methodists, past and present, in the northern counties of England.

The Shooting of Emily Jane The Shooting of Emily Jane
Amateur film 1980 23 mins Location: Stanbury
An intriguing film of an amateur filming a documentary about Emily Brontë on location, up on the Yorkshire moors, and editing it in his home.

A Bronte Christmas A Bronte Christmas
Documentary 1980 14 mins Location: Haworth
Richard Whiteley joins children on the Worth Valley Railway Santa’s Special, while the Haworth Town Band sing On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at.

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
Home movie 1970 3 mins Silent Location: Haworth
Station to station by steam locomotive on the Keighley and Worth Valley ‘heritage’ railway.

Yorkshire Tour No. 2 Yorkshire Tour No. 2
Documentary 1972 25 mins Location: Bridlington
Having given up the ghost as Martin Hopkirk, Kenneth Cope provides the banter as we tour Yorkshire, while maverick show jumper Harvey Smith helps decipher the Yorkshire ethos.

Push and Pull Push and Pull
Non-Fiction 1968 7 mins Location: Keighley
The age of steam lingers on as the `Worth Valley Railway Re-Opening Special' pulls into Keighley station, and hardly an anorak in sight.

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.

Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.