ELECTRIC EDWARDIANS: THE FILMS OF MITCHELL & K - DVD

ELECTRIC EDWARDIANS
The Films of Mitchell and Kenyon

Probably the most exciting film discovery of recent times, the films of Mitchell and Kenyon were commissioned by travelling exhibitors at the dawn of the twentieth century for screening in town halls, at village fêtes or local fairs. Advertised as 'local films for local people', the audience paid to see their neighbours, children, family and themselves on the screen, glimpsed at local football matches, leaving work, marching in civic processions or enjoying the annual works holidays.

The hugely successful BBC TV series The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon (also out on BFI Video) introduced audiences to these miraculous views of the past. For the first time there is now the opportunity to explore the Collection in greater depth.

The material on this DVD is taken from 28 hours of footage of scenes of everyday life and represents a cross-section of the subjects covered in the Collection. From factory gates to football matches, the leaving of Liverpool to the leaving of work, the workers on holiday and at play, this material provides an unparalleled opportunity to see the world through the eyes of the working communities of the time. The films of Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon take us on a tour of everyday life in Edwardian Britain.

This DVD features 35 items in five sections: Youth and Education, The Anglo-Boer War, Workers, High Days and Holidays, People and Places as well as five additional 'hidden' items. It also includes a specially commissioned score by Sheffield-based duo In The Nursery.

DVD extras

• Filmed interview and optional voiceover commentary by Dr Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fairground Archive
• Voiceover introduction written by distinguished film historian Tom Gunning and read by actor Paul McGann
• Featurette on the restoration work by the BFI National Film and Television Archive