British Transport Films
Encyclopedia
British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues (extolling the virtues of places that could be visited via the British transport system - mostly by rail), and "industrial films" (as they were called) promoting the progress of Britain's railway network.
It was headed by Edgar Anstey
until 1974, and from then until its demise by John W. Shepherd. Initially it made films mostly for the British Transport Commission
, but after that organisation was broken up in 1963 the majority of its films were for the British Railways Board
. However it also made films for London Transport
, the British Waterways Board, the travel company Thomas Cook
and the coach company Thomas Tilling
.
and Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
aimed to document and celebrate the achievements and hard work of railway staff and their machinery. Others documented a particular aspect of running a railway, for example running a station as seen in This is York and later Terminus.
Somewhat paradoxically, many of the unit's films celebrated a quiet, unchanging image of rural Britain - with travelogues such as The Heart of England (1954), The Lake District (also 1954), Three Is Company (1959), Down to Sussex
(1964) and Midland
Country (as late as 1974) - while simultaneously invoking the "white heat of technology" in its other work, such as its Report on Modernisation series instigated in 1959 (renamed Rail Report in 1965).
The unit won many awards over the years, including an Academy Award
in 1966 for the film Wild Wings
, which had little to do with transport and concentrated on WWT Slimbridge
in Gloucestershire
, founded by Peter Scott
. BTF also gave John Schlesinger
an early breakthrough with the 1961 film Terminus, chronicling a day in the life of Waterloo Station
in a style highly uncharacteristic of the unit. Oscar-winning cinematographer
David Watkin also got his start lighting BTF films from 1950 to 1960.
BTF also produced the controversial The Finishing Line
(1976) and Robbie
(1979), which warned children against trespassing on railway lines and are often thought of as Public Information Film
s.
Some 700 films were made by it over its period of operation.
(Overture: One-Two-Five) and, poignantly, that of the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train
, but the tide was turning against such "nationalised" industrial film units. In September 1981 BTF's film library closed, with the material being offered back to its retrospective owners. BTF ceased to exist as a full unit in 1982, although the BTF name was still used for various British Rail
internal works, many of them by then made on video
, until around 1986. For a time the BTF films made for British Rail and London Transport were marketed by the Central Office of Information
, but from March 1988 the now-defunct organisation FAME (Film Archive Management and Entertainment) handled the BR films on behalf of the British Railways Board, while the London Transport films went to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden
. In 1996 the British Railways Board was broken up and the BR films - the bulk of the BTF archive - were acquired by the British Film Institute
.
, latterly mainly by the British Film Institute
(BFI) and by Beulah, which evolved out of FAME and owns the release rights to the BTF films made for London Transport. The British Waterways Board has also released its own library of BTF films on video, and these have latterly appeared on DVD.
In recent years several have been released on DVD
, with a number of films made for London Transport appearing on Beulah DVDs before the first BFI DVD compilation of BTF films appeared, after many delays, in June 2005. Nine two-disc compilations of BTF films have now been released by the BFI (as of December 2008).
It was headed by Edgar Anstey
Edgar Anstey
Edgar Anstey OBE, , was a leading British documentary film-maker....
until 1974, and from then until its demise by John W. Shepherd. Initially it made films mostly for the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
, but after that organisation was broken up in 1963 the majority of its films were for the British Railways Board
British Railways Board
The British Railways Board was a nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that existed from 1962 to 2001. From its foundation until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in Great Britain, trading under the brand names British Railways and, from 1965, British Rail...
. However it also made films for London Transport
London Transport Board
The London Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1963-1969. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-History:The...
, the British Waterways Board, the travel company Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
and the coach company Thomas Tilling
Thomas Tilling
Thomas Tilling Ltd, later known with its subsidiary companies as the Tilling Group, was one of the two huge groups which controlled almost all the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between the wars and until nationalisation in 1948....
.
