Nursery Island (1936) - extract
3,691 views · Published 21 June 2010 · 1:41 · Indexed 21 October 2026
Channel: BFI · 2010 · Film & Animation
'Nursery Island' is a delightful nature documentary shot on the Farne Islands. Its director, Mary Field, faced a difficult task over half a century ago. Where now we have rich colour and stealthy, dextrous cameras, then, as quickly becomes apparent, much of the narrative had to be carried by the voiceover as the film switches between close-ups and long shots. The true glory of this film is its patrician tone - a puffin is described as "the ridiculous-looking bird on the left." Here is a film made by people who clearly love nature but are not, as is the fashion now, in awe. The result is charming, refreshing, and often very funny. (Marianne Levy) All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections
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