I then incorporated this into the video and edited in a new title sequence to fit the video. Bricks for the site are required by tonight. Executive summary: But a jug in a bedroom gently shakes. As Netflix went public in 2002, shortly a year later their subscription reached the one million mark (Netflix Management, 2011). Night Mail (1936) was one of the most critically acclaimed films to be produced within the British documentary film movement. ANALYSIS OF 'NIGHT MAIL' on October 29, 2021 Your browser can't play this video. Silent miles of wind-bent grasses. Accessed 10 December 2022. You can contact us any time of day and Night Mail Documentary Analysis Essay night with any questions; Essayist Define Integrity we'll always be happy to help you out. They adopted the term when the unit had missed a shot. The Scottish cities that the train was traveling through are mentioned once more in the final stanza of the poem. This poem is included in Book 3 English for 1st year students. This is my final product for my documentary. [12] He contacted the LMS and was amazed to find the railway had its own film director who offered assistance. With regards to increasing the influence of the Netflix brand, expansion into the. Night Mail. [29] The film was the GPO's only production to be released commercially in 1936. Pulling up Beattock, a steady climb: Jackson agreed, but disliked the sound of his voice upon playback: "My dulcet tones are immortalised in a few simple statements [] I sounded like some Oxford pimp on the prowl, and never having been to Oxford, I should know". Footage captured on location were taken on portable Newman-Sinclair cameras, which were often too heavy for the cameraman to hold. Once there, in amongst all the sleeping people, it delivers the much longed-for notes from friends, associates, business partners, and family members. () Marketing Plan 1 The letters have all tones and styles: catty, friendly, cold, boring, clever, stupid, long, short. [22] Fowle also solved the problem of recording the sound of the train as it travelled along the track and points, which produced unsatisfactory results when a microphone was placed on a real train. One has to move forward in order to comfortably resolve a phrase or sentence. However, problems arose due to errors in cutting which necessitated the crew's return to the location to reshoot the sequence. A poet uses this kind of figurative language to say that one thing is similar to another, not like metaphor, that it is another. The train is powerful and determined. [15] They were joined by a "ganger", an employee of the LMS who alerted the team of oncoming trains and guided them to the sidewalk. Night Mail is widely considered a masterpiece of the British Documentary Film Movement. It carries letters from every part of the world on every topic up a hill and through the grasses. Unlike other GPO films, which were primarily screened in schools, professional societies, and other small venues, Night Mail was shown in commercial cinemas as an opening for the main feature. It occurs when a line is cut off before its natural stopping point. Grierson, who is dubbed 'the father of documentary' delivers a romantic view of life on the railway. It carries letters from every part of the world on every topic up a hill and through the grasses. The poem speaks on themes of human relationships, connections, and industry. In 1933, Stephen Tallents left his position as a secretary and director of the Empire Marketing Board (EMB), a government advertising agency that decided to cease operations, and began work as the first Controller of Public Relations for the General Post Office (GPO). Stare from bushes at her blank-faced coaches. () Receipted bills and invitations Night Mail is a 1936 British documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit. [5] Lighting was limited for this sequence as the crew could only work with small battery-powered lights. King Essay Billy. Time has passed when this stanza begins. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of W. H. Auden's poetry. Produced by John Grierson for the General Post Office Film Unit, brilliantly directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, "Night Mail" is a short account (25 minutes) of the special train literally a traveling post office that made a 365 nights-a-year journey from Euston station in London to Glasgow in Scotland in the 1930s and beyond. Second, Night Mail uses expressionistic techniques like heavy back lighting and the lyric poetry of Auden to convey the grand scale of the postal endeavour. They were instructed to sway from side to side to recreate the motion of the moving train which was accomplished by following the movement of a suspended piece of string. In the third section one might imagine the excitement of a crowd receiving all the letters, though in reality most people are still asleep. She passes moors and boulders, her white steam flowing behind her. Birds turn their heads as she approaches, [31] During their stay in Glasgow, Grierson informed Watt that upon completing the interior scenes and recording the sound, the film's budget had been spent and suggested that filming cease. This documentary has been directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. [9], Night Mail, though edited in a naturalistic style, nevertheless utilises potent lyric symbolism. Watt described the research process as "reasonably straightforward", which included multiple