The BFI’s third DVD release for 23 July is Wonderful London, a mesmerising and touching collection of silent films from 1924. Painstakingly restored by the BFI National Archive to reinstate their original tinting and toning, and with new piano accompaniments from world-renowned silent film pianist John Sweeney, the six films on Wonderful London offer a fascinating glimpse of London life during the silent era. Featuring some of the most evocative sights of the capital, they also reveal lost images that our generation will never have seen before.
After a sold out screening at the 2011 BFI London Film Festival, they now come to DVD, with six extra films and a booklet of new essays by contemporary London commentators Iain Sinclair, Jude Rogers and Sukhdev Sandhu.
In two series and over 20 films, directors Harry B Parkinson and Frank Miller created travelogues of different aspects of city life for cinema screenings. Aimed at exploiting the popularity of the print magazine of the same name, they were produced on a budget, but told with wit and flair. Among the newly restored films are Barging Through London, Cosmopolitan London and London’s Sundays. Six more from the series are presented in black and white prints.
