This film is part of Free
The Sea in their Blood: Beside the Sea
Peter Greenaway’s short COI-commissioned documentary explores Britain’s coastline through a series of images of marine life – the animals who live off the sea, the people who work on the sea and the visitors who come for leisure.
Overview
Water often features in Greenaway’s work and this COI film gave him the chance to indulge his fascination by travelling round the coast of Britain filming whatever caught his eye. Thus the film also proved to be an essay in cataloguing ephemera associated with the sea; images of beaches, piers, fishing boats and animal and plant life are accompanied by a deluge of facts and figures about the seaside and its activities. In the typically playful narration, historical and literary references mingle with dubious statistics about herring consumption and lighthouse beams.
The film is a masterclass in editing by Greenaway’s long-time collaborator John Wilson. Pace and mood change in accordance with the compelling score by Michael Nyman, from sequences of quick cutting to long slow tracking shots.
Related
The Exile The Exile
1981 3 mins
Like plants, people can either thrive or wither when removed from their native soil, as this short film explores.
Dear Phone Dear Phone
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 17 mins
Peter Greenaway casts the ubiquitous red telephone box in a starring role, supported by a thread of stories and conversations.
H Is for House H Is for House
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 9 mins
A lesson in lexicography, Greenaway's H is For House recounts objects that begin with the letter ‘h’ as seen through the eye of a child.
Eddie Kidd Eddie Kidd
Cinemagazine 1978 5 mins
Stunt cyclist Eddie Kidd experiences the ups and downs of fame in this COI cinemagazine filmed at Beaulieu.
Intervals Intervals
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 6 mins
Adapting Vivaldi's notation system from The Four Seasons, Peter Greenaway presents a series of images shot in Venice.
Zandra Rhodes Zandra Rhodes
Government sponsored film 1981 15 mins
Early 1980s portrait of fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, by fellow avant-garde creator, Peter Greenaway.
Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion
Short documentary 2026 22 mins
Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and curator Matthew Barrington discuss Frederick Wiseman’s High School with Sandra Hebron.
Hard, Cracked the Wind Hard, Cracked the Wind
Horror 2019 17 mins
A haunting with words is the lure between life and death for a young Cornish poet.
A Last Resort A Last Resort
Comedy 2022 17 mins
Rose is desperate to celebrate her 60th birthday in style, but her daughter Genevieve is struggling to ignore some recent tragic news about her mum.
The Walk The Walk
Drama 2023 12 mins
Adeel Akhtar portrays a man on a weekly trek to his nearest JobCentre, entering a state of purgatory through barriers put in place by the system.
Seagull Seagull
Horror 2022 6 mins
Seagull is a recovering drug addict who is about to have a very strange night on The English Riviera.
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.