Features and reviews

Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.

Object of the week

Object of the week: The film that launched Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Benjamin Britten’s much-played score The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra was first commissioned for this 1946 film, which was made to inform aspiring musicians about each instrument in a symphony orchestra.

By Steven Foxon

Object of the week: The film that launched Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Features

“You have to always shoot from your heart”: an audience with history-making Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw

By Ivie Uzebu

“You have to always shoot from your heart”: an audience with history-making Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Obituaries

Frederick Wiseman obituary: towering figure of American documentary filmmaking

By Philip Concannon

Frederick Wiseman obituary: towering figure of American documentary filmmaking

From the Sight and Sound archive

Heights of fashion: Wuthering Heights on screen, from Wyler to MTV

By David Jenkins

Heights of fashion: Wuthering Heights on screen, from Wyler to MTV

From the Sight and Sound archive

Keeper of the Flame: an exploration of “German cinema’s greatest marginal figure”, Werner Schroeter

By Adrian Martin

Keeper of the Flame: an exploration of “German cinema’s greatest marginal figure”, Werner Schroeter

From the Sight and Sound archive

The greatest love stories ever re-told? The legacy of the Brontë sisters on screen

By Martin Spence

The greatest love stories ever re-told? The legacy of the Brontë sisters on screen

Object of the week

Object of the week: Douglas Slocombe’s home movie from the making of Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt

By Josephine Botting

Object of the week: Douglas Slocombe’s home movie from the making of Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt

Object of the week

The mystery 1967 ‘music video’ for The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’

By William Fowler

The mystery 1967 ‘music video’ for The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’

Where to begin

Where to begin with Kon Ichikawa

By Jasper Sharp

Where to begin with Kon Ichikawa

Features

“I have made so little”: what the archives of two women filmmakers tell us about the film industry

By Jessica Boyall

“I have made so little”: what the archives of two women filmmakers tell us about the film industry

From the Sight and Sound archive

Views of the New Wave: Godard and Rohmer’s first features

By Louis Marcorelles

Views of the New Wave: Godard and Rohmer’s first features

Rarities of British cinema

The saucy British comedy that sold out cinemas in post-war New York

By Josephine Botting

The saucy British comedy that sold out cinemas in post-war New York

Object of the week

Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes shots from the making of the first British Asian feature film

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes shots from the making of the first British Asian feature film

Features

David Lynch’s indie empire

By Phil Hoad

David Lynch’s indie empire

Object of the week

Object of the week: Ealing’s poster for the classic police drama The Blue Lamp

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Ealing’s poster for the classic police drama The Blue Lamp

Features

Television turns 100: the forgotten history of Britain’s earliest TV shows

By John Wyver

Television turns 100: the forgotten history of Britain’s earliest TV shows

Where to begin

Where to begin with Andrzej Wajda

By Ben Nicholson

Where to begin with Andrzej Wajda

From the Sight and Sound archive

Trimming Tolkien: on the faithfulness of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings

By Graham Fuller

Trimming Tolkien: on the faithfulness of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings

Object of the week

Object of the week: 97-year-old footage of a Man Utd vs Man City clash

By Ros Cranston

Object of the week: 97-year-old footage of a Man Utd vs Man City clash

Features

Golden sunshine all along the way: David Lynch, weather man

By Chloe Walker

Golden sunshine all along the way: David Lynch, weather man

Features

David Bowie, film fan

By Stephen Dalton

David Bowie, film fan

From the Sight and Sound archive

“I have a responsibility to be provocative in my films”: Rosa von Praunheim’s activist cinema

By Mark Nash

“I have a responsibility to be provocative in my films”: Rosa von Praunheim’s activist cinema

Obituaries

Béla Tarr obituary: Hungary’s slow-cinema visionary

By Jonathan Romney

Béla Tarr obituary: Hungary’s slow-cinema visionary

Object of the week

Object of the week: Original budget breakdown for Black Narcissus – who got paid what

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Original budget breakdown for Black Narcissus – who got paid what

Then and now

David Lynch in London: how The Elephant Man locations have changed today

By Adam Scovell

David Lynch in London: how The Elephant Man locations have changed today

Object of the week

Object of the week: Lotte Reiniger’s cut-out figures and backgrounds for Cinderella

By Nathalie Morris

Object of the week: Lotte Reiniger’s cut-out figures and backgrounds for Cinderella

Obituaries

Brigitte Bardot obituary: French star who redefined female sexuality on screen

By Ginette Vincendeau

Brigitte Bardot obituary: French star who redefined female sexuality on screen

Then and now

Ghost Stories for Christmas: how TV’s most haunting locations look today

By Adam Scovell

Ghost Stories for Christmas: how TV’s most haunting locations look today

Object of the week

Object of the week: Mid-century Christmas card designs by Ealing Studios

By Kay Eldridge

Object of the week: Mid-century Christmas card designs by Ealing Studios

Features

2025 – the year in video games: Switch 2, indie big-hitters and Fortnite devours all

By Stuart Burnside

2025 – the year in video games: Switch 2, indie big-hitters and Fortnite devours all