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MovieMail's Review
The Mitchell & Kenyon archive of over 800 camera negatives dating from between 1900 - 1913 was one of the most significant and exciting film finds of recent times. They provide an unparalleled visual record of the lives of ordinary people in Edwardian Britain, and their print quality is also outstanding for their date. Excerpts from many of the films were shown in The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon, in which Dan Cruikshank provided a historical and social background to the films.
Here, 35 of the short films there excerpted are presented complete along with a sympathetic and atmospheric score from the Sheffield-based music project In the Nursery, whose music helps to draw out the wonder of these silent films. If the film titles are neutral – Tram Ride Into Halifax (1902), Jamaica Street, Glasgow (1901), then the life revealed in these places is a source of fascination and contemplation, and in no time you are immersed in the lives and looks of the people on the streets. This is material of endless interest.
Here is the complete list of the 35 films included on the dvd according to category; Youth and Education: M&K 266:Audley Range School, Blackburn (c1904), M&K 269:Blackburn (1905), M&K 248: Morecombe Church Lads Brigade (1901), M&K 525: Birmingham University degree day procession (1901. Workers:M&K 28: Lumb and Co leaving the Works, Huddersfield (1900), M&K 58: Pendlebury Colliery (1901),M&K 35:Lord Elswick Works, Newcastle on Tyne (1900), M&K 59: Glebe Mills, Hollinwood (1901), M&K 602:Parkgate Iron and Steel Co, Rotherham (1901), M&K 741: North Sea Fisheries, North Shields (1901), M&K 235:Cunard Vessel at Liverpool (1901). High Days and Holidays: M&K 291: Whitsuntide Fair at Preston (1906), M&K 173:Manchester Band of Hopr Procession (1901), M&K 200: Blackpool Victoria Pier (1904), M&K 553:Leeds Athletic and Cycling Club carnival (1902),M&K 155: Dewsbury v Manningham (1902), M&K 772:Sedgwicks Bioscope Show Front (1901), M&K 320: Accrington v Church Cricket Match (1902), M&K 617: Halifax Catholic Procession (1905), M&K 327: Burnley v Manchester United (1902), M&K 606:Sheffield United v Bury (1902), M&K 286: Preston Egg Rolling (1901).
Commentary and filmed interview with Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fairground Archive
Featurette on the restoration by the bfi National Film and Television Archive
Voiceover introduction by historian Tom Gunning, narrated by Paul McGann
Fully illustrated 24-page booklet.
Film Description
Following the successful BBC2 series, this new release features 35 films from the Mitchell & Kenyon collection set to a specially composed new score by In The Nursery. The films offer an unparalleled visual record of life in the North of England and in Scotland, Wales and Ireland and bring to life as never before the bustling streets of Edwardian Britain, capturing in vivid detail the everyday lives of ordinary people at work and play.
