This film is part of Free
O Dreamland
Lindsay Anderson’s ground-breaking short film about a Margate amusement park, which helped to launch a new documentary movement.
Overview
Lindsay Anderson’s 12–minute tour of Margate’s Dreamland funfair is immediately notable for its deliberately bleak and unattractive photography and a spare and impressionistic soundtrack. Despite the absence of a commentary, the film distinctly conveys Anderson’s obvious disdain for the modest, if not tawdry, attractions on offer.
Originally made on a tiny budget in 1953, Anderson made the film with just one assistant, John Fletcher, a single 16mm camera and an audiotape recorder. Once completed, the film was shelved until Anderson rescued it three years later for the first Free Cinema programme of documentaries at London’s National Film Theatre (now BFI Southbank), which launched a short-lived movement. The absence of commentary or live ‘synch’ sound became a characteristic of Free Cinema films. They were an inevitable consequence of the budget and the equipment available, but the financial constraints freed Anderson and his associates to use sound expressively: a feature of O Dreamland’s soundtrack is the recurring laughter of mechanical dummies, which takes on a sinister, mocking tone. O Dreamland is also available on BFI's Free Cinema DVD set, along with the entirety of the Free Cinema films.
Related
Southern Seaside Southern Seaside
Travelogue 1935 15 mins Silent Location: Bournemouth
Anyone for a trip to the seaside? From Bournemouth to Margate via Brighton and Folkestone – sunny delights in abundance.
A Buoyancy Test in the Boating Pool at Easter A Buoyancy Test in the Boating Pool at Easter
Amateur film 1946 4 mins Silent Location: Margate
Margate's seafront is the venue for this short film from Bertram Doughty - showing visitors enjoying the attractions of Kent's famous resort.
Margate's Plaza Cinema Margate's Plaza Cinema
Amateur film 1988 2 mins Location: Margate
Margate's former Plaza Cinema looks a bit forlorn as it waits for yet another transformation in this short film from Alan Stingemore
50 Years On 50 Years On
Amateur film 1990 12 mins Location: Hawkinge
Surviving Battle of Britain veterans celebrate half a century since their finest hour at various locations in Kent - Britain's front line county during the Second World War
Visit to Margate 1950 Visit to Margate 1950
Amateur film 1950 5 mins Silent Location: Margate
Holidaymakers flock to the beach to enjoy traditional coastal entertainments in this dazzling, colourful snapshot of Margate in its heyday.
It All Goes to Show It All Goes to Show
Comedy 1970 27 mins Location: Margate
Arthur Lowe is hilarious as a hen-pecked husband in this cheeky seaside-set comedy, shot in Margate.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.