The Telephone Exchange (1982)

A wonderful educational film (made by British Telecommunications) showing how telephone exchanges work and how they connect one telephone to another when you make a call. From the earliest mechanical switches to the latest (well in 1982 anyway) microchip technology. The film does a good job at explaining the basics at how these systems work and why they are needed.

It reminds me when my Dad took me to his work at a telephone exchange in the late 1970s, big rooms full of switches and wires. It's probably all replaced by a single box on the wall now.

Airport (1935)

A superb slice of pre-war nostalgia about London's international airport, no it wasn't Heathrow back then it was at Croydon! This film looks back at the operations and activities at the airport as international air travel first got going in earnest. 

From the aircraft themselves, to maintenance, and the various other support services. Everything was optimistic and exciting as the world was beginning to open up. No one really thought or knew about the dark storm clouds soon to be on the horizon though the swastikas on the inbound flights from Germany could give you a clue. An excellent film from the Shell Historical Film Archive. 

Song of the Clouds (1956)

A look at the classic pre-jet age of air travel when the skies were the domain of the prop airliners like the Constellations, DC-7s and Vanguards. This is an optimistic, nostalgic and very entertaining documentary from the Shell Historic Film Archive showing the fast growing civil aviation industry as the world beginning to leave the carnage of the Second World War behind.

The film covers a pretty wide area, from big international airports to small aircraft linking up remote and rural communities. The message of the film is hammered home pretty solidly, aircraft and travel brings us and the world together, well that is something that is true today, even on Ryanair.

Chariots of the Gods (1970)

The work of Erich von Daniken, who proposed that mankind has been visited by ancient aliens and who even may have started human civilisation, was very popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this documentary explore theses theories with much fascinating footage.

The documentary travels at break-neck speed, exploring unusual artifacts and ancient writing. The narrative jumps around a little too much though and at times you would like a little more depth. Though if that happened then maybe you would realise that the evidence has been a little too well chosen to fit the narrative...

This is interesting to watch and nothing else and shouldn't be taken that seriously, if you read more deeply into the subject then you know what von Daniken was notorious for doing with the "evidence"! The footage especially of things like a cargo cult in the Pacific is brilliant though.

Bruce Lee : Martial Arts Master (1994)

An interesting if limited biopic of Bruce Lee, this one concentrating more on his movie career.

The film tells the story of Bruce, moving to the US after a troublesome upbringing in HK. Soon he was making waves with his brand of kung fu and coming to the attention of Hollywood. Bruce's first forays on screen were in TV series like the Green Hornet but when he returned to HK his film career took up in a short but incredibly bright career...

Talking heads such as James Coburn, Jackie Chan and Bolo Yeung share anecdotes and memories of working with Bruce. Plenty of classic clips from his films (though not his TV shows) are fitted in throughout. This is a decent documentary however, if you are a fan of Bruce it really won't tell you anything new.

The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918)

A bio-pic made on an epic scale of the wartime prime minister (and hero), but never shown at the time and thought lost until discovered 75 years later and finally shown to the public.

This film had the blessing of Lloyd George and his family, it starts off with photos of his birth certificate and him as a baby! We see the actual house he grew up in and various scenes from his life are dramatised by actors. Some scenes are on a massive scale with thousands of extras!

The film is quite propaganda-ish in feel at times (despite that the Liberal Party had the film suppressed for fear of harming Lloyd George before the election). Obviously being a silent movie quite a lot of the impact of various dramatic speeches he made are lost! The film is a remarkable achievement, though watchable mostly due to it's historic value and novelty more than anything else.

Theirs is the Glory (1946)

A film of the heroic but ultimately doomed Arnhem operation where British and allied parachutists seized and tried to hold a bridge in Arnhem far behind the front line from the Germans in World War 2. Unlike the 1970s epic A Bridge too Far, this film does not star any actors but soldiers who actually fought in the battle a couple of years before and using original equipment.

A tremendous film this is too, though things can be a bit stilted and awkward when the non-actors have to act (though there has been much worse done in films by real actors!) The re-enactment schemes are amazing and very accurate. 

Propaganda perhaps but that is not always a bad thing.

Army in Space and Under the Sea (1971)

With US astronauts on the Moon, the US Army decided it needed to explain it's role in the fantastic achievement. So, this interesting though rather dry documentary was made to highlight the US Army's role in space exploration and underwater salvage operations. 

With a slightly quirky and jaunty soundtrack, various rockets and missiles are shown as well as special facilities built by the Army for developing things like the astronauts' spacesuits. Interesting archive footage of exciting times. It is literally out of this world though the film is ironically a bit pedestrian.

End of the Art World (1971)

The late 1960s art scene in New York, one of the coolest places in the universe. This universe is portrayed in this quirky little documentary. It certainly has a galaxy of stars of the art scene including Roy Liechtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and of course Andy Warhol. 

