Basil Wright, was a
documentaryDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmaker, film historian, film critic and teacher.
Biography
Basil Wright was the first recruit to join
John GriersonJohn Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
at the
Empire Marketing BoardThe Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote inter-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'...
's film unit in 1930, shortly after he graduated from Cambridge University. Wright's 1934 film
Song of CeylonThe Song of Ceylon is a 1934 British documentary film directed by Basil Wright and produced by John Grierson for the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board....
is his most celebrated work. Shot on location in Ceylon (now
Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) the film was completed with the composer
Walter LeighWalter Leigh was an English composer. Leigh is most famous for his Concertino for harpsichord and string orchestra, written in 1934. Other famous works include the overture Agincourt and The Frogs of Aristophanes for chorus and orchestra...
at the
GPO Film UnitThe GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit...
in London. At the GPO, Wright acted as producer and wrote the script for
Night MailNight Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
(1936) for which he received a joint directorial credit with
Harry WattHarry Watt was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film The Siege of Pinchgut was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival...
. Wright had introduced his friend
W. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
to the film unit and the poet’s verse was included in the film.
Wright left the GPO to form his own production company, The Realist Film Unit (RFU). There he directed Children at School with money from the Gas Industry and The Face of Scotland for The Films of Scotland Committee.
During World War II, Wright worked only as a producer, first at
John GriersonJohn Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
's Film Centre before joining The Crown Film Unit between 1945 and 1946 as producer-in-charge. Among the best known films he produced for Crown are
Humphrey JenningsFrank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organization...
'
A Diary for TimothyA Diary for Timothy is a British documentary film directed by Humphrey Jennings. It was produced by Basil Wright for the Crown Film Unit....
(1946) and
A Defeated PeopleA Defeated People is a 1946 British documentary short film made by the Crown Film Unit, directed by Humphrey Jennings and narrated by William Hartnell. The film depicts the shattered state of Germany, both physically and as a society, in the immediate aftermath of World War II...
(1946). Returning to direction in the early 1950s, his films included Waters of Time (1951) made for the
Festival of BritainThe Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
, World Without End (1953) directed with
Paul RothaPaul Rotha was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. He was educated at Highgate School....
for
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and Greece: The Immortal Land (1958) in collaboration with his friend the artist
Michael AyrtonMichael Ayrton was an English artist and writer, known as a painter, printmaker and sculptor, and also as a critic, broadcaster and novelist...
.
Writing throughout the 30s and 40s, Basil Wright had contributed to the theoretical development of documentary in the movement’s journals Cinema Quarterly, World Film News and Documentary Newsletter. He was the film critic for
The SpectatorThe Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
after
Graham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
left. Wright was a regular contributor to the
British Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
’s Sight and Sound during the 1940s and '50s. He published a small book: The Uses of Film (1948) and his personal (extensive) history of cinema The Long View (1974). He taught at the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(1962 and 1968), The
National Film and Television SchoolThe National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
in London (1971-73) and
Temple UniversityTemple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
in Phipadelphia (1977-78). He was Governor of the
British Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
, a fellow of the
British Film AcademyThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
and President of the International Association of Documentary Filmmakers.
In his films Wright combined an ability to look closely and carefully at a subject with a poetic and often experimental approach to editing and sound. In Britain he is commemorated with a film prize awarded biennially by the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Centenary celebrations
In honor of Basil Wright's centenary year, his career, and the careers of his colleagues and fellow centenarians:
Edgar AnsteyEdgar Anstey OBE, , was a leading British documentary film-maker....
, Marion Grierson,
Humphrey JenningsFrank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organization...
and
Paul RothaPaul Rotha was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. He was educated at Highgate School....
, were celebrated with a season of films between August and October 2007 at the
British Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in London. Following this season, the
BFIThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
released a four-disc DVD set Land of Promise, containing films from leading figures in the British Documentary Film movement. A further three volumes of
GPO-Organisations:*General Post Office **General Post Office UK*German Patent Office, *United States Government Printing Office, a federal government agency*Green Party of Ontario, a policial party in Ontario, Canada...
films are available from the Bfi.
Films by Basil Wright Online
You can watch Song of Ceylon on the Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire Website here:
Entry for Basil Wright's Song of Ceylon.
If you have institutional access to the British Film Institute's Screenonline or Inview Websites you can watch a number of Wright's other films online. Further links below.
Filmography as director
Filmography as producer
- The Fairy of the Phone (1936) (* Available on the Bfi We Live in Two Worlds DVD Boxset)
- Night Mail
Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
(1936) (* Available on DVD from the Bfi)
- Rainbow Dance
Rainbow Dance is a 1936 British animated film, created by New Zealand-born animation pioneer Len Lye. This is Lye's second film to be viewed to the public. It uses the Gasparcolor process.-Synopsis:...
(1936)
- Men of Africa (1940)
- A Diary for Timothy
A Diary for Timothy is a British documentary film directed by Humphrey Jennings. It was produced by Basil Wright for the Crown Film Unit....
(1945)
- A Defeated People
A Defeated People is a 1946 British documentary short film made by the Crown Film Unit, directed by Humphrey Jennings and narrated by William Hartnell. The film depicts the shattered state of Germany, both physically and as a society, in the immediate aftermath of World War II...
(1946)
- Children on Trial (1946)
External links
See also
- W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
- Michael Ayrton
Michael Ayrton was an English artist and writer, known as a painter, printmaker and sculptor, and also as a critic, broadcaster and novelist...
- Edgar Anstey
Edgar Anstey OBE, , was a leading British documentary film-maker....
- Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
- Charles Burnett (director)
Charles Burnett is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer...
- Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...
- John Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
- Robert Flaherty
- Humphrey Jennings
Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organization...
- Walter Leigh
Walter Leigh was an English composer. Leigh is most famous for his Concertino for harpsichord and string orchestra, written in 1934. Other famous works include the overture Agincourt and The Frogs of Aristophanes for chorus and orchestra...
- Muir Mathieson
James Muir Mathieson was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on a large number of British films.-Career:...
- Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
- Paul Rotha
Paul Rotha was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. He was educated at Highgate School....
- Harry Watt
Harry Watt was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film The Siege of Pinchgut was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival...