Shadows of Progress Documentary Film in Post-War Britain

by Russell, Patrick; Taylor, James

• ISBN13: 9781844573219
• ISBN10: 1844573214
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-15
• Publisher: British Film Institute

Summary

?Britain emerged from war a changed country, facing new social, industrial and cultural challenges. Its documentary film tradition #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; established in the 1930s and 1940s around legendary figures such as Grierson, Rotha and Jennings #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; continued evolving, utilising technical advances, displaying robust aesthetic concerns, and benefiting from the entry into the industry of wealthy commercial sponsors. Thousands of films were seen by millions worldwide. Received wisdom has been that British documentary went into swift decline after the war, resurrected only by Free Cinema and the arrival of television documentary.Shadows of Progressdemolishes these simplistic assumptions, presenting instead a complex and nuanced picture of the sponsored documentary in flux. Patrick Russell and James Piers Taylor explore the reasons for the period#x19;s critical neglect, and address the sponsorship, production, distribution and key themes of British documentary. They paint a vivid picture of institutions #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; from public bodies to multinational industries #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; constantly redefining their relationships with film as a form of enlightened public relations. Many of the issues that these films addressed could not be more topical today: the rise of environmentalism; the balance of state and industry, individual and community; a nation and a world travelling from bust to boom and back again. In the second part of the book, contributors from the curatorial and academic world provide career biographies of key film-makers of the period. From Lindsay Anderson#x19;s lesser-known early career to neglected film-makers like John Krish, Sarah Erulkar, Eric Marquis and Derrick Knight, a kaleidoscopic picture is built up of the myriad relationships of artist and sponsor.

Author Biography

Patrick Russell is Senior Curator (Non-Fiction). BFI National Archive, UK. He is the author of 100 British Documentaries (2007) and co-editor of The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon (2004) and a regular contributor to BFI Screenonline. James Piers Taylor is an independent curator and film historian. He has worked previously in several film archives, including those of the BBC, the BFI, the Imperial War Museum, ITN, ITV and Reuters.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Whatever Happened to the Documentary Movement?
PART ONE: BETWEEN THE TIDES: MAPPING POST-WAR DOCUMENTARY
The Long Tail
Documentary Culture: Groupings, Gatherings and Writings
Films Nobody Sees?: Distribution and Exhibition
Production
Sponsorship
Themes
PART TWO: THE NEW EXPLORERS: CAREERS IN POST-WAR DOCUMENTARY
Introduction
People, Productivity and Change: P.Bradford & T.Boon
The World Still Sings: J.Howells & D.Berry
'I Don't Thing He Did Anything Else: P.Dickson & L.Enticknap
Conflict and Confluence: Michael Orrom & K.McGahan
Documentary on the Move: T.Thompson, B.Mason, G.Jones & S.Foxon
Pictures Should Be Steady: J.Hill & J.Piers Taylor
Less Film Society  - More Fleet Street: P.Hopkinson & J.Piers Taylor
Science and Society: P.Noemanville, S.Erulkar, R.Cranston & K.McGahan
Shooting the Message: J.Krish & P.Russell
Who's Driving?: P.Pickering & P.Russell
The Passing Stranger: A.Simmons & M.Brooke
Meet the Pioneers  - Early; L.Anderson & E.Hedling
A Person Apart: G.Brenton & R.Cranston
Tracts of Time: D.Williams & P.Russell
Savage Voyages: Eric Marquis & R.Vick
Between Two Worlds: D.Knight & B.Hogenkamp
Index