Spotlight on the Night Mail

[DavidB-AU]

A similarly themed but pale imitation of the 1936 classic. On the up side, the film stock is higher quality than the GPO Film Unit had. Directed by Anthony Gilkison for Rayant Pictures.

 

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0lLv2jfXSA

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyhIKXV8CKs

 

Cheers

David

[Fenman]

Both that and the original are on the BFI's beautifully restored DVD, Night Mail -- and at much higher quality than Youtube can manage.

 

Paul

[brianusa]

After all these years it is to be shown tonight Wednesday PST, on TCM, of all places. I've never seen it before!

 

Brian.

[TonyA]

Just seen that Night Mail is on at 1:45pm today on Talking Pictures, Freeview channel 81. It is followed at 2:10 by Sleeping Car to Trieste.

 

Tony

[ejstubbs]

A similarly themed but pale imitation of the 1936 classic.

 

Ah yes, that's the one with the cheesy American commentary, and innumerable instances of locos with their numbers mirrored - presumably because they didn't have a shot of a loco going in the right direction to fit with the rest of the sequence, so they simply reversed the negative.

 

It seemed that BR in those days couldn't make their minds up about which loco was going to haul the train.  46201 was shown heading off shed at the beginning.  46016 (mirrored, for no obvious reason) was shown departing London, with a banker on the back.  By the time the train arrived at Crewe it had 6234 on the front - although in another shot it's 46211 (mirrored).  And that's before we're even half way through.

 

It is quite interesting to see some locos with their LMS number and some with their BR number, but all still with LMS on the tender.