This film is part of Free
Mining Review 23rd Year No. 6
Ace edition of the series with wintry-but-warm vignettes of coal community life in South Hetton, Woolley Colliery and Caldey Island.
Overview
Monks, majorettes - and miners - populate this ace edition of the long-running series. Released in February but shot in December, it has a wintry yet wonderfully warm atmosphere: we challenge you to watch without smiling. All four stories are winners but 'Drum Major' stands out, its baton-twirling moves captured with care, wit, even bravura: look out for a jaw-dropping match cut (perhaps inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 1968 epic 2001: A Space Odyssey...?).
The first story's nuts-and-bolts subject (safety studs on miners' boots) is enlivened by similarly playful, propulsive filmmaking; the second item (coal deliveries to the Trappist monks of Caldey Island, Pembrokeshire) is gently lyrical; and the final piece (a high-productivity good-news story from Woolley Colliery) is punchy and confident. Each item will have been filmed by a different director-cameraman team, and while this was always the case with Mining Review, in the 1960s the editorial team was more relaxed about allowing a subtle variation of style from one item to another to be evident. Here the result is a highly watchable, occasionally lovely suite of good-natured vignettes of coal industry life.
Related
Miner Miner
Documentary 1950 36 mins Silent Location: Featherstone
Absorbing overview of coalmining in the early years of nationalisation.
Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 2 mins
Miners' safety training - marked by stylish animation and gallows humour.
Energy Energy
Advert 1935 42 mins Silent Location: Cardiff/Caerdydd
Coal, between the world wars, makes the industrialised world go round and Cory Bros & Co Ltd, with collieries in south Wales and oil refineries across the globe, is a major player.
Big Pit Big Pit
Industry sponsored film 1978 7 mins Location: Blaenavon
Memories of Blaenavon Colliery, Monmouthshire, as it nears its end.
Guilty Chimneys Guilty Chimneys
Documentary 1954 18 mins
Elegiac sponsored film imploring viewers to "allow the sun to penetrate the haze of ignorance" and relieve British cities of pollution.
People Will Always Need Coal People Will Always Need Coal
Advert 1975 1 mins
Deliriously kitsch recruitment ad for the implausibly glamorous world of coalmining.
Caldey Island 1959 Caldey Island 1959
Home movie 1959 10 mins Silent Location: Caldey Island/Ynys Byr
Work and school are forgotten as the Wright family re-locates to Caldey Island (Ynys B_r) to enjoy a summer holiday.
Caldey Island 1955 Caldey Island 1955
Home movie 1955 6 mins Silent Location: Tenby/Dinbych-y-pysgod
The Wright family get full rations of sunshine whilst holidaying on Caldey Island, off Tenby, Pembrokeshire.
Visiting Tenby and area and St Margaret's Fair Visiting Tenby and area and St Margaret's Fair
Amateur film 1938 9 mins Silent Location: Tenby/Dinbych-y-pysgod
Caldey Island and Bosherston supply welcome afternoon teas to this holiday party who are exploring the Tenby area.
Five Holiday in Pembrokeshire - Caldey Island and Barafundle Bay Five Holiday in Pembrokeshire - Caldey Island and Barafundle Bay
Home movie 1961 8 mins Silent Location: Caldey Island/Ynys Byr
Life is not all contemplation for the Cistercian monks on Caldey Island, off Tenby. Here they are seen making hay whilst the sun shines.
Morton Family Presents Holidays in Pembrokeshire 1949 Morton Family Presents Holidays in Pembrokeshire 1949
Home movie 1949 8 mins Silent Location: Tenby/Dinbych-y-pysgod
The Morton family enjoy a wonderful holiday in Pembrokeshire, filled with activities such as motorcycle racing, sports, sightseeing, walks and beach shenanigans.
All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.