trips along the railway, and soon completed a full treatment. Night Mail premiered on 4 February 1936 at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in Cambridge, England in a launch programme for the venue. Passing one farm, the dwellers sleep on, but a jug gently shakes.. They are asleep in Glasgow, asleep in Edinburgh. Bringing the cheque and the postal order, When I come to do my own documentary, I will hopefully look to Grierson as a way of creating a creative documentary, with an equal balance between the narrative and the visuals. It can be seen through the repetition of the words Letters, And, and The. The third line of the poem, Letters for the rich, letters for the poor is a great example of the importance of the train and the institution of mail delivery. When Netflix.com originally started business, they started out with only 30 employees and 925 DVDs for rent. The eleventh stanza of Night Mail is only three lines long. Auden's poem, Night Mail, performed by Benjamin Britten. Original sources provide the first occurrence of . The sound is further emphasized by the use of repetition, as with words like Letters, which appears numerous times in the poem. W. H. Auden: Poems study guide contains a biography of Wystan Hugh Auden, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, character analysis, and a full summary and analysis on select poems. The train has such a presence as it passes the birds still turn their heads to look at her. [48] Cavalcanti noted that he was credited for "'sound direction', which didn't even exist as a credit", but Grierson claimed that Cavalcanti had asked for his name to be excluded from the GPO's credits in case his involvement in such a documentary unit undermined his reputation in commercial cinema. https://www.gradesaver.com/w-h-auden-poems/study-guide/summary-funeral-blues-stop-all-the-clocks. In the first couplet of Night Mail, the speaker begins by describing the initial progress of the night mail train crossing the Border into Scotland. It breaks from the pattern of couplets with a nine-line stanza. This is due to its steady rhythm but also its consistency. Much of the film highlights the role of postal workers in the delivery of the mail. Night Mail will always be remembered for Auden's and Britten's participation, and for Grierson's courage and vision in commissioning them. [5][12] Initially, Grierson sent his team to observe the postal train staff at work with the aim of producing an information film on the train's operations, but little of the information reported back was used. This also allows us to understand something about their views and . 67%. Certainly the idea of making a film about such a horror must have been a daunting prospect to a person of Resnais's integrity, and when he . [19] The on screen individuals were real life postal employees, but their dialogue was originally written by Watt and Wright who gained inspiration from the conversations they overheard while observing them at work. Surrounded . Audience Score 250+ Ratings. It was admired in large part for its final ending sequence, especially the experimental sound and the "rhythmic synchronization between the words, music, and images" (Youdelman 398). Dated: 1936. Auden's vernacular language in the poem " Funeral Blues? There are fields of apparatus and furnaces / Set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen. Best Accomplishment Essay. 8 I have documented my process of my documentary film-making on my blog and used all the information I have gathered to create a successfully developed documentary. [15] The crew came into contact with the platelayers, catching them at work and stopping for an oncoming train which included them sharing cigarettes and beer. The gradients against her, but shes on time. This was because the video allowed me the chance to discuss my decisions in detail. By Roxanne Meyer [8] Despite early GPO films primarily educating and promoting the public about its services, as with The Coming of the Dial (1933), they were also largely intended to ward off privatisation and promote a positive impression of the post office and its employees. Documentary Film Analysis. scriptwriter in two ways within the film script. It is referred to as a woman, called she on several occasions, and spoken of as noosing to do this and that. [5] Watt described his work area as "A bare table at the end of a dark, smelly, noisy corridor", a contrast to the more peaceful surroundings that he was used to working in. Girders for bridges, plastic for fridges. A film review essay is a "consumer-oriented" judgment that aims to recommend (or not) a movie. It imagines the real sounds of the train and incorporates these imaginary sounds into the score. Auden, narrated by John Grierson, and Music by Benjamin Britten. [60], The main body of the film uses minimal narration, usually in the present tense and always underscored with diegetic sound. Grimy and grey is the engine's reflection, down to the docks for the metal collection. In Essay Current Issues the movie, Squid is the attacker and Stanley is still the victim. To solve this, Jackson sat atop of the coal pile in the locomotive's tender while holding a reflective sheet made with silver paper that acted as a mirror to make subjects brighter. [57] Night Mail was also one of the first GPO films built on a narrative structure, a critically influential technique in the development of documentary filmmaking. External shots