Night Mail (1936) remains one of the most popular and instantly recognised films in British film history and was one of the most critically acclaimed films to be produced with the British documentary film movement. Night Mail is an account of the operation of the Royal mail train delivery service and shows the various stages and procedures of that operation. The film begins with a voiceover commentary describing how the mail is collected for transit. Then as the train proceeds along the course of its journey we are shown the various regional railway stations at which... it collects and deposits mail. Inside the train the process of sorting takes place. As the train nears its destination there is a sequence - the best known in the film - in which Auden's spoken verse and Britten's music are combined over montage images of racing train wheels. Night Mail has been re-mastered and digitally restored and beautifully packaged in a clamshell box. Music by Benjamin Britten. Poetry by WH Auden. [show more]
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. One of the most critically acclaimed and best-loved films produced within the British documentary movement, Night Mail tells the fascinating story of the Travelling Post Office from Euston to Glasgow and the men who worked on it. Given a modest budget of only £2,000 and conceived as a routine film promoting Post Office services, the collective talents of the GPO Film Unit turned out an ambitious and inventive fusion of image, sound, music and poetry that became an instant classic and archetype of the genre. The memorable final section of the film, featuring Benjamin Britten's innovative score and verse by W H Auden timed to the rhythms of the train, is justly famous, and perhaps the most lyrical final sequence in the history of documentary film.
Lauded 1936 documentary, showing the various stages and procedures of the operation of the Royal Mail train delivery service, that remains one of the most instantly recognised films in British film history. It begins with a voiceover commentary describing how the mail is collected for transit. Then, as the train proceeds along the course of its journey, we are shown the various regional railway stations at which it collects and deposits its cargo. Inside the train the process of sorting takes place. As it nears its destination there is a sequence - the best known in the film - in which WH Auden's spoken verse and Benjamin Britten's music are combined over montage images of racing train wheels.
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