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BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became the National Film Archive, and, in 1992, the National Film and Television Archive. It was renamed BFI National Archive in 2006. It collects, preserves, restores, and shares the films and television programmes which have helped to shape and record British life and times since the development of cine film in the late 19th century. The majority of the collection is British originated material, but it also features internationally significant holdings from around the world. The Archive also collects films which feature key British actors and the work of British directors. The collections themselves are accommodated on several sites. The Paul Getty, J. Paul Getty, Jr. Conservation Centre in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, named after its benefactor, is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949. Purpose It was established in 1933 to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom. BFI activities Archive The BFI maint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love, Life And Laughter (1923 Film)
''Love, Life and Laughter'' is a 1923 British silent film, written and directed by George Pearson. For many years the film was thought lost, and was listed as one of the British Film Institute's " 75 Most Wanted" lost films. On 2 April 2014, Dutch film institute Eye announced it had discovered a copy. Plot An impoverished author and a cabaret girl each have their dream of success, but are happy to wake to each other and reality. Cast *Betty Balfour *Harry Jonas * Frank Stanmore *Annie Esmond *Nancy Price *Sydney Fairbrother *Eric Smith * A. Harding Steerman *Audrey Ridgewell *Gordon Hopkirk *Dacia See also * List of rediscovered films This is a list of rediscovered films that, once thought lost, have since been discovered, in whole or in part. See List of incomplete or partially lost films and List of rediscovered film footage for films which were not wholly lost. For a fi ... References External links * 1923 films 1923 drama films British drama films Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Day The Earth Caught Fire
''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' is a British science fiction disaster film starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern and Janet Munro. It was directed by Val Guest and released in 1961, and is one of the classic apocalyptic films of its era. The film opened at the Odeon Marble Arch in London on 23 November 1961. The film, which was partly made on location in London and Brighton, used matte painting to create images of abandoned cities and desolate landscapes. The production also featured the real '' Daily Express'', even using the paper's own headquarters, the Daily Express Building in Fleet Street, London, and featuring Arthur Christiansen as the ''Express'' editor, a job he had held in real life. Plot A lone man walks through the deserted streets of a sweltering London. The film then goes back several months. Peter Stenning ( Judd) had been an up-and-coming journalist with the ''Daily Express'', but since a divorce threw his life into disarray, he has been drinking too much (one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Of The Demon
''Night of the Demon'' (in the United States, released as ''Curse of the Demon'') is a 1957 British horror film, produced by Hal E. Chester and Frank Bevis, directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis. It is adapted from the M. R. James story "Casting the Runes". The film's storyline concerns an American psychologist who travels to England to investigate a satanic cult suspected in more than one death. Turbulent artistic differences arose between producer Hal E. Chester on one side and director Tourneur and writer Charles Bennett on the other. Chester's plan was to show the demon on screen, but Bennett, Tourneur, and lead actor Dana Andrews objected. To accelerate the pace and make the film more commercial, the 96-minute original feature was trimmed down to 82 minutes prior to its release in the United States. This shortened version was retitled ''Curse of the Demon'', playing in June 1958 as the second half of a double feat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hell Drivers (film)
''Hell Drivers'' (1957) is a British film noir crime drama film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins and Patrick McGoohan. The film was produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions. The film revolves around a recently released convict who takes a driver's job at a haulage company. Plot Having spent time abroad, Tom Yately (Stanley Baker) seeks work as a truck driver with Hawletts, a transport company. Mr. Cartley (William Hartnell), the depot manager, informs Tom that his drivers convey their ten-ton loads of gravel fast over bad roads. They are expected to deliver a minimum of twelve loads a day; if a driver falls behind, he is fired. Each run is round-trip; the top driver makes eighteen runs a day. Tom goes on a trial run with the depot mechanic, in truck no. 13. He narrowly avoids colliding head-on with two other Hawletts trucks speeding the other way. Cartley hires Tom, and he's assigned truck 13. Tom meets the oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Private Life Of Henry VIII
