Humphrey Jennings / Keith Beattie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beattie, Keith, author.

Series:

British film makers.

British film makers

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jennings, Humphrey--Criticism and interpretation.

Jennings, Humphrey.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 171 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Humphrey Jennings has been described as the only real poet of British cinema. His documentary films employ a range of representational approaches - including collagist narrative structures and dramatic re-enactment - in ways that transcend accepted notions of wartime propaganda and revise the strict codes of British documentary film of the 1930s and 1940s. The resultant body of work is a remarkable record of Britain at peace and war. This study examines a productive ambiguity of meanings associated with the subtle interaction of images and sounds within Jennings' films, and considers the ideological and institutional contexts and forces that impacted on the formal structure of his films. Central and lesser-known films are analysed, including Spare Time, Words for Battle, Listen to Britain, Fires Were Started, The Silent Village, A Diary for Timothy and Family Portrait. Poet, propagandist, surrealist and documentary filmmaker - Jennings' work embodies a mix of apprehension, personal expression and representational innovation. This book examines and explains the central components of Jennings' most significant films, and considers the relevance of his filmmaking to British cinema and contemporary experience.

Contents:

Modernity, myth, colour and collage : the early films

Work and leisure : Spare time

Sound, image and nation : Words for battle and Listen to Britain

Documentary reconstruction and prognostication : Fires were started and The silent village

"What will befall Britain?" : A diary for Timothy

An ambiguous national iconography : Family portrait

Legacies.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2026).

Includes bibliographical references, filmography and index.

ISBN:

9781781701836

1781701830

9781847792686

1847792685

OCLC:

818847380