General Chat

Dear All

Hello

For those who are interested in early film history.


Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon founded the firm of Mitchell & Kenyon in 1897 and made films of ordinary people at work and play in England.


In April 1899 the travelling showman George Green commissioned them to film workers leaving factories, to be shown at the Easter fair, thus beginning the showing of their films by a network of showmen.


Mitchell & Kenyon filmed street scenes, parades, marches, walking out on Sunday and the fairgrounds.

People were delighted by the latest technology of seeing themselves on film at the local cinema.


Time passed on, the films were stored and forgotten.


In 1994, two workmen found metal drums containing these films during demolition work. Eventually, they were transferred to the British Film Institute in 2000.

Restoration work began and also research to track down descendants of
some of the people who appeared in the fims.


In 2011, Mitchell and Kenyon's films were given the prestigious honour of being added to UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register for the unique
depiction of early 20th century life.

Entertaining, educational and very moving, the films are avaliable on DVD.


Take gentle care
Best wishes
EOS
xx

very interesting - not heard of them before :-)

They are excellent quality ... here is a sample.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0QkJNqYpFM

Thanks Elizabeth, I had heard of Kenyon and Mitchell, but didn't know that their films were available on DVD

Thanks for the link Rollo.

Very interesting, Elizabeth, thank you. Like Ann, I have never heard of them.

I thought you might care to see a very early 'home-video' taken from the front of a cable car in San Francisco, just days before the earthquake in 1906.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q2GCdXmbQE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Edit. Thanks for the link, Rollo. Very good quality indeed.
At least no one has long to wait for an (Omni) bus, unlike today!

Dear Ann in Cardiff, Rollo, Tess and Barry

Hello to you all


Very glad you like them. :-)


The main two DVDs available are:

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"THE LOST WORLD OF MITCHELL AND KENYON"

The DVD is 176 minutes long and is in 3 episodes.

Life and Times

Sport and Pleasure

Saints and Sinners

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"ELECTRIC EDWARDIANS
The Films of Mitchell and Kenyon

Has 5 episodes:

Youth and Education

The Anglo-Boer War

Workers

High Days and Holidays

People and Places



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I discovered these programmes by accident on BBC2. There wasn't
much publicity before they were aired.

But they achieved high viewing figures and people asked about
the availability of DVD releases which eventually happened.


Barry, I like the link you added. :-)

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Thanks for the interest folks and I hope you can get them if you want to.


Take gentle care
Best wishes
EOS
xx

Thanks for this, EOS. Being originally from Manchester these are of special interest. I'll see if our local ABC shop, which stocks BBC DVDs has them or can order them for me :-)

BBC did a whole series on these pioneers, when the restoration had been completed.

Shown originally on BBC4 and later on BBC2.

Occassionally episodes will pop up in the schedules.