include the train itself passing at speed down the tracks, aerial views of the countryside, and interior shots of the sorting van (actually shot in studio). [13], Wright was responsible for the aerial shots of the train from a hired aircraft, while Watt filmed the interior and location shots. [15][13] Brazilian-born Alberto Cavalcanti became involved as sound director who mixed the sound, dialogue, and music. The journey is not always the same. No one, Auden concludes, whats to be forgotten. It is often used to mimic another sound, like water, wind, or any kind of fluid movement. Night Mail is a simple poem written by W. H. Auden. Essays On The Odyssey Of Homer Book 1 Summary. In the wake of the EMB's demise, Tallents secured the transfer of the EMB Film Unit to the control of the GPO,[4] with EMB employee John Grierson transitioning from head of the EMB Film Unit to head of the newly formed GPO Film Unit, bringing most of its film staff with him. [5] The filming session began at 5:00 pm and lasted for 14 hours without a break. [5] Wright recalled that it was most likely Grierson who noted that up to this point, the film had documented the "machinery" of delivering letters, but "What about the people who write them and the people who get them? [21] Jackson, whose brother was a model railway enthusiast, then suggested recording using a model train, and a class-six engine and track was obtained from model manufacturer Basset-Lowke with that were set up in the film studio. Jackson wrote: "We were lucky to find the same gang two miles further down the line". Night Mail is a 1936 British documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit.The 24-minute film documents the nightly postal train operated by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) from London to Scotland and the staff who operate it. Lines were chopped and changed to fit the film. [27] Shots taken at Broad Street were incorporated into the Crewe sequence in the film. She passes moors and boulders, her white steam flowing behind her. This research paper is an analysis of the form and content of the Documentary Film Night Mail (1936) directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, written by W.H. Night Mail Documentary Analysis Essay. I will also go over the reaction by critics and others to the film when it first appeared. The Opening Sequence The opening sequence, beginning with the film's first frame, may be as short as a minute or as long as 10 minutes; each film is different. Region: 2 Important: A lot of DVD players around now . Upon release, his work was received very well. Dawn freshens, Her climb is done. [27] It included filming of the wheeltapper, who became the subject of an inside joke at the film studio when the crew forgot to shoot his scenes until the next morning. John Grierson's 'Night mail' is a revolutionary documentary, that utilized innovative camera shots to portray actuality. We have forgotten how it felt like listening to the sound of the forest on a silent night. () Contact Filmmaker View Profile More books than SparkNotes. Summaries, analysis and performances Main Outcome: Poem with similar structure Length: 10 session, 2 weeks Overview and Outcomes: This is a two-week planning sequence using the poem 'Night Mail', which was written in 1936 to accompany the documentary film of the same year and the same title. She noisily passes through the silent miles of grassland. W. H. Auden: Poems Summary and Analysis of "Night Mail" The train is crossing the border overnight with mail, bringing letters and checks and orders for rich and poor. Watt expressed his disagreement with the idea at first, but came round to it when it presented the opportunity in shooting additional footage and using previously shot film that was could not be used to complete the sequence. PROMOTION 12 [35] He paced it to match the rhythm of the train's wheels "with a stopwatch in order to fit it exactly to the shot". The Company was created by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in 1997 in Scotts Valley, CA. Both options were bundled together until July 2011 when Reed Hastings announced the separation of the two services. The ninth stanza is the longest so far. Narrated by John Grierson and Stuart Legg, the film ends with a "verse . [51], In 2007, Night Mail was released on DVD by the British Film Institute following a digital restoration of the original negatives. These stanzas take the reader through the landscape and speak, briefly, on different elements of it. [3] A sequel was released in 1987, entitled Night Mail 2. Next. It is for this reason that documentary is a film practice that is difficult to define; there is no limit to the range of styles, techniques and forms that . Second, the postal system is a model of modern efficiency, and third, postal employees are industrious, jovial, and professional. Night Mail by W.H. Those who knew Auden while he worked on this piece explained the care he took to make sure the meter resembled that of a train moving down the tracks. Other articles where Drifters is discussed: John Grierson: and only personally directed film, Drifters (1929), a study of the lives of North Sea herring fishermen. But what's striking to anyone seeing the film today. Try 13 issues for 29.99 today - never miss an issue. Clever, stupid, short and long, The film follows the distribution of mail by train in the 1930s, focusing on the so-called Postal Special train, a train dedicated