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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.
Promotional 1934 9 mins Silent Location: Birkenhead
Birkenhead's sights, shopping opportunities and industries.
Amateur film 1979 8 mins Silent Location: Sudbury
Sudbury's market dates back to 1009! One of Suffolk's popular markets, amateur filmmaker John Anderson documents the stall holders and their visitors circa 1979.
Non-Fiction 1961 11 mins Silent Location: Bradford
The hope for a bright post war future for this newly built council estate in Bradford in 1961, with dads tending the gardens and kids playing on jiggers in the streets.
Non-Fiction 1902 10 mins Silent Location: Halifax
Many views of busy, bustling Halifax, including a handsome, horse-drawn steam fire engine.
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Glasgow
A flood of pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic in Edwardian Glasgow.
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.
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.
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.
Advert 1985 2 mins
Take a fighter jet, a Top Gun pilot with sunglasses and a brand new SAAB 900 and you have a sure-fire vehicle to launch a Hollywood career.
Promotional 2019 10 mins
A wandering warrior dreams of a new form of expression, in this promo for UNKLE’s album The Road: Part II / Lost Highway Pt. II directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.
1935 16 mins
A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour: the Thames has never looked lovelier.
Advert 1946 1 mins Silent
Life is looking up! The war is over and the “Corona” Man can visit his “Corona” families once more, door-to-door.
Advert 1962 0 mins Location: Rhyl
Cinema advertisement for Marine Lake & Ocean Beach, Rhyl, a popular destination for crowds set on a day's fun on free rides.
Advert 1942 7 mins Silent Location: Blaenau Ffestiniog
Who could deny these advertising claims: "Attractive hair is the ambition of every woman", and "Your family will enjoy Lincoln potatoes"?
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