British Film Institute (Firm)

Shows changing patterns of human emotions during 24 hours in the life of Waterloo Station.

A compilation of six three minute short animated films which comment on contemporary values through a reinterpretation of the myths of the old Wild West. Drawn in brush and ink, details as follows: 1) Slim Pickin's - poor ole Josh finds he is the victim of false promises 2) That's Nothin' - a few boys get together in the saloon 3) Murder! - an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The silent majority get their way 4) High Noon - Clint and Chuck face...

The film record of Sir Ernest Shackleton's heroic but ill-starred attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914-16, photographed by Frank Hurley. A restored version of the silent original constructed by the National Film and Television Archive from a wide range of materials, including a print and negative deposited by the distributor Sir William Jury, a tinted print from the Nederlands Filmmuseum,and a set of glass slides that originally accompanied the film...

Humphrey Jennings and Harry Watt’s famous film, produced at the GPO film unit, is an enduring example of British self-mythology and rousing evidence of the artistic potential of supposed propaganda. A hymn to our capital city’s resilience during the Blitz, structured as a day-in-the-life of stiff-upper-lipped Londoners, its poetic espousal of British fortitude ensured the film was widely exhibited internationally and utilised as a tool to help...

Adventures of a truant schoolboy cycling around the English town of Hartlepool in the north-eastern county of Cleveland.

The nightly journey of the Postal Special from London to Glasgow. The flagship of the GPO Film Unit's output and a cornerstone of British documentary. Harry Watt and Basil Wright's study of the down postal express stands as a beacon for John Grierson's original purpose for documentary - to make the working man the hero of the screen. A truly collaborative effort, a coming together of many great names and those immortal lines from W.H. Auden.

Martin Scorsese’s contribution to the Century of Cinema series is a fascinating exploration of some of the landmarks of American cinema, as well as some of its lesser known byways. Scorsese analyses the work of filmmakers as diverse as DW Griffith, FW Murnau, Sam Fuller and John Cassavetes. This is no academic history, but a declaration of passion for cinema from one of its most celebrated contemporary practitioners. This episode explores the concepts...

Any minority craves images of itself, and this compilation of clips from Britain’s post-war cinema archives is a testament to the closeted appearances of gay characters and sentiments from filmmaking’s earliest days. Following gay characters as they go from being the butt of jokes to full-blown leading characters, Weiss has captured a playful, occasionally melodramatic, insight into on-screen homosexual characterizations. With Ian McKellen as...

Set during the American Civil War, the story of a Southern soldier sent to reconnoitre enemy positions who is trapped beneath a huge fall of masonry when Northern cannons hit the wall near which he was spying from.

Story of two unemployed youths, Eddie and Winston. Eddie is white, Winston is black. Through coincidence their lives become entangled, and they embark on a series of adventures.