only to carrying the post and with no members of the public. The poem conforms to a consistent rhyme scheme and metrical pattern that follows the path of a train. This was the approach favoured by Watt, who apprenticed under ethnographic filmmaker Robert Flaherty. Auden, narrated by John Grierson, and Music by Benjamin Britten. Explain giving examples from the poem. Finally, the film occasionally employs narration to explain the particular marvels of the mail system. Night Mail, one of the first commercial successes of the GPO, served as a "proof of concept" that his methods and goals could be publicly successful. It is through you visiting Poem Analysis that we are able to contribute to charity. [9], In 2000, Night Mail was named Best Railway Film of the Century at the Festival International du Film Ferroviaire. Tomatometer 0 Reviews. He was assisting with production and filming and it was determined that a spoken word poem, set to music, was needed for the end of the film. Copyright 1999 - 2022 GradeSaver LLC. [clarification needed] Wright thought Jackson's voice was suitable for the part and suggested it to him. It is now considered one of the best features of an un-noteworthy film. Morrison incorporated the line "uplands heaped like slaughtered horses" into his poem which was originally cut from Auden's version. Throughout the poem, Auden uses a very steady meter. Greene dismissed the criticism of including Auden's verse from C. A. Lejeune's review in The Observer, however he found fault with some of the quality and clarity of some of the scenes. [20] The background sound was recorded in various locations, with the crew using the studio's sound van. Chapter 1. A reader can almost hear the train chugging along as it brings the letters to the people of England and Scotland, especially in the first part, made up of eight rhymed, four-beat couplets. The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 had seriously curtailed postal union power, and the Great Depression fostered a general mood of pessimism. [10], The script developed, a film crew was assembled that included Wright, Watt, and cameramen Pat Jackson, Jonah Jones, and Henry "Chick" Fowle. I have explained all Stanzas like Stanza 1, Stanza 2, Stanza 3, stanza 4 and stanza 5 explanation in this post. . The trains power is juxtaposed against the fact that no one wakes up as it passes. This used the first stanza of Auden's poem, followed by some new lines:[66]. The Midnight Hours, 1987 13 minutes. "Verse commentary by W. H. Auden" is the standard phrase used by distributors of the film and by film historians; e.g. [5] He was allowed an orchestra of ten musicians, and used a compressed air cylinder and sandpaper to create a "sound picture" of the pistons and pumps of a steam locomotive at speed. Post Office. Two other techniques that are important to mention, simile and personification. [30], During the construction of the sorting coach set, Watt, Jones, and Jackson were assigned an engine to themselves and travelled up and down Beattock Summit in Scotland several times. Netflix is an American provider and the worlds leading internet subscription service of on-demand streaming media in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Ireland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. This documentary shows us the pride that was once had in the industry of postal service, which has become simplified with technology such as drone deliverer and air/sea travel. Birds peer at her, and sheepdogs cannot make her alter her course. Down towards Glasgow she descends, PRODUCT. Netflix is an American provider and the world's leading internet subscription service of on-demand streaming media in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Ireland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. For instance, Birds, bushes, and blank-faced in lines one and two of stanza six or For, feel, and forgotten in the last line of the poem. The d consonant sound is repeated in these two first lines of the stanza. "A documentary showing each phase of the extraordinary operation of collecting, sorting and distribution of the nation's mail by road, rail and air. [25] Their time at Crewe was memorable for Auden, who claimed that when a shot of a guard was complete, "he dropped dead about thirty seconds later". Origins Cold War Essay. This meant that I could answer the critical question 3 as thoroughly as possible. [5] Watt was shocked to find that he was credited as a producer, as he argued he had only directed the film. Q) Discuss WH. In a sense this is the written version of the entire spectrum of human interaction, from the most quotidian to the most meaningful, everything that is worth communicating across the border. Auden poem remains protected by copyright as a written piece.[who? Night Mail Movie Analysis 1125 Words | 5 Pages paper is an analysis of the form and content of the Documentary Film Night Mail (1936) directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, written by W.H. Reading the Times with the crossword to do, returning at night on the six forty-two. She snort[s] noisily as she passes by the wind-bent grasses. The train itself is personified as a calm, methodical, and kind being, no mere bureaucratic functionary. At the start of the memoir, it's 1941 and Eliezer is a twelve-year-old Jewish boy in the Hungarian town of Sighet. ], For the 1935 British film by Herbert Smith, see. Their business model needed to be revamped to stay competitive. crying with grief. It is dawn now and the trains climb up the hill is complete. NR 25 min Documentary. Night Mail is a 1936 British documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) film unit. He tried to have the on-screen credits changed so his name separated from Wright's, "in letters as tiny as Grierson cared", but the latter refused and despite convincing Watt to leave the credits unaltered, Watt never forgave Grierson. [5] Early attempts to simulate motion was done by shaking the set, but Watt wrote: "It just rattled like a sideboard in a junction town". Auden. 