Electric Edwardians:
The Films of Mitchell and Kenyon
Probably the most exciting film discovery of recent times, the films of Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon take us on a tour of everyday life in Edwardian Britain.
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| Electric Edwardians - The Lost Films of Mitchell & Kenyon - DVD |
In the earliest years of the twentieth century, enterprising travelling showmen in the north of England hired pioneer film makers Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon to shoot footage of local people going about their everyday activities. These films would be shown later at nearby fairgrounds, town halls and neighbourhood theatres. Workers, school children, sports fans and seaside vacationers all flocked to see themselves miraculously captured on screen!
The astonishing discovery of the original Mitchell & Kenyon negatives in Blackburn, England — in a basement about to be demolished — has been described as film’s equivalent of Tutankhamen’s tomb.
Preserved and restored by the bfi National Film and Television Archive in collaboration with the University of Sheffield National Fairground Archive and featuring a hauntingly beautiful score by In The Nursery, this treasure trove of extraordinary footage provides an unparalleled record of everyday life in the years before World War I.
Mesmerising scenes of trolley cars and crowded streets, soccer matches, temperance parades, throngs of workers leaving the factory and a myriad of simple pleasures transport us to another — lost — world. The effect is as if H.G. Wells’ marvelous time machine had come to life.
The films are grouped into five sections: Youth and Education, The Anglo-Boer War, Workers, High Days and Holidays, and People and Places; a total of 35 full-length films in all, plus five ‘hidden’ items. They are set to a specially commissioned score by Sheffield-based duo In The Nursery and presented with extensive extras offering much background material.
Here is a sample:
THE MUSIC:
The specially commissioned score for Electric Edwardians was written and performed by In The Nursery - the Sheffield-based musical project formed by twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone. ITN's musical history spans more than two decades.
This wonderful DVD is available from Milestone Films:
https://www.milestonefilms.com/products/electric-edwardians
DVD BONUS FEATURES:
Mesmerising scenes of trolley cars and crowded streets, soccer matches, temperance parades, throngs of workers leaving the factory and a myriad of simple pleasures transport us to another — lost — world. The effect is as if H.G. Wells’ marvelous time machine had come to life.
The films are grouped into five sections: Youth and Education, The Anglo-Boer War, Workers, High Days and Holidays, and People and Places; a total of 35 full-length films in all, plus five ‘hidden’ items. They are set to a specially commissioned score by Sheffield-based duo In The Nursery and presented with extensive extras offering much background material.
Here is a sample:
THE MUSIC:
The specially commissioned score for Electric Edwardians was written and performed by In The Nursery - the Sheffield-based musical project formed by twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone. ITN's musical history spans more than two decades.
This wonderful DVD is available from Milestone Films:
https://www.milestonefilms.com/products/electric-edwardians
DVD BONUS FEATURES:
- Optional Voiceover Commentary by Dr. Vanessa Toulmin, National Fairground Archive, University of Sheffield
- Filmed Interview With Vanessa Toulmin
- “Pictures of Crowd Splendour” video introduction by Tom Gunning, University of Chicago
- Featurette on the restoration of the films
- “Diving Lucy” and additional shorts by Mitchell and Kenyon
Some more film footage ~ this time accompanied by the
hauntingly beautiful music of Dirty Three.
hauntingly beautiful music of Dirty Three.
This track: "Long Way To Go With No Punch"
I hope you have enjoyed discovering these remarkable, time-capsule footage treasures from the past as much as I have!
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