The COI Collection: Volume Five
Portrait of a People

The latest instalment in the BFI’s dedicated DVD series celebrating the films made by the Central Office of Information proudly looks at Britain and its people, and examines what it means to be British. The release coincides with the recent announcement that the COI will close its doors next year.

Promoting an idealised notion of Britain has often been at the forefront of COI film production. From encouraging immigration to re-defining the nation, the titles on Portrait of a People are by turns affectionate, humorous, informative and stirring. Together, they paint a fascinating and revealing portrait of the inhabitants of the country spanning nearly 25 years.

Among the highlights on this volume are: Come Saturday (1949), a lovingly shot picture of the English at play; Oxford (1958), a look at the traditions of Oxford University; Dateline Britain: Look at London (1958), in which actor and broadcaster Bernard Braden takes us on a tour of London; The Poet’s Eye (1964), how Britain and its people inspired Shakespeare; and Opus (1967), a provocative look at what’s new and shocking in contemporary British art, fashion and design from Don Levy (Herostratus).

As well as being distributed overseas, some of the films on these discs were also intended for the home audience. Circulated via the COI’s Central Film Library (CFL), they were loaned out for screenings in Britain’s village halls, at Women’s Institute meetings, at Young Farmers’ clubs, in schools and colleges, at film clubs, in the work place, in cinemas and more latterly on television. The COI also employed mobile film units (in the shape of vans) to bring its offerings to far flung places throughout the land. In this way, the image of a prosperous, creative and above all enduring nation was touted, courtesy of the COI, to its own population.

Disc One
• Come Saturday (1949)
• Local Newspaper (1952)
• An English Village (1956)
• Oxford (1958)
• Dateline Britain: Look at London (1958)
• Looking at Britain: National Parks (1961)
• Special feature: Shown by Request (1947)

Disc Two
• Moslems in Britain – Cardiff (1961)
• Looking at Britain: Industrial Town (1962)
• John Turner MP (1962)
• The Poet’s Eye (1964)
• Speaking of Britain (1967)
• Opus (1967)
• Portrait of a People – Impressions of Britain (1970)

Special features
• Shown By Request (1947, 18 mins); the work of the COI’s Central Film Library (CFL) is explored in this 1940s documentary
• Illustrated 26-page booklet containing film notes and essays

Release date: 18 July 2011
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD921 / E
UK / 1947 - 1970 / b&w, and colour / English, optional hard-of-hearing subtitles /
291 mins / DVD-9 x 2 / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

But although the theme will still be safety/warning stuff, they're casting the net to include subjects that weren't tackled in volume 4. For instance, this is the title that I'm writing up for the booklet.

COI Collection Vol 6: Worth the Risk?

Health, safety and welfare messages are at the heart of the sixth volume in the COI Collection. Crossing the road; sensible drinking; playing with matches; the welfare state; combating terrorism; decrimalisation; crime prevention; surviving nuclear attack...and much, much more, are all tackled here with the usual mix of horror, humour, shock tactics and gentle persuasion. Highlights include: Skateboard Safety (1978), the pioneering animation Charley's March of Time (1948), Say No to Strangers (1981) starring Timothy Spall, and the unnerving Cold War-era film Hole in the Ground (1962) in which warning and defence measures against nuclear attack are depicted.

Special Features:

- Furry Folk on Holiday (1967): Tufty and his friends take a trip to the seaside, luckily Policeman Badger is on hand to save the day.
- Play Safe (1979): in this long form version of the classic COI public information films, Bernard Cribbens and Brian Wilde warn against the dangers of playing near electricity.
- Fully illustrated booklet with new essays, biographies and notes on the soundtrack

The COI Collection: Volume Six
Worth the Risk?

This new instalment in the BFI’s dedicated DVD series that celebrates the films made by the Central Office of Information, examines the issue of ‘risk’ in our everyday lives. It features almost 50 films, from the 1940s to 2000, all peppered with the COI’s characteristic mix of horror, humour, famous faces and gentle persuasion.

