''Fires Were Started'' is a 1943 British film written and directed by

Humphrey Jennings Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings (19 August 1907 – 24 September 1950) was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organisation. Jennings was described by film critic and director Lindsay Anderson in 195 ...

. Filmed in documentary style, it shows the lives of

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

s through

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The film uses actual firemen (including

Cyril Demarne Cyril Thomas Demarne, (7 February 1905 – 28 January 2007) was a British firefighter. He served in London during the Second World War, throughout the Blitz. He was later involved in establishing aviation firefighting units in Australasia and ...

) rather than professional actors.

Production

Exterior shots were filmed on location, while the interior scenes were shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

. Jennings's first cut of the film was titled ''I Was a Fireman'' and ran to 74 minutes. This was cut down to 65 minutes and released as ''Fires Were Started''.

Critical reception

Film critics mostly praised the film for its realism and documentary value, despite its reconstructions.

Dilys Powell Elizabeth Dilys Powell, CBE (20 July 1901 – 3 June 1995) was a British film critic and travel writer who contributed to ''The Sunday Times'' for more than 50 years. Powell was known for her receptiveness to cultural change in the cinema and ...

, of the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' declared its authenticity to be 'moving and terrifying'.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * 1943 films 1943 documentary films Black-and-white documentary films British documentary films British World War II propaganda films British black-and-white films Battle of Britain films Films about firefighting British docufiction films Crown Film Unit films Films directed by Humphrey Jennings 1940s English-language films {{1940s-UK-film-stub

Production

Critical reception

See also

References

Bibliography

External links