The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Glastonbury Festival and the First Pyramid Stage
Glastonbury ley lines for iconic pyramid stage to heighten a festival-goer’s experience
News 1971 5 mins Not rated
From the collection of:
Overview
TV reporter John Doyle joins the beginnings of the Glastonbury Fayre which is in its second year and very much rooted in the hippie culture of peace and love. It is the vision of Michael Eavis who owns Worthy Farm in Pilton and who was inspired by a Led Zeppelin concert he saw in Bath in 1969. Glastonbury is near Stonehenge and steeped in myth and legend and the festival changes days to join with the pagan summer solstice of June 20 in an attempt to harness positive energy.
Andrew Kerr and Arabella Churchill plan this original festival envisaged as a freer and less traditional gathering. Theatre designer Bill Harkin designs the very first pyramid stage and builds it above the Glastonbury Abbey and Stonehenge ley line, believed by some to give the whole festival a positive energy or vibe. The Pyramid Stage is a scaled down version of one of the giant pyramids at Giza in Egypt. Every decade the now iconic Pyramid Stage is revamped into a larger more powerful structure with an ever-increasing eclectic mix of music groups and stars that have performed on it. One thing is for sure, when you make it there on the Pyramid Stage, you have reached a career capstone!
Genres
NewsCurrent affairs
Certificate
Not rated
Released
1971
Country
United Kingdom
Location
Glastonbury
Language
English
Related
Cambridge Folk Festival
Watch for free
Travelling for a Living Travelling for a Living
Performance 1966 45 mins Location: Kingston upon Hull
This "musical profile of the Watersons" is a precious document of the British folk revival, much of it shot in their hometown, Hull.
Watch for free
The Bardney Pop Festival The Bardney Pop Festival
News 1972 22 mins
Fly your freak flag high with this far-out film shot at the Great Western Express Festival in muddy May 1972.
Watch for free
The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage
1969 13 mins
The Bonzo Dog Band freak out at the farm and strange sounds abound in this cheery, charmingly childlike stream-of-consciousness music short.
Watch for free
Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles
1973 7 mins
Prepare to be freaked out big time by a thoroughly theatrical 1970s psych-prog-folk-rock fairy tale from English eccentrics Jethro Tull.
Watch for free
Red Red? Red Red Red? Red
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 34 mins
Communal life is idiosyncratically portrayed through a series of theatrical happenings.
Watch for free
Byker Song Byker Song
News 1974 2 mins Location: Byker
Two musicians lament the changes taking place as part of the Byker Estate re-development in Newcastle.
Glastonbury
Watch for free
Journey home to Canterbury Journey home to Canterbury
Amateur film 1930 7 mins Silent Location: Glastonbury
Join the Blighs on their homeward journey through the Southern counties - calling at Glastonbury and various ancient landmarks east
Watch for free
The Way to the West The Way to the West
Travelogue 1947 17 mins Silent Location: Cheddar Gorge
Hitchcock went the wrong way! Head south by southwest with this travelogue from Bath to Cornwall.
Watch for free
Cheddar Cheddar
Travelogue 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Cheddar Gorge
Pure tranquillity in rural Somerset, a world away from the war raging on the continent.
Watch for free
Cine Scrapbook Cine Scrapbook
Amateur film 1930 20 mins Silent Location: Harewood
There are some visual rarities in this fascinating compilation spanning three decades - featuring air raid shelter antics, switchback rollercoasters and aerials over Oxford.
Watch for free
Where the Cheese Comes From Where the Cheese Comes From
Travelogue 1926 12 mins Silent Location: Glastonbury
Blessed are the cheesemakers of Somerset in this tour of Cheddar and nearby Glastonbury.
Watch for free
Architectural reporter David Young on Glastonbury Architectural reporter David Young on Glastonbury
News 1980 4 mins Silent Location: Glastonbury
David Young visits Glastonbury famous for its festival and its legends of King Arthur, the Holy Grail and Joseph of Arimathea
New
Watch for free
Southward on the "Quest" Southward on the "Quest"
Documentary 1922 68 mins Silent
Potent record of the 1921 Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic expedition, marked by the death of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Watch for free
Across Bolivia Across Bolivia
1930 62 mins
Unreleased footage of an expedition in Bolivia, filmed by British explorer and naturalist JC Bee-Mason.
Watch for free
Cape to Cairo Cape to Cairo
Travelogue 1926 1 mins
The Court Treatt expedition arrives in Luxor in this fragment from the film record of their journey across Africa.
Watch for free
Under Sail in the Frozen North Under Sail in the Frozen North
1926 40 mins Silent
Compelling travel feature edited from footage of the 1925-26 Worsley Algarsson Arctic expedition.
Watch for free
Filmmakers in Focus: Michael Haneke Filmmakers in Focus: Michael Haneke
Inside Film 2021 41 mins
In this illustrated discussion, BFI programmer-at-large Geoff Andrew and Catherine Wheatley, the author of two books on Michael Haneke’s work, examine what makes him such a distinctive, important and often controversial cinematic artist.
Watch for free
Filmmakers in Focus: Věra Chytilová Filmmakers in Focus: Věra Chytilová
Inside Film 2021 41 mins
Film critic Carmen Gray and film writer Ela Bittencourt discuss three films by trailblazing Czech filmmaker Věra Chytilová.