Complementing the safety messages in the earlier Volume Four, Stop! Look! Listen!, the films on Worth the Risk? offer advice on crossing the road, sensible drinking, playing with matches, the Welfare State, the complexities of decimalisation, surviving nuclear attack… and much, much more.

Among the many highlights are: Skateboard Safety (1978), play safe ‘you mad skateboard dogs’; Charley’s March of Time (1948), pioneering animation explains the workings of the new Welfare State; Green Cross Code (1973), David Prowse is on hand to admonish and advise; Hole in the Ground (1962), an unnerving civil defence film from the Cold War era; Say No to Strangers (1981), Bernard Hill, Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall star in this creepy and uncompromising film; Laughing Matter (circa late 1970s), Robbie Coltrane’s stand-up routine isn’t funny; Passing Places (1973), a bluegrass style road safety song from a young Bill Paterson and Peach and Hammer – Carol Hill, the unforgettable road safety film by director John Krish.

Special features
• The Furry Folk on Holiday (1967, 13 mins): Tufty and his friends take a trip to the seaside; luckily Policeman Badger is on hand to save the day;
• Play Safe (1978, 11 mins): Bernard Cribbins and Brian Wilde warn against the dangers of playing near electricity
• Illustrated booklet with notes and essays from film historians and filmmakers

Release date: 7 November 2011
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD935 / E / 2-disc set
UK / 1946 - 2000 / b&w, and colour / English, optional hard-of-hearing subtitles /
215 mins / DVD-9 x 2 / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

Essentially it’s an onslaught of scare tactics and sheer terror; deaths, injuries and hospitalisation as caused by cars, bikes, fire, fireworks, food poisoning, car bombs, the H bomb, skateboards and STDs. At almost four hours in length, these two discs represent a kind of epic British equivalent of the Final Destination series, albeit one that flits between the decades and switches from black and white to colour. Nonetheless, the bottom line remains: if you’re appearing in one of these films there’s a strong likelihood you’ll either do yourself serious damage, or much worse.

Grain Drain, for example, is just 40 seconds in length, yet it uses that time succinctly and effectively. This piece recalls Stop! Look! Listen!’s Apaches in its farmyard setting, the central message in this case being “Put a grid on it” in reference to grain pits and their potentially lethal nature if a child were to fall into one. Yet it doesn’t need Apaches’ mini-narrative akin to Ten Little Indians or even a single actor, young or otherwise. All it requires is a toy doll slowly disappearing into the grain in close-up, a voice-over containing such phrases as “a way to drown without water” and the superimposed cries of a very young child. Simple but terrifying - which, of course, works for both the viewer and those who commissioned the film.

Risks are everywhere. Crossing the road, cycling, not handling food properly, leaving a car boot unlocked, grain pits, night-time darkness – they all bring risks. Thankfully, government agency The Central Office of Information helped make us aware of the hazards. This two-DVD set – the sixth in the BFI’s collection of COI films – is mind-boggling company. Dealing with the multifarious risks seen here would leave no time to get into danger. You’d have to live in a bubble.

Skateboard Safety (1978): This was a fairly desperate attempt to get down with the kids by appealing to the burgeoning skateboarding craze that really took off in the late seventies. All manner of cool and interesting lenses are used to make skateboarding far more interesting than it was (and still isn't), along with a non-catchy song that has less of a hook than Abu Hamza after walking through airport security. The main thrust of this PIF is to get kids to pad themselves up with the right protective gear, including kneepads, helmets, etc - none of which most skateboarders wouldn't been seen dead in (we'd be happy to see most skateboarders dead, irrespective of what clobber they've got on). What's fascinating about this PIF is that it actually shows you kids using skateboards as they were originally conceived and not the manner for which they are used now, which includes going about four feet and jumping up in the air for no reason other than to prove just how much of a tosser you are...

Is there much overlap with Vol. 6 and the Charley Says series?