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Entertaining and evocative Fleet Air Arm drama-doc propaganda piece, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
War 1944 42 mins
Intelligent, well-made WWII propaganda. Clumsy Fred Davey isn’t much of a theatrical dresser, as his thespian boss, played by Ralph Richardson, discovers. But he finds his true vocation in the forces. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made this stirring mini-feature, which follows a young volunteer's progress from enlistment in the Navy's Fleet Air Arm to his subsequent decoration for valour.
This fascinating film also features behind-the-scenes footage shot at Denham Studios. Among the celebrities glimpsed are actress Anna Neagle – seen leaving the studio canteen - and the great Laurence Olivier - caught pulling funny faces through a window. Director Powell appears briefly too, playing a photographer. 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.
Science Fiction 1929 68 mins
Extravagantly-mounted futuristic sci-fi, now with added sound, although still with the world's two power blocs at loggerheads.
Science Fiction 1929 75 mins Silent
A terrorist plot plays out on a backdrop of towering skyscrapers, bullet-railways and silver lamé in this vintage vision of London's future.
Science Fiction 1936 93 mins
The construction of a transatlantic tunnel linking Britain and America hits trouble in an entertaining slice of speculative fiction.
Comedy 1934 87 mins
Husbands lock up their wives when the renowned Romeo returns to Seville; but the man wooing the city’s ladies is not what he seems.
Science Fiction 1913 60 mins Location: London
Britain's first full-length science fiction feature has been restored by the BFI National Archive and given a new score by composer Matthew Herbert, commissioned by the BFI and the BBC.
War 1992 115 mins Location: Trawsfynydd
The stirring story of poet Ellis Evans-Hedd Wyn, the Welsh poet posthumously awarded the Eisteddfod chair at Birkenhead in 1917 after failing to return from 1st World War trenches.
Documentary 1939 10 mins Location: Denham
Fascinating record of the grit behind the glamour of one of Europe's largest film studios – and all in a sleepy little English village.
Documentary 1937 34 mins Silent Location: Houses of Parliament
Follow working narrow boats as they make their 60-hour trip from London to Birmingham along Britain's longest industrial waterway.
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
Industry sponsored film 1960 24 mins
A new luxury express is put through its paces. This film looks over the shoulders of the select band of craftsmen, engineers and operators, whose combined skills try to ensure that a train journey is a delightful experience.
Industry sponsored film 1957 20 mins
Illustrating the efficiency of express freight trains, and how they link manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain.
Documentary 1952 30 mins
Examining a day in the life of what was then the busiest railway system in the world – British Railways.
Documentary 1973 15 mins
British Transport Films record the varied daily lives of their neighbours as seen from the high roof of their building in London’s Marylebone.
Industry sponsored film 1957 9 mins
A 1957 film examining the future for British Railways, and some of the opportunities provided by a new modernisation plan.
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