This film is part of Free
An enjoyably odd public information film shot on the streets of Blackburn, Norwich and Oxford.
Documentary 1976 25 mins
This enjoyably oddball public information film features good location footage from Blackburn, Norwich and Oxford. A dry, if important, subject (local government policies for making small improvements to urban areas) is presented in rather eccentric style. 'Fly-on-the-wall' scenes are unconvincing, and the use of folk singing unintentionally hilarious - but rather beautifully cut to the images.
There’s method in the madness: the charming, homespun patchwork feel of the film suggests a humility and sense of human scale in the new policy of General Improvement Areas, compared to the comprehensive redevelopment that dominated post-war town planning. The film was mainly screened in meetings between council planners, architects and residents. Despite (or because) of its sillier trappings, it exudes a truly likeable decency, making it an honourable minor entry in the civic-minded tradition of films like the documentary classic Housing Problems (1935). This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Cinemagazine 1973 8 mins Location: Milton Keynes
"The most exciting thing going on in Europe, if not the world": welcome to Milton Keynes circa 1973.
Amateur film 1977 6 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
The colourful bustle of Portsmouth's oldest street market features in this 1977 film – where traders and shoppers mix under the brooding presence of the infamous Tricorn Centre.
School programme and Educational film 1977 9 mins Location: Telford
Six Shropshire villages combine and the new town of Telford is born.
Documentary 1970 20 mins Location: Wolverhampton
Bricks and mortar makes way for concrete and reinforced steel as Wolverhampton sweeps the past aside in a modernist town planning utopia.
Amateur film 1962 7 mins Silent Location: Chichester
A fascinating film showing the cathedral city of Chichester before the arrival of its ringroad and the pedestrianisation of its Roman streets.
Non-Fiction 1901 5 mins Silent Location: Manchester
A rare glimpse of early Edwardian Manchester when the horse-drawn tram still reigned supreme.
Advert 1971 1 mins Location: Norwich
It's all hip and happening working in insurance, as this 1971 recruitment advertisement for Norwich Union, made for cinema screening, shows.
Amateur film 1974 4 mins Location: Norwich
Whether you’re after handbags, children’s toys, flat caps, ladies’ coats or your everyday fruit and veg, it’s all here at Norwich market.
Amateur film 1984 11 mins Location: Norwich
The railway line from Norwich to Cromer; a vital link in local life, but will the trains continue?
Documentary 1983 26 mins Location: Syderstone
Dick Joice introduces this documentary charting the course and the history of the river starting at Horningtoft and finishing in Norwich.
Amateur film 1973 11 mins Location: Norwich
Norwich market from dawn to dusk in all weathers, with commentary by the market traders comparing the market now with their memories. The market has traded for over 900 years.
Documentary 1993 4 mins Location: Norwich
Between the River Wensum and King Street stood Albion Mill, an 1837 yarn mill, repurposed in 1932 as a flour mill by Robert John Read.
Short documentary 2021 5 mins
Lydia West (It’s A Sin) introduces debbie tucker green’s ethereal, warm and human debut feature.
Drama 1965 5 mins
The powerful, multifaceted spirt and energies of the revolutionary 1960s are channelled in dynamic, monochrome microcosm.
Short documentary 2021 5 mins
Susan Wokoma introduces Alice Lowe’s slasher comedy Prevenge, reflecting on Lowe’s journey making and starring in the film while pregnant, and her rich palette of classic influences.
Performance 1990 27 mins
The Bow Gamelan Ensemble stage spectacular avant-garde musical shows.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 15 mins
An elderly man takes a hypnotic journey through his memories in the moments before his death.
Documentary 1969 12 mins
The supreme intent and personal biography of a Black Panther contrasts with the alienating propaganda of late-night television.
Do you recognise a place, building or location in this film?
Help us populate the Britain on Film map by spotting and plotting the street or location you know. This is a BFI project and anyone can help.
Go to our Britain on Film crowdsourcing site and contribute to our mapping mission – to identify locations within our archive films.
Add a location
