Edwardian Insects on Film
Genres
Overview
In 1908, amateur naturalist and pioneering filmmaker Percy Smith stunned early cinema goers with his footage of the juggling fly. Hailed as the father of Natural History film, Smith was a hugely influential visual pioneer, inventing many techniques that are still used today. Being both a genius and an eccentric, we follow his life from his earliest films, to the collapse of his house from his mould experiment to his ultimate suicide. We also meet Natural History icon Sir David Attenborough, who was so amazed by Smith’s films in the 1930s that they inspired him to get into natural history.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
59 min
Release Date
2013-03-19
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
1
Vote Average
9
Charlie Hamilton James
Self - Presenter
David Attenborough
Self
Dr Tim Boon
Self - Science Museum, London
David Cleveland
Self - Film Archivist
Tim Cockerill
Self - Entomologist
Bryony Dixon
Self - Curator, Silent Film, BFI
Jenny Hammerton
Self - Film Archivist
Michael Harvey
Self - National Media Museum
Percy Smith
Self - archive footage
John Winder
Self - Scientist & Collector
7.9
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.
1991-11-27 | en
6.0
Cotton Mill, Treadmill
Director Denys Arcand made an inquiry on textile industry in Quebec, meeting employers and workers of that industry.
1970-10-13 | fr
7.0
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
The history of the peplum genre, known as sword-and-sandal cinema, set in Antiquity, from the silent film era to the present day.
2019-04-14 | fr
4.0
Highly Classified: The World of 007
His world is full of glamour, mystery and intrigue and now you get to be a part of it! Let gadget wizard Q (Desmond Llewelyn) be your guide to the ubiquitous lifestyle and thrilling adventures of the world's most notorious secret agent. The undercover team will take you behind-the-scenes as they infiltrate the highly classified worlds of the man everyone knows as Bond -- James Bond. Hosted by Desmond Llewelyn who plays Secret Service gadget master Q. Boasts rare behind-the-scenes footage of spectacular stunts and explosive action sequences. Reveals the special effects magic behind the remotely-driven BMW, the rooftop motorcycle chase and death-defying skysrcaper jump. Interviews with Tomorrow Never Dies' director Roger Spottiswoode and stars Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher and Judi Dench.
1998-01-01 | en
6.7
Psycho Path
Documentary on the making of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho."
2000-02-10 | en
6.4
Chaplin Today: 'Modern Times'
Award-winning filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne profess their love for the classic "Modern Times." The directors expose their views on the many aspects of the film, Chaplin's brilliancy and they also provide interesting details about the making of Chaplin's masterpiece.
2003-07-01 | en
6.7
Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory
Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.
1895-03-22 | fr
4.0
Christina Lindberg: The Original Eyepatch Wearing Butt Kicking Movie Babe
A look at the life and work of Christina Lindberg, the most famous Swedish model of the 1970s and star of exploitation cinema.
2015-10-02 | en
7.5
Life Itself
The surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert (1942-2013): his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.
2014-07-04 | en
7.8
Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives and Magic
The lives of Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), on the screen and behind the curtain. The joy and the sadness, the success and the failure. The story of one of the best comic duos of all time: a lesson on how to make people laugh.
2011-12-28 | de
0.0
Behind the Bull
Documentary about the making of Forgotten Silver.
2000-12-19 | en
6.8
Paparazzi
Paparazzi explores the relationship between Brigitte Bardot and groups of invasive photographers attempting to photograph her while she works on the set of Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (Contempt). Through video footage of Bardot, interviews with the paparazzi, and still photos of Bardot from magazine covers and elsewhere, director Rozier investigates some of the ramifications of international movie stardom, specifically the loss of privacy to the paparazzi. The film explains the shooting of the film on the island of Capri, and the photographers' valiant, even foolishly dangerous, attempts to get a photograph of Bardot.
1964-09-22 | fr
6.0
The Last Sequence
A documentary on Fellini’s lost alternate ending for 8½
2003-04-22 | it
6.0
Seijun Suzuki: kabuki & yakuzas
Film director and screenwriter Seijun Suzuki (1923-2017), who in the sixties was the great innovator of Japanese cinema; and his collaborator, art director and screenwriter Takeo Kimura (1918-2010), recall how they made their great masterpieces about the Yakuza underworld for the Nikkatsu film company.
2002-01-10 | es
7.6
Burden of Dreams
The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.
1982-10-01 | en
4.1
There Goes the Neighborhood: The Making of The 'Burbs
An in depth look at the making of The 'Burbs, from High Rising Productions. This feature-length documentary includes interviews with director Joe Dante, actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gains and Wendy Schaal, director of photography Robert M. Stevens and production designer James H. Spencer.
2014-09-15 | en
7.4
Frank and Ollie
Before computer graphics, special effects wizardry, and out-of-this world technology, the magic of animation flowed from the pencils of two of the greatest animators The Walt Disney Company ever produced -- Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Frank and Ollie, the talent behind BAMBI, PINOCCHIO, LADY AND THE TRAMP, THE JUNGLE BOOK, and others, set the standard for such modern-day hits as THE LION KING. It was their creative genius that helped make Disney synonymous with brilliant animation, magnificent music, and emotional storytelling. Take a journey with these extraordinary artists as they share secrets, insights, and the inspiration behind some of the greatest animated movies the world has ever known!
1995-10-20 | en
6.6
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue
An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
2009-08-06 | en
5.0
The British Touch: Bond Arrives in London
Documentary short that covers the airplane sequence in the James Bond movie Die Another Day (2002) and its filming at Heathrow Airport.
2006-01-01 | en
0.0
Location Scouting with Peter Lamont: Die Another Day
Scouting locations with Peter Lamont on 'Die Another Day'.
2006-07-17 | en