This film is part of Free
Shipyard
Paul Rotha’s brilliant film of the building and launch of SS Orion from the shipyards of Barrow-in-Furness.
Overview
The shipyards of Barrow-in-Furness are the setting for this enduring classic of 1930s British documentary . Paul Rotha, one of the most precocious and distinctive talents of the documentary movement, takes a familiar subject and format for industrial documentary – something being made, in this case the meticulous assembly of the sea liner Orion – and turns it into a modernist masterpiece.
Inspired by Soviet ‘montage’ editing, Rotha brilliantly captures the metronomic rhythm of the construction process and the beauty of the resulting grand vessels. Rotha made the film while working for Gaumont-British Instructional (normally known for much more conventional filmmaking), on money from the Orient Shipping Company and shipbuilders Vickers Armstrong, making monthly filmmaking sorties to the shipyard for almost a year (there is sleight-of-hand in the film, in that Rotha actually filmed the construction of two different boats, built three months apart). His choice of final image - shipbuilders departing the quay following the triumphant launch - adds a subtle, socially conscious and melancholy undertone to the otherwise thrusting forward momentum of his memorably vigorous filmmaking. Shipyard is also available on the BFI DVD collection Tales from the Shipyard.
Related
Ropner & Co., Shipbuilders, Stockton on Tees (1900) Ropner & Co., Shipbuilders, Stockton on Tees (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 3 mins Silent Location: Stockton-on-Tees
Hometime for thousands of Teesside shipbuilders.
Building and Launch of the "Crepath" at Barnstaple Building and Launch of the "Crepath" at Barnstaple
Non-Fiction 1918 5 mins Silent Location: Barnstaple
Barnstaple's experimental concrete-hulled ship gets a visit from a jolly Italian admiral.
Launch of the Thunderer Launch of the Thunderer
Non-Fiction 1911 5 mins Silent Location: Canning Town
HMS Thunderer is launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury's wife, in a ceremony attended by thousands of dignitaries and most of East London.
Workers Leaving Work at Vickers Workers Leaving Work at Vickers
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Factory gate glimpses at - we think - Barrow-in-Furness
Launch of HMS Resolution Submarine Launch of HMS Resolution Submarine
Amateur film 1966 3 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
A prestigious occasion for the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.
Building of a Liner Building of a Liner
1938 9 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
The precision and beauty of shipbuilding in Britain.
Fair Oriana Fair Oriana
Documentary 1961 28 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
The spectacular story of the building of a massive ocean liner.
Lancashire at Work Lancashire at Work
Documentary 1933 22 mins Location: Lancashire
An epic and electrifying portrait of the county that cradled the industrial revolution.
Royal Visit to Barrow and Launch of HMS Dominion (1903) Royal Visit to Barrow and Launch of HMS Dominion (1903)
Non-Fiction 1903 5 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Princess Louise comes to Edwardian Barrow in Furness to christen the battleship HMS Dominion.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.