This film is part of Free
Review 26th Year No. 3
A makeover in Batley, a super-dock in Immingham - and 70s kitsch abounds.
Overview
Batley is the star of lead item 'The Solway Site', about a local spot's makeover following intensive opencast mining there. Then it's toys-for-boys time as 'Mining on Show' visits an exhibition of mega-mining equipment at London's Olympia centre. Finally, 'Project Immingham' explores said Humberside cargo terminal, closing this issue of the National Coal Board's newsreel with a little cinematic flourish.
In its 26th Year, Mining Review was renamed simply Review. This was the third issue released under the new branding, which coincided with the NCB Film Unit entering a period of gradual decline. The coverage of the building and operations of Immingham's 'super dock' (filmed at skewed angles and edited with pep), has a certain grandeur. But all three stories have their share of 1970s kitsch: the opening bars of music for the first item suggest what follows might be a Blaxploitation thriller rather than a report on local land reclamation... Incidentally the NCB Unit produced longer versions of the Olympia and Immingham items for release as stand-alone 16mm films. Both stories are windows on a long-lost world where UK energy policy is concerned: a world in which Britain exported both mining technology and coal itself. Look upon such works, ye mighty, and despair: coal now comes into the UK via Immingham, rather than out of it... 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.
Related
Miner Miner
Documentary 1950 36 mins Silent Location: Featherstone
Absorbing overview of coalmining in the early years of nationalisation.
Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 2 mins
Miners' safety training - marked by stylish animation and gallows humour.
Energy Energy
Advert 1935 42 mins Silent Location: Cardiff/Caerdydd
Coal, between the world wars, makes the industrialised world go round and Cory Bros & Co Ltd, with collieries in south Wales and oil refineries across the globe, is a major player.
Big Pit Big Pit
Industry sponsored film 1978 7 mins Location: Blaenavon
Memories of Blaenavon Colliery, Monmouthshire, as it nears its end.
Guilty Chimneys Guilty Chimneys
Documentary 1954 18 mins
Elegiac sponsored film imploring viewers to "allow the sun to penetrate the haze of ignorance" and relieve British cities of pollution.
People Will Always Need Coal People Will Always Need Coal
Advert 1975 1 mins
Deliriously kitsch recruitment ad for the implausibly glamorous world of coalmining.
Jobless in Batley Jobless in Batley
Current affairs 1975 27 mins Location: Batley
How does long term unemployment affect personal relationships and wellbeing? World in Action investigates in Batley, West Yorkshire.
The Wheelchair Olympians The Wheelchair Olympians
Documentary 1983 25 mins Location: Cleckheaton
With the Paralympics even more marginalised than today, these athletes show great determination, dedication, camaraderie and humility.
Military Tournament at Batley Football Ground (1902) Military Tournament at Batley Football Ground (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 5 mins Silent Location: Batley
A display of strength and skill in a Lancashire military tournament.
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 Luke Bean 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
Samantha Arnold of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.
Horace Ové on Pressure Horace Ové on Pressure
Inside Film 2005 36 mins
The acclaimed director discusses his landmark film in this interview from 2005.
Baltimore - Exclusive Q&A Baltimore - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 28 mins
Directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor dig deep into their thrilling biopic Baltimore, in discussion with Nadia M Oliva.