The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon
Encyclopedia
The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon is a BBC
documentary
series produced in conjunction with the British Film Institute
. Three one-hour episodes were broadcast on BBC One
in January 2005
and released on Region 2 DVD
soon after.
The episodes are titled as follows:
1. Life and Times
2. Sport and Pleasure
3. ???
The series showcases films made by Mitchell and Kenyon
, lost for almost a century, rediscovered in 1994 and restored by the BFI. Most of the films are simply records of life, sport and culture at the beginning of the 20th century.
Dan Cruickshank
presents and narrates the series; in addition, descendants of some of the people featured in the original films provide commentaries upon them; and (in what many critics considered the series' weakest feature) scenes from the life and work of filmmakers Sagar Mitchell
and James Kenyon are dramatized in speeded-up form like incorrectly screened silent movie
s (although the actual film excerpts are shown at the correct speed).
The series is notable for being shot in 4:3 format to match the films' original aspect ratio
, unlike many modern documentary series which crop all non-widescreen
footage into 16:9
.
This is one of a number of BFI television series featuring footage from the BFI National Archive and produced in partnership with the BBC:
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series produced in conjunction with 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...
. Three one-hour episodes were broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in January 2005
2005 in television
The year 2005 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2005.For the American TV schedule, see: 2005–06 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
and released on Region 2 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....
soon after.
The episodes are titled as follows:
1. Life and Times
2. Sport and Pleasure
3. ???
The series showcases films made by Mitchell and Kenyon
Mitchell and Kenyon
The Mitchell & Kenyon film company was a pioneer of early commercial movies based in Blackburn in Lancashire, England at the start of the 20th century...
, lost for almost a century, rediscovered in 1994 and restored by the BFI. Most of the films are simply records of life, sport and culture at the beginning of the 20th century.
Dan Cruickshank
Dan Cruickshank
Dan Cruickshank is an art historian and BBC television presenter.-Early life:As a young child he lived for some years in Poland...
presents and narrates the series; in addition, descendants of some of the people featured in the original films provide commentaries upon them; and (in what many critics considered the series' weakest feature) scenes from the life and work of filmmakers Sagar Mitchell
Sagar Mitchell
Sagar Jones Mitchell was a pioneer of cinematography in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.The son of John and Eliza Mitchell, he was educated at a private academy and apprenticed as a cabinet maker. In 1887 Sagar and his father John founded the firm of S. & J...
and James Kenyon are dramatized in speeded-up form like incorrectly screened silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
s (although the actual film excerpts are shown at the correct speed).
The series is notable for being shot in 4:3 format to match the films' original aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
, unlike many modern documentary series which crop all non-widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
footage into 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
.
This is one of a number of BFI television series featuring footage from the BFI National Archive and produced in partnership with the BBC:
- The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon
- Mitchell & Kenyon in Ireland
- The Lost World of Friese-GreeneThe Lost World of Friese-GreeneThe Lost World of Friese-Greene is a BBC documentary series produced in conjunction with the British Film Institute. Three one-hour episodes were broadcast on BBC Two in spring 2006....
- The Lost World of TibetThe Lost World of TibetThe Lost World of Tibet is a BBC documentary film produced in conjunction with the British Film Institute. The 90-minute film was broadcast on BBC Two in November 2006....
External links
- The Lost World from The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- DVD Times review