25 tickets to see much acclaimed Marvellous at @sohoplace the first new-build West End theatre in 50 years. Night Mail was commissioned for the film of the same name on which Auden was working in the 1930s. Auden is a twelve stanza poem that is divided into stanzas of varying lengths. [5] The sequence includes "at least two shots" that Wright had filmed for a test shoot for a film that was never made. Film Analysis: Night And Fog. The film contrasts the national importance of the postal system, embodied by a train journey which literally enables cross-country communication, with the local accents and colloquial behaviour of its staff, demonstrating that a great nation is composed of its humble and essential regions and peoples. The train is a necessary and natural part of the environment at this point. The piece, entitled Crossings, was described by author Scott Anthony as "considerably less believable" than the original Night Mail and comes across as "a cuttings job. [50] The first broadcast on BBC Television was not until 16 October, 1949. Answering my final critical question, I chose a video format. Film) Lyrics I [Intro: John Grierson] This is the Night Mail crossing the border Bringing the cheque and the postal order Letters for the rich, letters. Kissel, Adam ed. Equally, the magazine interview allowed me to create my own mini questions within the critical question itself. Past cotton-grass and moorland boulder The news theyre seeking is outlined in the tenth stanza. These are wonderful examples of the pictures the skillfully written imagery can create. Reed Hastings (co-founded) founded Netflix in 1997. https://poemanalysis.com/w-h-auden/night-mail/, Poems covered in the Educational Syllabus. A nostalgic look . It is hopeful and sweet, charming and memorable. [5], In 1988, British Rail produced the "Britain's Railway" television advert which showed the business sectors introduced in 1986. Narrative Essay Of Mice And Men Crooks. He wrote this piece for the occasion. Essay On Spider Man Homecoming Trailer Here are given solutions to the book exercises. Passing the shunter intent on its toil, moving the coke and the coal and the oil. MARKETING MIX 7 Jackson boarded this train with the film reels for processing at Humphries Laboratories, sleeping on mail bags and arriving at the lab during the night. [67] At over fifteen minutes, it is one of Britten's most elaborate film scores.[68]. Jackson recalled the yelling of "Up fast, stand clear" or "Down fast, stand clear" from the ganger at "infuriating regularity". There are light and dark colors and chatty and boring notes. Letters of thanks, letters from banks, You can read the full poem hereand more poetry from W.H. Magazine cover: 'how did your production skills develop throughout your project' https://www.canva.com/design/DAEeuVBMKVM/twkOogbsyrSej66xwOuv7w/view?utm_content=DAEeuVBMKVM&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink Magazine article: https://www.canva.com/design/DAEgmgjofZE/_Ox3mVH9umVU_pTQqaqJEg/view?utm_content=DAEgmgjofZE&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink I chose to answer question 3 in the style of a magazine interview, because I needed to go into extensive detail of how my production skills had developed. He's deeply religious and spends much of his time studying the Torah (the Bible) and the Talmud and praying. [54] Tallents praised Night Mail highly, as it "Had no snob appeal, making falsely glamorous and desirable to humble people the fundamentally commonplace and vulgar luxuries of the rich. In 75 minutes, new documentary Out in the Night challenges us to consider these questions. For instance, Letters begins seven of the nineteen lines of stanza ten. However, poor contracts for short documentary films meant Night Mail failed to make a significant profit despite its high viewership. The first concert performance of Britten's score took place on 7 November 1997 at the Conway Hall in London. To do this, he leaned out of the coach where the metal arm reached outward while his two colleagues held onto his legs, and got the shot just before the arm quickly swung back upon contact. Five hundred million letters every year.) The bulk of the story is conveyed through dialogue and imagery, however, leaving the narrative thrust in the hands of the postal workers. Netflix is about having, Blockbusters Strategic Plan Directors Harry Watt Basil Wright Writers W.H. REFERENCES 16 Poem Solutions Limited International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, Discover and learn about the greatest poetry, straight to your inbox, Discover and learn about the greatest poetry ever straight to your inbox. The first, anaphora, is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. First, Night Mail portrays the daily activities of the postal staff on a human scale, with colloquial speech and naturalistic vignettes, like sipping beer and sharing inside jokes. Essay on grishma ritu in hindi for class 5 sample essay form 5 short Night Mail Documentary Analysis Essay essay on my favourite dish pav bhaji short essay about nutrition month tagalog cover essay Oxford sheet jal samasya essay in marathi how to use an anonymous quote in an essay mla format essay example oil conservation towards healthy and . Now, it is the morning time and the easy path has arrived. The score was first published in 2002. With the processed film ready in the morning, Jackson would take a postal train back to Crewe where the team could view the footage at a local cinema before it opened at 2:00 pm. