BBC - Cinema Europe The Other Hollywood (1995) Part 5 Opportunity Lost

“Cinema Europe The Other Hollywood” commemorates the birth of an art that would transform the 20th century. This six-hour series is narrated by critically acclaimed actor/director Kenneth Branagh with music composition by Carl Davis, Philip Appleby and Nic Raine. It was produced by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, respected names in silent film scholarship, their previous made for television works include the 13-episode 1980 epic “Hollywood A Celebration of American Silent Film,” “Unknown Chaplin,” “Buster Keaton A Hard Act to Follow,” “Harold Lloyd The Third Genius” and “D.W. Griffith Father of Film”, they had won Emmys and Peabodys and left both audiences and critics thinking they'd never seen anything quite like it. Dogged researchers, and intent on finding the best prints, Brownlow and Gill ransacked the world's great archives and private collections. Besides discovering fragments of films thought totally lost, like the Pola Negri-starring “The Yellow Ticket” and Ivor Novello in “The Constant Nymph,” they brought to light so much that about 90% of the films were not seen in 70 years. This stylish and historical documentary focuses on the early days of the movie industry and the enormous contribution made by Europe. Included is rarely seen footage from early movies, from the very earliest efforts in the 1890's to the introduction of sound in the 1930's and interviews with some of the film industry's pioneers. In six parts, Cinema Europe the Other Hollywood shows the emergence of the first great stars and directors and the development of a cinematic language - all in Europe. Hollywood cinema might have conquered the world, but it was in Europe that it was born.

Part 5 Opportunity Lost

This episode looks at the British film industry and examines why British cinema failed to keep up with that of Germany and France. Many new film techniques had been pioneered in this country before the First World War but the industry never had the funding to help it capitalise on these early successes.

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