Panamint Cinema

Listen to Panamint Cinema on BBC Radio 4's The Film Programme in an interview with Francine Stock.

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Roundabout Vol 1 - Cinemagazines

In the 1960s the British Government, through the Central Office of Information (COI), produced an unprecented number of films for overseas distribution. Essentially designed to promote British values abroad, the cinemagazine, a light magazine-style treatment of topical stories, had proved popular with cinema audiences since the 1920s and could now cross over between cinema and television for optimal distribution.

"Colour and action are the keynotes of the series." So ran Central Office of Information (COI) publicity for Roundabout (1962-1974), a monthly cinemagazine produced specifically for cinema distribution in South and South East Asia and issued in eight languages, including Burmese and Mandarin Chinese (sub-titled). Now these stunning short films not only reflect life in Britain in the 1960s, but how the British wished to be perceived.

Now only £9.78!! DVD running time: 56 mins colour.
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A Romance of Engineering

A collection of promotional films made by Stanley L Russell for Scottish engineering companies. The programme comprises:
Men of Iron (c. 1947, b/w) - An overview of iron propellor manufacture at the Blair Foundry of Andrew Strang & Co, Hurlford in Ayrshire.
A Romance of Engineering (1938, b/w) - Made for screening at the 1938 Empire Exhibition, this film shows the production of steel components at William Beardmore & Co's Parkhead Forge.
James Watt (1959, b/w) - A film about the life and work of the inventor of steam engines, James Watt.
Story of a Steel Wire Rope (1946, b/w) - An illustration of the manufacture of Martin Black & Company's wire ropes, highlighting all the various processes involved in production and testing.
Complete with a 24 page booklet on Industrial Film Making in Scotland.

DVD running time: 97 mins b/w. Available Now. Click here to order.

Cruachan The Hollow Mountain

Two films about the construction of major Hydro Electric Schemes in Scotland. The programme comprises:
The Moriston Project (1956, b/w) - filmed from 1952 to 1956 this shows the creation of the scheme at Glen Moriston.
Cruachan (1966, colour) - this film shows the construction of the pumped-storage Hydro-Electric scheme at Loch Awe, Argyll.

DVD running time: 81 mins b/w.

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London in Festival Year

A Collection of films made for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Includes Festival in London, a colourful introduction to the exhibition, with William Alwyn's superb Festival March.

Brief City was made by The Observer during the last two weeks of the exhibition before it vanished forever. This film was Richard Massingham's last production.

Family Portrait was the last film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings. Looking back at the history of Britain, the film turns over the pages of history as someone might browse through a family album. Jennings also considers the importance of Europe to the country's future.

Designed in Britain is a bonus film which offers an imaginative impression of British Design. Terence Conran was technical advisor.

DVD running time: 86 mins colour & b/w.

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The Pattern of Britain

A famous series of films showing the development of farming and rural life in four diverse areas of the country: The Midland Shires, The Fens, Cornwall and the Downs. The Pattern of Britain comprised six films in total and the remaining two Scottish titles are available on The Glen Is Ours (see below). Programme comprises:

The Grassy Shires (1944). Director Ralph Keene. Associate Producer Edgar Anstey.

Fenlands (1945). Director Ken Annakin. Associate Producer Edgar Anstey.

Cornish Valley (1944). Director Ralph Keene. Associate Producer Edgar Anstey.

Downlands (1947). Directors Charles de Latour and Humphrey Swingler.

DVD running time: 65 mins b/w.

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Britons Under Siege Collection

Three more excellent DVDs from our famous 40s Britain documentary film series about Britain in the 1940s, packaged together in a bargain priced collection in a standard-sized DVD case.

Includes the following DVDs: Fishermen At War (PDC2030), London Pride (PDC2029), and We Forgot About Germany (PDC2040).

These films are also available on three individual DVDs.

Three DVDs in a standard-sized DVD case. 231 mins b/w.

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The Good Servant

The story of the noble Clydesdale told in original archive films from the early 1930s to the 1960s. Programme comprises:
Spring in Galloway (1930s, b/w), life on the farm is seen, including Border ewes and Ayrshire cattle, in this glimpse of the countryside at work in Galloway.
The Good Servant (1958, colour), the history of Clydesdales and the many tasks they performed on the farm. Filmed around Macmerry, East Lothian, Milngavie and other locations. Sponsored by Films of Scotland and the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society.
Spring in the Fields (1936, b/w), shows Clydesdales hard at work ploughing, harrowing and rolling, as farmers sow corn seed using both manual and mechanised methods.
Horse in Harness (1934, b/w), a demonstration of harnessing a Clydesdale.
Champions in the Sun (1964, colour), a vibrant record of Clydesdales and other breeds in competition at the Royal Highland Show. Sponsored by Films of Scotland and the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society.

DVD running time: 55 mins colour & b/w.

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Night Mail & Lines For All Seasons

The superb Night Mail plus three classic Scottish films about the West Highland Railways never before released on DVD: The programme includes:
Night Mail (1936, b/w) - The overnight Postal Special from Euston to Scotland. One of the first films to epitomise the style of the British Documentary Movement.
West Of Inverness (1939, b/w) - About the problems faced by a rural community and the growing importance of the railway to communities threatened by depopulation.
The Line To Skye (1973, colour) - An Eddie McConnell film made to support the retention of the line from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh at a time when it was threatened with closure.
A Line For All Seasons (1980, colour) - A retrospective account of the building of the West Highland Railway line from Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig. Filmed by Eddie McConnell.

DVD running time: 78 mins b/w & colour.

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Waverley Steps

One of our most popular titles, Waverley Steps, John Eldridge's classic view of Edinburgh in 1948 produced for the first Edinburgh International Film Festival, makes its DVD debut. Centered around a day in the life of a railway fireman and other residents of Edinburgh. Recorded using location sound it offers a fly-on-the-wall view of Edinburgh life in a more leisurely era long gone. One of the classic documentaries.
Edinburgh filmed in 1966 in technicolor by Edinburgh film makers Campbell Harper and directed by Henry Cooper, tells the history of the city.
Jean Gray's 1937 film Northern Capital shows the sights of Edinburgh in glorious black and white. Originally silent, it is presented with music composed and performed by Graham Speedie.

DVD running time: 72 mins colour & b/w.

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The GPO Story plus Animation

The GPO Story, co-produced by The Post Office and the BBC, tells the story of the GPO Film Unit's bold experiments in movie-making. Extracts from many of the classics are included, as are interviews with many of the GPO film-makers, including Harry Watt, Basil Wright, Stuart Legg, Edgar Anstey, Chick Fowle, Pat Jackson, R.Q. McNaughton, Ralph Bond and Ken Cameron.

Also included are six colour animated films from the 1930s:
Colour Box (1935) Directed by Len Lye
Rainbow Dance (1936) Directed by Len Lye
Trade Tattoo (1937) Directed by Len Lye
The Tocher (1938) Directed by Lotte Reiniger
The HPO - Heavenly Post Office (1938) Directed by Lotte Reiniger
Love on the Wing (1936) Directed by Norman McLaren

DVD running time: 88 mins colour..

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Scottish Screen Archive DVD, Welsh Mining films DVD, Britain in the thirties DVD, Britain in the 1930s DVD, Britain in the 1940s DVD, World War 2 DVD, Scottish and English Cities DVD, Clydesdale horses and tractors DVD, Life on Scottish Islands DVD, Classic british steam railway films on DVD, Ship design and building DVD, Herring drifters and trawlers DVD, Classic western B-movies DVD

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