British Movietonews – the end of an era
As of 4th November 2011, British Movietonews is closing its doors in Denham, Uxbridge after over eighty years of making film newsreel and news footage archiving.
For those of us too young to remember, British Movietonews produced and distributed newsreels. These newsreels were shown in cinemas across the country from 1929 and until television became a feature in most households; were the only way the general public could see moving pictures of what was happening in the world. This becomes strikingly more poignant when you think of how many millions of people in picture houses all over the UK would have used newsreels as a way of seeing what was happening in the war effort during WWII.
The last movie newsreel was shown in 1979 but British Movietonews continued to collate, archive and distribute news footage . They were a great source of historical research and have supplied clips for use in movies, documentaries and education aids around the globe.
100′s of miles of film (now digitised), 1000′s of hours of news footage – all recording major events throughout the 20th Century. A reel (!) part of our national heritage.
Our best wishes go to Barry in his retirement and to the loyal staff at British Movietonews.
Just some of the global events covered by British Movietonews…D-DAY - 6th June 1944, France JFK ASSASSINATION – 22nd November 1963, Dallas CHARLES & DIANA WEDDING – 29th July 1981, London PEARL HARBOR - 7th December 1941, Honolulu CORONATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH – 2nd June 1953, London LIBERATION OF PARIS - 25th August 1944, Paris TET OFFENSIVE - 30th January 1968, Saigon HINDENBERG – 6th May, 1937, New Jersey HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION - 26th October 1956, Budapest INCHON LANDINGS - 16th September 1950, Korea HITLER INVADES POLAND - 1st September 1939, Poland SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE - 19th April 1906 San Francisco CUBAN REVOLUTION – 2nd January 1959, Havana DEATH OF STALIN – 5th March 1953, Moscow FORMATION OF ISRAEL - 14th May 1948, Jerusalem NASSER SEIZES SUEZ CANAL – 26th July 1956, Egypt SURRENDER OF JAPAN – 14th August 1945, Tokyo NUREMBERG TRIALS BEGIN - 29th August 1945, Germany WORLD CUP FINAL – 30th July 1966, London PRAGUE UPRISINGS…RUSSIANS ENTER – 22nd August 1968, Prague WRIGHT BROTHERS – 17th December 1903, Kitty Hawk WALL STREET CRASH – 24th October 1929, New York EVA PERON DIES – 26th July 1952, Buenos Aires MARILYN MONROE FOUND DEAD – 5th August 1962, Los Angeles EVEREST CONQUERED – 1st June 1953, Nepal
No comments:
Post a Comment