This film is part of Free
The Tough 'un
Startlingly beautiful time-lapse photography of the gardener’s nemesis – the dandelion – and finally, a solution?
Overview
"If they were as rare as orchids we would probably rave about them" opens this film in the Secrets of Nature series, directed by the prolific Mary Field. The mesmerising time-lapse photography is offset by a jokey commentary voiced by EVH Emmett, then best known as the voice of the Gaumont newsreel. The flippant tone is exemplified by his comment on the range of responses to dandelions: "Some gardeners tear up the lawn and lay crazy paving, some tear up a high cliff and jump off".
Mary Field’s extensive career in the film industry is little recognised - surprisingly, considering her prodigious output which numbers hundreds of films. This film was made with the pioneering natural history cinematographer Percy Smith.
Related
The London Story The London Story
Comedy 1986 16 mins Location: Waterloo Sta
Sally Potter's lively dance film about spies and government intrigue.
White Men Are Cracking Up White Men Are Cracking Up
Drama 1994 20 mins
The fatal fascination with the myth of the black feminine mystique is uncovered in Ngozi Onwurah's short
Cedar Wood & Silk Cedar Wood & Silk
1995 14 mins
Insightful exploration of the relationship between a Jamaican mother and her British-born daughter.
Around the Village Green Around the Village Green
Travelogue 1937 12 mins Location: Finchingfield
Rural life in the Essex villages of Finchingfield and Great Bardfield - and the mixed reactions of older residents to changing times.
So This Is London So This Is London
Documentary 1933 14 mins Silent Location: Westminster
London at its best? This gorgeous lyrical portrait was made by pioneering female director Marion Grierson.
Tunde's Film Tunde's Film
Documentary drama 1974 40 mins Location: Stepney
Tired of being hassled by the police and with no job opportunities, a group of teenage East End lads plan to rob a bank.
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.
Interview with Pam Cullen Interview with Pam Cullen
Inside Film 2020 53 mins
Interview with Pam Cullen who at 97 boasts an incredible career spanning over fifty years in the Indian film industry.
Muscle - Exclusive Q&A Muscle - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 34 mins
Director Gerard Johnson talks Nia Child through the making of Muscle, an adrenalized drama that tears into the stereotypes of masculinity and male friendship.