Output
Many of the unit's films celebrated the running of Britain's nationalised railway network; early titles such as Train Time, Elizabethan ExpressElizabethan Express
Elizabethan Express is a 1954 British Transport Film that follows The Elizabethan, a non-stop British Railways service from London to Edinburgh along the East Coast Main Line...
and Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
Snowdrift at Bleath Gill is a 1955 British Transport Film documentary directed by Kenneth Fairbairn. The 10 minute-long film presents a first-hand account of a team of British Railways workmen freeing a goods train stuck in a snowdrift on the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway at Bleath Gill...
aimed to document and celebrate the achievements and hard work of railway staff and their machinery. Others documented a particular aspect of running a railway, for example running a station as seen in This is York and later Terminus.
Somewhat paradoxically, many of the unit's films celebrated a quiet, unchanging image of rural Britain - with travelogues such as The Heart of England (1954), The Lake District (also 1954), Three Is Company (1959), Down to Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
(1964) and Midland
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
Country (as late as 1974) - while simultaneously invoking the "white heat of technology" in its other work, such as its Report on Modernisation series instigated in 1959 (renamed Rail Report in 1965).
The unit won many awards over the years, including an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in 1966 for the film Wild Wings
Wild Wings
Wild Wings is a 1966 short documentary film directed by Patrick Carey and John Taylor and produced by British Transport Films. It won an Academy Award in 1967 for Best Short Subject....
, which had little to do with transport and concentrated on WWT Slimbridge
WWT Slimbridge
WWT Slimbridge is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, England. Slimbridge is halfway between Bristol and Gloucester on the estuary of the river Severn. The reserve was the first WWT centre to be opened, on 10 November 1946, thanks to the...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, founded by Peter Scott
Peter Scott
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....
. BTF also gave John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
an early breakthrough with the 1961 film Terminus, chronicling a day in the life of Waterloo Station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
in a style highly uncharacteristic of the unit. Oscar-winning cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
David Watkin also got his start lighting BTF films from 1950 to 1960.
BTF also produced the controversial The Finishing Line
The Finishing Line
The Finishing Line is a short film produced in 1977 by British Transport Films, warning about the dangers children face on railway lines. Although it is not strictly a public information film, it is often considered to be so by fans of the genre...
(1976) and Robbie
Robbie (Public Information Film)
Robbie is a 13-minute long film made by British Transport Films in 1979 and revised in 1986. Although it is not strictly a Public Information Film, it is often considered to be so by fans of the genre...
(1979), which warned children against trespassing on railway lines and are often thought of as Public Information Film
Public information film
Public Information Films are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement .-Subjects:...
s.
Some 700 films were made by it over its period of operation.
Demise
BTF continued to make films through the 1970s and early 1980s, notably chronicling the progress of the InterCity 125InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
(Overture: One-Two-Five) and, poignantly, that of the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train
Advanced Passenger Train
The Advanced Passenger Train was an experimental tilting High Speed Train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s....
, but the tide was turning against such "nationalised" industrial film units. In September 1981 BTF's film library closed, with the material being offered back to its retrospective owners. BTF ceased to exist as a full unit in 1982, although the BTF name was still used for various British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
internal works, many of them by then made on video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, until around 1986. For a time the BTF films made for British Rail and London Transport were marketed by the Central Office of Information
Central Office of Information
The Central Office of Information is the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its Chief Executive, currently Mark Lund, reports to the Minister for the Cabinet Office...
, but from March 1988 the now-defunct organisation FAME (Film Archive Management and Entertainment) handled the BR films on behalf of the British Railways Board, while the London Transport films went to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. In 1996 the British Railways Board was broken up and the BR films - the bulk of the BTF archive - were acquired by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
.
Afterlife
In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s many of the films were released on videoVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, latterly mainly by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
(BFI) and by Beulah, which evolved out of FAME and owns the release rights to the BTF films made for London Transport. The British Waterways Board has also released its own library of BTF films on video, and these have latterly appeared on DVD.
In recent years several have been released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, with a number of films made for London Transport appearing on Beulah DVDs before the first BFI DVD compilation of BTF films appeared, after many delays, in June 2005. Nine two-disc compilations of BTF films have now been released by the BFI (as of December 2008).