Humphrey Jennings Movies
British documentary filmmaker Humphrey Jennings is best known for brilliantly observing the effects of the Blitz on London. They were passionate, patriotic films that offered penetrating, and yet somehow poetic insights into the British people as they coped with the disastrous bombing. Though often dealing with violence, he imbued the haunting images with a sense of weird beauty. Jennings was born in Walberswick, Suffolk. While attending Cambridge, he was part of the prestigious intellectual journal Experiment. In 1934, he began working with the GPO unit as an actor, designer and editor. After working briefly for Shell and doing the color work as an associate director on The Birth of a Robot (1936), Jennings became a director back at GPO. Though he created nothing extraordinary, his films did display an unusual warmth and sensitivity. His three best-known documentaries are Listen to Britain (1941), Fires Were Started (1943) and A Diary for Timothy (1945). Jennings continued making films after the war, but they were not as powerful. He died in 1950 after falling off a cliff while scouting a film location in Greece. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1992
- R
The important role of non-fiction in recording history is profiled in British Documentary Movement, Vol. 4: Wartime Homefront. Humphrey Jennings was one of the most important filmmakers of his time. His artful explorations of the British experience during the Blitz made him a favorite of viewers at home and abroad. President Roosevelt even used Jennings' work as an impetus for foreign policy changes. In this collection, London Can Take It and Fires Were Started are both included. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- R
Director Humphrey Jennings highlights the atrocities of combat in the documentary series British Documentary Movement, Vol. 5: Wartime Moments. Now considered one of the top English filmmakers of all time, Jennings was a master of the non-fiction genre. His work centered on the war at home and how it affected everyday life. For the duration of World War II, Jennings' films captured the terror of living on a battlefield. Listen to Britain, Target for Tonight, and A Diary for Timothy are shown here. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide
- 1943
This 35-minute wartime documentary is another excellent effort from the British Ministry of Information. With remarkable understatement, The Silent Village recounts one of WWII's most appalling acts of brutality: the destruction by the Nazis of the Czech village of Lidice, and the wholesale slaughter of its male population. A onetime mining village, Lidice is compared to the Welsh mining town of Cwmgiedd. The message: if the Nazi juggernaut isn't crushed as soon as possible, towns like Cwmgiedd may well face the same fate as poor Lidice. For box-office purposes, the film includes plenty of "local color," including a performance by the Welsh village's church choir. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