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. [17], After viewing a rough assembly of the film, Grierson, Wright, and Cavalcanti agreed that a new ending was needed. Letters of joy from girl and boy, Given a modest budget of only 2,000 and conceived as a routine film promoting Post Office services, the collective talents of the GPO film unit turned out an . "Night Mail by W.H. Sign up to unveil the best kept secrets in poetry. Beneath what would seem to most people as a normal job from todays standards, is that the film dives into what it was like for the working class at the General Post Office. Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited films and TV episodes streamed over the internet to more than 700 devices for about $7.99 a month. The train is making good progress, doing what it does best. On 14 May 2014, the film was one of those chosen for commemoration in a set of Royal Mail stamps depicting notable GPO Film Unit films. Auden made ends meet by living with Wright before moving in with fellow GPO employee, painter and teacher William Coldstream. Alain Resnais's Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard, 1955) is a 31-minute film about the Nazi concentration camps that has been called the greatest documentary film every made (indeed, Francois Truffaut called it simply the greatest film ever made [1]). It is heading up Beattock at a steady climb. Here, the poet describes the train as Shovelling white steam over her shoulder. () School children often memorise "Night Mail", and the film has been parodied in advertisements and sketch shows. Hamlet Act 3 Scene 2 Essay. The writer gives a universal appeal to the train by telling that it brings letters for all for rich and poor both. The night train travels on the mainline route from Euston station in London to Glasgow, Scotland, on to Edinburgh and then Aberdeen. Appendix II: PESTLE analysis 24 The last lines of the poem are moving. Everyone depends on the mail no matter who you are. [5], Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film mild praise, describing the "simple visual verses of Mr Auden [as] extraordinarily exciting", while admitting that the film as a whole "isn't a complete success". Wright later thought it was "one of the most beautifully organised shots" of the entire film. The mail is open to all, rich and poor. Auden here. Auden, narrated by John Grierson, and Music by Benjamin Britten. [18] A screening was held the following morning. It was produced by GPO Film Unit, directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and narrated by John Grierson and Stuart Legg. 1936, Documentary, 25m. It shows the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow. [5] Watt cared little for Auden's fame and well known work, calling him "a half-witted Swedish deckhand" and complained of his frequent lateness during filming. The structure of the film updates Night Mail, some 50 years on." This included recording at Bletchley station, where the crew recorded passing trains and instructed drivers to pass the station at speed while blowing the whistle so they could get a sound that gradually fades. However, she noted that it makes a "very convincing adventure of something that happens every week of our lives" and "is more exciting than any confected drama". This success shows how, So what is this Netflix all about? Night Analysis In the autobiographical novel, Night, by Elie Weisel, there is a persistent change in theme. In this poem, the poet describes the journey of a coach that travels the whole night to bring mail containing letters, postal orders and cheques for people living in different parts of the country. Free for commercial use, no attribution required. Night Mail Documentary Analysis Essay. [47], Wright was angered upon its general release as he found out that he was jointly credit as producer and director with Watt, when he believed he had done most of the work. This is, of course, a depiction of the smoke that travels out and over the train. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments (http://ir.netflix.com/ The first eight stanzas are couplets, meaning that they contain two lines and rhyme perfectly. [9], Night Mail originated from the desire to produce a film that would serve as the public face of a modern, trustworthy postal system, in addition to boosting the low morale of postal workers at the time. . Auden. These include but are not limited to anaphora, enjambment, simile, personification, alliteration, and sibilance. Here is the explanation with reference to the context of the poem Night Mail written by W.H Auden. Night Mail (Commentary for a G.P.O. During this time, Netflix offered DVD rentals by mail. Question 15: How does the poet give the night mail a specific identity. GradeSaver, 9 March 2014 Web. Fulton compared its construction to that of Battleship Potemkin (1925) by Sergei Eisenstein. Auden is a powerful depiction and analyzes the impact of a night train carrying the mail through the Scottish countryside. Abstract and Figures. Despite the transition into an industrial world, everything is still quiet. Throughout the poem, the train is personified. Image of train at speed from the documentary film Night Mail by the GPO Film Unit. Such documents can be considered as primary data and well-structured and systematic analysis of them can, in certain circumstances, provide the basis for a form of primary research known as documentary analysis - a form that interrogates and investigates documents, rather than people, directly. The result, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a largely tedious . The plan that was originally offered was a seven-day DVD rental for $4, plus $2, 2012: Can It Recover from Its Strategy Missteps? Best Years Of My Life Essay For Class 3 "In Memory of Sigmund Freud" Summary and Analysis. [36], Around the time of Auden's arrival at the GPO, Cavalcanti suggested to Grierson that he hire 22-year-old English composer Benjamin Britten to contribute music to the film department, including the musical score for Night Mail. It took as its raw material the everyday life of ordinary men and from that neglected vein won interest, dignity and beauty [] and struck a more universal note."[55]. Auden makes use of several poetic techniques in Night Mail. The crew had even placed their sound van onto a bogie coupled behind a train and travelled up and down a stretch of line for an entire day, but the overall sound drowned it out. The documentary begins with a brief history of slavery in America. [59], The film utilises three contrasting techniques to convey its meaning. Baldwin, Emma. Soon after, Grierson hired poet W. H. Auden for six months to gain film experience at the GPO and assigned him as Watt's assistant director with "starvation wages" of 3 a week, less than what Auden had earned as a school teacher. International news was particularly important as Adolf Hitler was becoming increasingly aggressive and attempts at appeasement were faltering, far from the glens and lochs of Scotland. Earlier this month at the London Film Festival, I had the surreal opportunity to watch Last Night in Soho in the heart of Soho in central London. Grierson, in particular, pioneered not only a highly influential theory of "actuality" film, but developed structures of funding, production, and distribution which persist to this day. Everyone who hears the postman knock on the door will feel their heart quicken with anticipation. The word canzone means song in Italian and first used to refer to a verse form in Italy and France in the medieval period. "[5] Grierson, influenced by Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein's use of montage and poetry in Old and New (1929) and Sentimental Romance (1930),[32] thought a sequence with a spoken poem set to music would was deemed more suitable, and Auden was set the task of writing a "verse commentary". The postal sector had seen an increase in profits in the late 1920s, but by 1936 wages had fallen 3% for the mostly working class GPO employees. Film Unit. The poet narrates the story of her travel through various places and the attitude of birds, dogs, sheep etc on her arrival. The company operates in the US, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Canada, Mexico and Asia. There she heads toward dark furnaces set up like gigantic chessmen. All of Scotland craves her arrival, for the men want news. So the night mail was the messenger that associates the people who live in different areas. Some film theory is generally used as a framework to analyze . Loading Home; Biography; Tv; Radio; Online; Gallery; Testimonials; Contact; Uncategorized Auden". Pathos, Pathos And Logos Of Cover Girl Advertisement. The film's blend of social purpose and aesthetic form position it as an archetypal film of the British Documentary Film Movement. [9] The film was shot on standard 35 mm film using 61-metre (200ft) long magazines with each canister allowing for around two minutes of footage. The gradient is against her but she makes it up the hill. Essay Of Stargirl Movie. [5] The cameramen continued into Scotland to film the closing shots at dawn, and Watt captured the partridges, rabbits, and dogs at a Dumfries farm. This celebrated short documentary on the night trains which conveyed the mail from the English capital to Scotland - with a few sections 'mocked up' in the GPO studio in London - culminates in a quite breathtaking section scored by Benjamin Britten to a verse commentary written by W.H. The teacher, the doctor, the actor in farce; the typist, the banker, the judge in first class. Professional Critical Essay Editor Websites Gb. The 24-minute film documents the nightly postal train operated by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) from London to Glasgow and the staff who operate it. My final documentary reflects the work I have done in preparation for my final project, and demonstrates my understanding of documentaries as a whole. The set includes 96 minutes of bonus features, including the 1986 sequel Night Mail 2. Some of the litters are serious and others are frivolous. The poem conforms to a consistent rhyme scheme and metrical pattern that follows the path of a train. With regards to increasing the