Volume One: Police and Thieves Two-discs, 296 mins, February 15th 2010
The Central Office of Information (COI) was established in 1946 and has produced thousands of films that reflected the changing face of a nation, and world, in flux. It still produces films to this day. Volume 1 of the COI Collection tackles crime, juvenile delinquency, policing and the justice system. A variety of styles and genres - story documentary, drama, public information shorts, cinemagazines, etc - are employed to deliver crime prevention messages and bolster recruitment in this area. These films provide a wonderful record of the police, the justice system and British life in a seemingly more innocent age.
Volume Two: Design for Today Two-discs, 296 mins, March 22nd 2010
Volume two of the BFI’s Central Office of Information collection surveys the COI’s treatment of architecture, design and fashion. It contains a diverse selection of films, dating from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. Highlights include: Brief City (1952) Design for Today (1965), Hugh Hudson’s Insight - Terence Conran (1981) and Peter Greenaway’s Insight - Zandra Rhodes(1981). This volume also boasts two newly commissioned scores by Saint Etienne who give Designed in Britain (1959) and Design for Today (1965) a contemporary music make-over, whilst still retaining some original features.