Visions of Change: TV Documentary of the 50s-60s

Television offered the factual filmmaker a host of new opportunities in its formative decades.

Borrowed Pasture (1960)

Borrowed Pasture (1960)

Visitors to BFI Mediatheques can explore over 50 British TV documentaries of the 1950s and 60s rarely seen since their original broadcast. They cover topics from the personal to the political, reflecting developments in art, architecture, pop music and science. Documentary makers used new technology to get up-close and personal with their subjects and, for the first time, viewers were able to see their own communities reflected and hear people talk about their lives in their own voices (and regional accents!). At a time of rapid social change, these programmes brought issues like immigration, racial discrimination and attitudes to sexuality much closer to home.

Ten to try

Eye to Eye: The Man at Dover (1957)

A lyrical reflection on how England and the English appear to a refugee.

Eye to Eye: Onion Johnny (1957)

A fascinating look at the lives of Breton onion sellers, as they travel through Britain selling their wares.

USSR Now (1958)

Michael Ingrams tries to fathom Russian life over just three months.

On Call to a Nation (1958)

Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the NHS, this documentary was so well regarded that the BBC repeated it.

Borrowed Pasture (1960)

Richard Burton narrates this beautiful portrait of two Polish soldiers who, homeless after WWII, make a new life on a Welsh farm.

Coventry Kids (1960)

Not kids at all, but rather the people of Coventry and their hopes and dreams. With music by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger.

Television and the World (1961)

A hugely ambitious documentary presenting the workings of TV industries across five continents.

LSO – The Music Men (1965)

Observe the demands of life inside the London Symphony Orchestra.

One in Every 100 (Intertel) (1966)

This affecting exposé shows the contrasting care of children with learning difficulties in England and Canada.

What’s a Girl Like You… (1969)

A precious record of performances at south London’s ‘Palladium of Drag’ – the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

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