Polygoon (newsreel)
Encyclopedia
The Dutch Polygoon-Profilti was a well known cinema
newsreel
company in the Netherlands
from 1919 to 1987. It started with weekly news items in the Dutch
movie theaters and lasted until 1987 when it finally surrendered to television
news journals, the NOS Journaal
being the most popular.
The company was founded in 1919 and then made in-between movies for the silent movies of that time. Starting from 1921 it made ordered custom movies like 'the winning of brown coal "Carisborg"' (name translated) or 'Steam wheat mill "Holland" in Amsterdam' (name translated).
Then in 1924 it started with cinema newsreel Hollands Nieuws, first bi-weekly, from the 1930's weekly.
"Where they are not, nothing is happening" was the motto of the cameramen of Polygoon who traveled through the Dutch country to capture news and local culture. There was a lot of competition at that time of other companies like Profilti and Haghefilm. Contracts for sport events, cameramen trying to cheat each other or fighting, aggressive sales methods and vague acquisitions were common.
After World War II
the Polygoon-journal had its glorydays; 400 different cinemas weekly showed Neêrlands Nieuws and Wereldnieuws. In 1946 editor Philip Bloemendal (1918-1999) started as commentator; his particular voice became synonymous with Polygoon. Because of the emerge of the television in the late 1950's Netherlands the Polygoon journals lost attention, but it lasted until 1987 when it finally ended.
Cameramen employed by Polygoon had orders to fill their reels, no matter what. If not for news, then with the local celebrity or even shots of famous buildings or locations. Because of this Polygoon now is an archive of Stock footage
available for other productions. The Polygoon archive is a valuable historical film archive. It is currently being digitalized by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision located in Hilversum
.
Several Polygoon newsreels can also be found on Youtube
.
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
company in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
from 1919 to 1987. It started with weekly news items in the Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
movie theaters and lasted until 1987 when it finally surrendered to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
news journals, the NOS Journaal
NOS News
NOS Journaal is the broadcast supplier of news to Dutch public radio and television. It is part of the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting.The 'NOS Journaal' editorial team consists of 7 editors-in-chief, led by the chief editor. Until 1 July 2011 Hans Laroes was editor in chief. On 25th January 2011...
being the most popular.
The company was founded in 1919 and then made in-between movies for the silent movies of that time. Starting from 1921 it made ordered custom movies like 'the winning of brown coal "Carisborg"' (name translated) or 'Steam wheat mill "Holland" in Amsterdam' (name translated).
Then in 1924 it started with cinema newsreel Hollands Nieuws, first bi-weekly, from the 1930's weekly.
"Where they are not, nothing is happening" was the motto of the cameramen of Polygoon who traveled through the Dutch country to capture news and local culture. There was a lot of competition at that time of other companies like Profilti and Haghefilm. Contracts for sport events, cameramen trying to cheat each other or fighting, aggressive sales methods and vague acquisitions were common.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Polygoon-journal had its glorydays; 400 different cinemas weekly showed Neêrlands Nieuws and Wereldnieuws. In 1946 editor Philip Bloemendal (1918-1999) started as commentator; his particular voice became synonymous with Polygoon. Because of the emerge of the television in the late 1950's Netherlands the Polygoon journals lost attention, but it lasted until 1987 when it finally ended.
Cameramen employed by Polygoon had orders to fill their reels, no matter what. If not for news, then with the local celebrity or even shots of famous buildings or locations. Because of this Polygoon now is an archive of Stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
available for other productions. The Polygoon archive is a valuable historical film archive. It is currently being digitalized by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision located in Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
.
Several Polygoon newsreels can also be found on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.