It also at times so jarring a watch it can feel like the end of the world. Experimental film making is all very well though sometimes can be a bit tiring. As a historical document this can't be faulted though, the art and the artists were fantastic. As were the times.

The Telephone at Work (1972)

A short instructional film on how to get the best use out of the telephone in a work situation and not, as happens in the opening minute, the phone drive you so mad you end up shooting it (which lets face it, isn't very British!) The film covers basic phone etiquette (which is mostly about just being polite). The film includes a whole host of GPO 746 dial phones though also look out for a cheeky pair of trimphones too. It is a wonderful little slice of the early 1970s British office life. Look out for Leslie Schofield in the workshop.

The Cosmonaut Cover-Up (1999)

A documentary which claims that Yuri Gagarin was not the first man in space, in fact it was test pilot Vladimir Ilyushin. However, his flight into space went wrong and he crash landed in China and was badly injured. 

This is a great story though little actual evidence is provided. Rather disappointingly Ilyushin himself declined to speak on camera about it despite the film makers claiming he was going to. So, all we really have is a lot of hearsay, obscure old news snippets and unsubstantiated claims. 

However, despite that this documentary is well worth watching due to the Soviet era footage of space development and training much of it is completely compelling and fascinating.

The Great White Silence (1924)

A pioneering documentary by Herbert Ponting on Scott's doomed attempt to reach the South Pole in 1910-13 (and thus filmed then though not released for a few years afterwards). While there is footage of the preparations and the early parts of the expedition the final act is not covered, the filmmaker did not join Scott in that final fatal part of the expedition.

The documentary concentrates on the stark landscape of Antarctica and the novel wildlife (maybe too much) including penguins (which have always been popular with cinema goers!) At the time most people would have never seen such things before of course and this was undoubtedly an eye opener for them. 

The footage is astonishing especially considering the dates and conditions in which it was filmed. The film does have colour tints though which to the modern eye can look a bit odd. A historic record, an interesting watch for sure but not without major flaws.

Rock City: London 1964-73 (1973)

The story of the British rock scene from the early 1960s to the 1970s, well a kind of documentary. It is mostly a series of (mostly) great live performances - and some early music videos - interspersed with interviews.

If we are to be honest a lot of the interviews are not very illuminating (though Pete Townsend's anti-drug stance is interesting, as it comes alongside footage of Brian Jones' troubles). It doesn't really matter as the songs from the likes of the Rolling Stones, Cream, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix (and many more) are incredible. 

It is a bit of a hippy-fest, a film of it's time, but what a time.

Daily Beauty Rituals (1937)

A lovely little film set at the height of pre-war Hollywood glamour. Constance Bennett reveals her rather relaxed and lavish beauty regime once she finally drags herself out of bed! This involves applying varying creams, having a bath and being annoyed by regular time checks from her maid! It is all rather strange, and probably not much practical help to the average fan, but at all times Constance is suitably glamorous!

Remember Me This Way (1974)

A Gary Glitter documentary, but long before any of that came to light. This was made in the early 1970s when he was at the height of his stardom and playing to audiences full of screaming girls...

The documentary, which is more a series of random and sometimes boring vignettes interspersed with Glitter singing, follows preparations for a big show. Footage of which ends the film. It also shows the recording of I love you love me love and even the seven inch singles being pressed, while his management team discuss how they are going to make money out of his records in a rather tedious segment.

Away from the concert and record making we see Glitter chilling out, at parties and doing some promotional work. In some ways its a fascinating look at early 70s pop music but it is a genuinely terrible film (and not because of hindsight) it was just so badly made. Despite all that this was a box office hit which just shows how big a star he was back then!

Top of the Bill (1971)

Before the TV and movie star, even before the radio and record star was the music hall star. This charming (and frequently rather odd) documentary celebrates the days of music hall, variety and vaudeville which even in 1971 was passing into fading memory (some of the members of the public with memories of music hall were in their eighties).

There is sadness as Ben Warriss and Ken Goodwin give us a tour of former music hall venues which are now bingo halls, shopping centres or even just piles of rubble. Also quite sad is when Ben interviews young passers by and they don't know who he is!

The memories are interspersed by example music hall acts by the likes of Sally Barnes, Charlie Chester performs as Max Miller and Ken Goodwin who does a George Formby impression. Not only has music hall now gone, but the London in this film is largely unrecognisable. Well it was indeed a lost world and it was wonderful.

Häxan (1922)

Häxan is a curious and enjoyable Swedish/Danish silent movie. It is a documentary horror exploring witchcraft and superstition from the Middle Ages onwards with numerous dramatised vignettes featuring witches, black magic and various devilment.

Some parts of the film are tinted which adds to the creepiness and/or fun especially when the tint is red.

A controversial film, scenes of nudity and torture helped it be banned in several countries. The film is full of weirdness and the forbidden, it's a lot of fun. The early part of the film, which is mostly documentary, can drag a bit though.