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Using Rank's Look at Life documentary shorts to examine 1960s British society.

Using the Rank Organisation's Look at Life documentary shorts to examine British society during the 1960s.

BBC Four HD

Britain on Film: Series 1

Sarah Metcalfe

David Okuefuna

Britain on Film: Series 1: Episode 7: This Sceptered Isle

This Sceptred Isle

Episode 7

Episode 7: This Sceptered Isle

Series 1

This Sceptered Isle

BBC Four - Britain on Film, Series 1, This Sceptered IsleSearch BBC

A look at the short films that documented unusual British customs, rituals and traditions.

A look at the short 1960s films that documented unusual British customs, rituals and traditions, as people preserved the idiosyncratic aspects of national life.

In 1959, Britain's biggest cinema company, the Rank Organisation, decided to replace its newsreels with a series of short, quirky, topical documentaries that examined all aspects of life in Britain. For the next ten years, Look at Life chronicled - on high-grade 35mm colour film - the changing face of British society, industry and culture. Britain on Film draws upon the 500 films in this unique archive to offer illuminating and often surprising insights into what became a pivotal decade. 

This episode examines Look at Life's quirky films that documented unusual or eccentric British customs, rituals and traditions. In an era where many Britons embraced change as never before, these revealing and highly entertaining films show that people were determined to preserve the idiosyncratic aspects of our national life.

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Series using the Look at Life documentary shorts to examine 1960s British society.

Series using the Rank Organisation's Look at Life documentary shorts to examine British society during the 1960s.

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