Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950 DVD

Featuring 40 films, this extensive collection is a major retrospective of the British documentary film movement during its period of greatest influence.

These films – many of which are made available here for the first time since their original release – capture the spirit and strength, concerns and resolve of Britain and its people before, during and after the Second World War.

These diverse and compelling films are fascinating historical documents, bearing witness to the social and industrial transformations of the rapidly changing world, but they are also striking in their different approach to the form.

Using poetry, dramatic reconstruction, modernist techniques and explicit propaganda, these film-makers found fresh, new ways to get their message across.

The collection contains both classic documentaries and lesser-known films, including Paul Rotha's Shipyard (1935), Arthur Elton's Housing Problems (1935) and Humphrey Jennings' sublime Words for Battle (1941), Listen to Britain (1942), and the emotive A Diary for Timothy (1946).

Also featured are films from directors such as Ruby Grierson (Today We Live, 1937), Basil Wright (Children at School, 1937), Paul Dickson (The Undefeated, 1950) and Donald Alexander (Five and Under, 1941).