influence of the Netflix brand, expansion into, NETFLIX An oversimplification of this movie is to say it is about normal people doing their job, which would be picking up and delivering mail overnight. Many lines from the original version were discarded and became "crumpled fragments in the wastepaper basket",[36] including one that described the Cheviot Hills by the EnglishScottish border as "uplands heaped like slaughtered horses" that Wright considered too strong for the landscape that was shot for it. When one considers the background of this poem and the fact that it was written as a conclusion to a film about the delivery of mail, the meter of the text makes a great deal of sense. The flagship of the GPO Film Unit's output and a cornerstone of British documentary. Harry Watt and Basil Wright's study of the down postal express stands as a beacon for John Grierson's original purpose for documentary - to make the working man the hero of the screen. Netflix Inc. (Netflix) is currently the largest online provider of DVD rentals in the US. The poet mentions the farm[s] where people are sleeping and the sheep-dogs that attempt to run alongside the train and turn its course. --. The business model consists of two parts; the DVD-by-Mail option, and the streaming option, which launched in January 2007. [58] Fulton believes the main theme of Night Mail is suggested by one of Auden's lines in the poem: "All Scotland waits for her". Another great example of personification comes in the second line of the fourth stanza. This article examines the function of documents as a data source in qualitative research and discusses document analysis procedure in the context of actual research . I have combined my knowledge of everything I have learned about documentaries to create both my documentary itself and my other supporting projects. For example, lines four and five of stanza nine. "For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio", Read the Study Guide for W. H. Auden: Poems, Communist Poetry of the 1930s and Modernism, Three Examples of Audens Wartime Poetry: In Time of War: Sonnet XVI, Spain 1937, and 1st September 1939, Auden's Poetry and "Home and Away": Art in Wartime, Recycling Art; the Reuse of Artistic Thought and Theme in Auden, Joyce, and Eliot, Understanding Rejection in Disabled and Refugee Blues, View Wikipedia Entries for W. H. Auden: Poems. [34], Auden's poem for the sequence, entitled "Night Mail", was written at the film unit's main office in Soho Square. [33] Auden and Watt went through many drafts of the verse to exactly match the rhythm of the travelling train. Topics: great britain, united kingdom, night mail, philatelic uploads by ww 2 censor, uk government artistic works Answer: In these lines, the poet says that the train has completed the difficult part of its journey. [John Grierson; Harry Watt; Basil Wright; Alberto Cavalcanti; Benjamin Britten; John Schlesinger; John Dankworth; W H Auden; Great Britain. L Humane Condition Montaigne's Essays. Thousands still sleep and dream and have nightmares. The night mail travels the whole night to bring mail; containing letters , postal , orders and cheques for the people living in different parts of the country. Don't miss the W H Auden poem 'Night Mail' toward the end of the film!This is 100% Genuine product. [5] Grierson biographer Forsyth Hardy wrote that Auden wrote the verse on a trial and error basis, and was cut to fit the visuals by editor Richard McNaughton in collaboration with Cavalcanti and Wright. [19] Britten had little interest in jazz music, but was given artistic freedom to compose. 564,126 views Jun 15, 2008 In the documentary "Night Mail" (1936), John Grierson narrates the opening scene with WH Auden's poem of the .more .more 4.1K Dislike Share FilmPoems 4.14K. Night Summary. "W. H. Auden: Poems Night Mail Summary and Analysis". Queuing with a hundred others at 7am on a Saturday morning, I'm not sure I could ever replicate the giddy feeling of being in the very place the film was shot, feeling the tangible excitement even at the ridiculous hour. The first is to make a point on its own, like the sound of a train whistle when the visual only shows a train track, and the second. "[53] A review in The Daily Worker noted "the cool, competent way in which the men go about their job awakens pride and admiration in those who appreciate the dignity of labour. One can find documentary review essay examples in the newspapers, websites, or online databases. There is gossip from all around the world and news from different sectors. [3], More broadly, the personnel of the GPO and Night Mail contributed to the development of documentary film worldwide. 'My Octopus Teacher' Plot Summary . [63] Night Mail itself is sometimes considered the apotheosis of the collaborative work of the GPO Film Unit,[34] a beloved, and nearly unique ode to the Royal Mail, the British people, and the creative possibilities of "actuality" films. For this reason, Watt estimated 90% of the film was shot on a tripod. Grierson and many other prominent members of the GPO Film Unit continued their work in documentary film in the United Kingdom and abroad. Onboard, there are cheque[s] and the postal order[s] as well as more personal items. Summary. This article offers a few ways to analyze documentary films as a way of letting those films' creatorsthe team of people behind the productionteach you themselves. 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