Night Mail

Synopsis

This short, acclaimed black-and-white British documentary from the 1930s centres on a mail train travelling from London to Scotland to drop and collect mail. Made by the General Post Office Film Unit (GPO), who were known for a surprisingly daring experimental style and put a lyrical spin on what could otherwise have been a yawn-inducing topic. Famed English poet W.H. Auden was enlisted to write a poem and composer Benjamin Britten to create music. The rhythm of the poem imitates the clattering wheels of the train, picking up speed to a breathless pace before slowing.