''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' is a 1933 British film directed and co-produced by Alexander Korda and starring Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, Merle Oberon and Elsa Lanchester. It was written by Lajos Bíró and Arthur Wimperis for London Film Productions, Korda's production company. The film, which focuses on the marriages of King Henry VIII of England, was a major international success, establishing Korda as a leading filmmaker and Laughton as a box-office star. Plot The film begins 20 years into King Henry VIII's reign. In May 1536, in the immediate aftermath of the execution of his second wife Anne Boleyn, Henry marries Jane Seymour, who dies in childbirth 18 months later. He then weds a German princess, Anne of Cleves. This marriage ends in divorce after Anne deliberately makes herself unattractive so that she may be free to marry her sweetheart. Henry next marries the beautiful and ambitious Lady Katherine Howard. She has rejected love all of her life in favour of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Informer (1929 Film)
''The Informer'' is a 1929 British part-talkie drama film directed by Arthur Robison and starring Lya De Putti, Lars Hanson, Warwick Ward and Carl Harbord. The picture was based on the 1925 novel '' The Informer'' by Liam O'Flaherty. In the film, a man betrays his best friend, a member of the outlawed Irish Republican Army, to the authorities and is then pursued by the other members of the organisation. The later better-known adaptation '' The Informer'' (1935) was directed by John Ford. Cast * Lya De Putti as Katie Fox * Lars Hanson as Gypo Nolan * Warwick Ward as Dan Gallagher * Carl Harbord as Francis McPhilip * Dennis Wyndham as Murphy * Janice Adair as Bessie * Daisy Campbell as Mrs McPhillip * Craighall Sherry as Mulholland * Ray Milland as Sharpshooter * Ellen Pollock as Prostitute * Johnny Butt as Publican Production The film was made at Elstree Studios by British International Pictures as the sound revolution was taking place. The film was made with a soundtrack, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Asquith
Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among other adaptations. His other notable films include ''Pygmalion'' (1938), ''French Without Tears'' (1940), ''The Way to the Stars'' (1945) and a 1952 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's ''The Importance of Being Earnest''. Life and career Born in London, he was the son of H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, and Margot Asquith, who was responsible for 'Puffin' as his family nickname.Anthony Asquith biography at BFI Screenonline He was educated at [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Underground (1928 Film)
''Underground'' is a 1928 British silent drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Brian Aherne, Elissa Landi, Cyril McLaglen, and Norah Baring. The film examines the lives of ordinary Londoners and the romance between them, set on and around the London Underground. Plot An electrician and a porter both fall in love with a shop girl they meet on the London Underground. Cast * Brian Aherne as Bill * Elissa Landi as Nell * Cyril McLaglen as Bert, Power station worker * Norah Baring as Kate, Seamstress Production ''Underground'' was made by British Instructional Films at Elstree and Cricklewood Studios and on location in London including scenes shot at Lots Road Power Station in Chelsea. The film was based on an original scenario written by Asquith. Restoration ''Underground'' was restored in 2009 under the auspices of the British Film Institute (BFI). In 2011, composer and well-known silent film accompanist Neil Brand wrote a completely new score for the film, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The First Born (1928 Film)
''The First Born'' is a 1928 British silent drama film directed by Miles Mander and starring Mander, Madeleine Carroll, John Loder and Ella Atherton. It was made by Gainsborough Pictures at Elstree Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold. Production background The screenplay was also written by Mander (based on his own novel) in conjunction with Alma Reville. ''The First Born'' enjoys a good critical reputation, being seen as stylistically inventive and one of the best examples of a trend in British cinema in the last years of the silent era. This trend was towards a more mature, sophisticated and naturalistic presentation of dramatic material, eschewing the tendency in earlier silent films towards overly stagey and melodramatic acting styles involving wildly exaggerated gestures and facial expressions. Plot Would-be politician Sir Hugo Boycott (Mander) and his wife Madeleine (Carroll) have an unhappy marriage. Madeleine is aware that Hugo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Romance Of India (1928)
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, " a", and its variant " an", are indefinite articles. History The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also written 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which consisted entirely of consonants (for that reason, it is also called an abjad to distinguish it fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Battles Of Coronel And Falkland Islands
''The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands'' is a 1927 British docudrama film directed by Walter Summers. The film focuses on the naval warfare around the Battle of Coronel and Battle of the Falkland Islands during the First World War. It was the last in a successful series of documentary reconstructions of First World War battles by British Instructional Films made between 1921 and 1927. The film was produced at Cricklewood Studios and on location off Malta and the Isles of Scilly. The film is an entirely fictional recreation with a strong documentary feel. The film cost an estimated £18,000 to make. It grossed £70,000 in Britain alone. It was restored and re-released by the BFI in 2014. Restoration In 2014 the BFI National Archive restored the film for the centenary of the events with a new score composed by Simon Dobson. Historical background On 1 November 1914, off the coast of Chile near Coronel, ships of the German and British navies exchanged fire resulting in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
