Into Archive Film: Past Present Future

Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon)(1902)

Fascinating early slice of science fiction and a founding stone of modern cinema.

One of the earliest fiction films ever made and at 14 minutes this is a brilliant introduction to the beginnings of black and white silent cinema, the development of fictional narratives and pioneering uses of special effects.

Bright, Bad and British!(2015)

A collection of extraordinary footage from the BFI National Archive capturing the suffragette movement in the early 20th century.

From newsreels to silent slapstick this is an important and stimulating collection of films documenting the Suffragette movement in Britain that can be watched in segments or enjoyed in one go.

Nanook of the North(1922)

Pioneering documentary from 1922 which reveals the life of an Inuit man called Nanook.

Director Robert J Flaherty is celebrated as the pioneer of documentary filmmaking and this film about Intuits living in the Canadian Artic, consisting of natural observation and staged scenes, is deemed one of the very first feature-length documentary films.

Night Mail(1936)

An incredibly successful fusion of music, sound and voice, you can almost feel the rhythmic clatter of metal upon metal.

Scottish filmmaker John Grierson, inspired by the work of American filmmaker Robert J Flaherty, coined the term ‘documentary’ and became the leading documentary filmmaker for Britain and Canada. This is one of his most ground-breaking films made during his time at the GPO Film Unit.

Nosferatu(1922)

This classic and much-imitated take on Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of the most famous of all silent films.

The first ever screen representation of the well-known vampire Dracula is full of dark shadows, exaggerated movements and gothic settings that make this an exciting, if a little eerie, introduction to black and white silent cinema and an early film movement called German Expressionism.

The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon(2004)

Fascinating glimpse into the history of Britain's people and the history of filmmaking.

Mitchell & Kenyon was an Edwardian Film Company based in Blackburn best known for its non-fiction ‘actuality’ films that captured the day-to-day lives of the British working classes and would be screened in local town halls. This collection is divided into three themes: Life and Times, Sport and Pleasure, Saints and Sinners.

Man With a Movie Camera(1929)

An experimental early Soviet documentary that's still an incredible viewing experience today.

A significant piece of film history that at the time broke boundaries of documentary filmmaking. It features experimental camera shots and rapidly cut together images of everyday life in Russia with scenes of the film itself being filmed and edited, that offered a unique window into the country during its revolution if 1917.

The Lodger - A Story of the London Fog(1927)

Atmospheric silent film by Alfred Hitchcock, in which a serial killer called The Avenger is stalking the fogbound streets of London.

Made by the renowned British director Alfred Hitchcock, this is one of his earliest films. A silent, black and white thriller about a murderer on the loose on the foggy streets of London that is widely understood to be the film that Hitchcock honed his style of suspense.

Big City Stories(2011)

A fascinating compilation of over 100 years of black Londoners on film, including interviews, newsreels, and clips from TV shows and feature films.

A film collage including amateur made home movies and interviews to give a rich, multifaceted portrait of the city of London and the black communities within it.

The Great White Silence(1924)

You may have heard of the polar explorer Captain Scott, but did you know that his last doomed expedition to the South Pole was caught on film?

A fascinating archive film that captures an important moment in history - the final expedition of legendary polar explorer Captain Scott to the South Pole. Photographed at the time of the expedition by Herbert G Ponting, he later edited his footage into this silent film to reveal the spectacular landscape and hazardous environment that Scott was faced with.

Of Time and the City(2008)

Poetic, nostalgia-filled documentary by Liverpool-born director Terence Davies, looking back to the harsh post-war 1950s and 1960s in his home city.

An example of a poetic documentary, this is the Liverpool-born director’s love letter the the city he grew up in. Made up of home-movies, documentary footage and newsreels he wittily narrates his experience of the city and how it changed throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Teenage(2013)

The birth of youth culture is explored in this energetic and inventively constructed documentary that presents a fascinating teenage view of the past.

Blending found footage, re-enactments and a refreshingly sharp narration this is an insightful and frenetic exploration of youth culture in America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century.

The Epic of Everest(1924)

Epic and moving silent film documenting the doomed attempt of two mountaineers to become the first people to conquer Mount Everest in 1924.

One of the earliest filmed records of life in Tibet as well as a historically important document of a fatal expedition to Mount Everest by two mountaineers in 1924. Filmed with a hand-held camera, this is cinema at its rawest capturing the dramatic environment and the struggle of the people trying to survive in it.

Un Chien Andalou(1929)

Surrealist classic from Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel, featuring some of cinema's most notorious and unsettling images.

Not for the faint-hearted this is a key example of early surrealist cinema. Made up of provocatively bizarre scenes and fantastical images from significant artist and filmmakers of the genre. Including work from Louis Bunuel and Salvador Dali it is deemed one of the most important art films ever made.

Free Cinema(1952)

Collection of the work produced by the mid 1950s British documentary film movement.

A series of films made by British filmmakers in the mid to late 50s with the aim of challenging the norms of mainstream British filmmaking at the time. Made up of documentary and short fiction the Free Cinema films share a common attitude of freedom of speech and a quest for authenticity in their representation of ordinary people at work or play.

The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari(1919)

Visually stunning silent horror, as the spooky Dr Caligari parades his fairground attraction, the sleepwalking Cesare, in a tale of madness and murder

One of the first horror films ever made, this German black and white silent film is also the first example of German Expressionism (see Nosferatu also in this list). It’s haunting shadows, sharp lines and gothic styling established many of the tropes and imagery we associate with the horror genre today.

Metropolis(1927)

This visually spectacular German sci-fi classic (made, incredibly, in 1927) sees the rich live in skyscrapers and the poor toil underground.

A landmark of early science fiction filmmaking and one of the first feature length films ever made, Metropolis is an epic of all proportions that has influenced many filmmakers over the years with its arc deco styling and stark, expressionist imagery of a dystopian future ruled by robots.

Life In A Day(2011)

Ambitious gathering of snippets from public lives that illustrates both the rich diversity and similarities of the human experience.

An example of contemporary archive, this unique documentary film is made up of youtube videos crowdsourced from people around the world. All made on the same day - 24th July 2010 – the films are powerfully edited together by the director Kevin McDonald to give a snapshot of life on earth in that moment.

Koyaanisqatsi(1982)

A hypnotic and wordless vision of our complex and endangered world, cut to a mesmerising score by composer Philip Glass.

An experimental documentary film made up of slow motion and time-lapse images of American landscapes across a period of time. From urban city sprawls to rural landscapes the images are set to a rhythmic soundtrack that builds momentum as the transforming images document the fascinating change in the landscape over time.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975(2011)

A treasure trove of interviews and footage from the late 1960s and early 1970s provides a fascinating snapshot of the US Civil Rights struggle.

Before Stonewall(1984)

Classic documentary charting the history of the LGBT community before the seminal Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York.

Made up of archive footage, newsreels, TV and film clips edited together with dialogue from interviews layered over the top this important documentary innovatively charts the rise of the LGBT movement in America.

Amy(2015)

Archive footage is used to tell the life and career of iconic soul singer Amy Winehouse.

With a life played out in the media, this unique documentary about singer Amy Winehouse is aptly made up of mobile phone films, home videos, TV appearances and news clips that assemble her rise to fame. Intercut with interviews with friends and colleagues this is a poignant example of contemporary archive film and how it can be used to tell modern-day stories.