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.
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.