Review for Time To Remember

British Pathe footage graced cinema screens in the UK from the time of the very first talkies in the 1930's and were effectively the news-reels of the day, bringing the cinema going public up to date with the world's most important happenings. Of course this all in the days before the complete political impartiality of say Sky or Fox news (insert wry look at camera here) and these clips were often delivered with the clipped voice so beloved of Harry Enfield with tremendously jingoistic enthusiasm.


So quite an archive of world events was built, and in 1959 some bright spark set about re-visiting the best bits and wrapping them up into half-hour television spots called 'Time to Remember'. (There are two episodes of that original series here).

Last year BBC 4 revisited the idea with new narration and some judicious editing to make them more relevant to contemporary audiences.


There is a veritable treasure trove of archival and historically important footage here, absolutely fascinating for most of us and crucial to more serious historians (who will already have accessed much of it online).

The first transatlantic flight, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition and the 1929 screening of Alfred Hitchcock's first "talkie" are all featured, along with over 6 hours of other historic gems.


In many ways it could be the perfect Christmas gift for any older relatives who, having been around so long have either got all they wanted or have figured out they didn't need it in the first place. Taking them back to a time before they were born, the 12 episodes will put their modern day lives into a historical context that would knock the rose tinted spectacles off even the most persistent nostalgia freak. Yesteryear was certainly not always a better place.


Having received the discs earlier this week, I really didn't think I would have watched more than a couple before penning this review. But programmes like this have a way of eating time and before you know it the credits for the final programme (with original narration / captions) will be rolling.
Of course much of the really significant moments I had seen before but what was really interesting was the more obscure 'social history' where something of the lives of ordinary folk seeped though - as in episodes like the tragic 'Casualties of War' or 'A Woman's World' where the significance of class in the pre-war world shaped every aspect of life.


Picture quality is understandably variable throughout, and audio variable too - though in the main very satisfying stereo 2.0.

The set is neatly packaged in what appears to be a single disc plastic Amray case but which houses 3 discs. I have a real preference for these space saving solutions and what a relief that DVD distributors have got over their 'look at the size of this set' attitude. Most of us consumers are more intelligent than that.

Here's a brief overview of what to expect on this excellent set.

Pioneers of Aviation
This episode tells the story of the ground-breaking men, women and machines who took to the skies in the first half of the 20th century and includes footage of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk; President Theodore Roosevelt becoming the first head of state to fly in an aeroplane; the German Zeppelins; the R101 disaster; Imperial Airways at Croydon Aerodrome; and Charles Lindbergh's first solo transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St Louis in 1927

Stage and Screen
Archive footage from the theatres, music halls and cinemas of the 1920s and 30s combines with characterful voiceover to give a glimpse of the entertainment industries in their early 20th century golden age. It includes footage of Charles Laughton applying his own stage make-up, chorus line auditions and rehearsals in the West End, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks visiting Europe, and Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie, 1929's Blackmai

Casualties of War
Lesley Sharp is the modern-day narrator linking together the best of the newsreel footage from the 1950s Time to Remember series illustrating the scale of the sacrifice made by ordinary people during the 20th century's two world wars. Includes footage of recruitment and training for the Great War; soldiers going over the top in the trenches; celebrations at the end of World War One; the evacuation of 300,000 men from Dunkirk in 1940; and Hurricanes taking off during the Battle of Britain

A Woman's World
Newsreel footage and original 1950s Time to Remember voiceover by Joyce Grenfell and Dame Edith Evans offer an insight into the ways women's roles in society changed through the first five decades of the 20th century. Featuring footage of suffragette protest, including Emily Davison at the 1913 Derby; working women during the First World War; Suzanne Lenglen playing tennis; and something of the fashions of the 20s and 30s.

Pushing the Boundaries
The endeavour, innovation and technological breakthroughs of the first half of the 20th century are illustrated through newsreel footage and the 1950s narration of the original Time to Remember documentary series.
Includes footage of tanks on the battlefields of the Great War; Scott's expedition to Antarctica; Mallory and Irving on Everest; Roosevelt at the Boulder Dam; and a car testing its very necessary roll-bar.

The Royal Families
The fortunes and fates of the European royal dynasties during the first half of the 20th century are traced through footage from a variety of episodes of the 1950s newsreel series Time to Remember. Narrator Lesley Sharp links sequences showing an era of war, revolution, assassination and abdication.
Includes footage of Queen Victoria at her diamond jubilee celebrations; Victoria's funeral; Edward VII out hunting; Tsar Nicholas II of Russia; Victor Emmanuel of Italy; Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany; Franz Josef of Austria in Sarajevo; George V's coronation, silver jubilee and funeral; King Albert of Belgium; the future Edward VIII walking in Tokyo with the future Emperor Hirohito; King Alexander of Yugoslavia being assassinated in Marseilles in 1934; King Boris of Bulgaria; Edward VIII's 1936 abdication statement; George VI's coronation; and Queen Elizabeth II as a child

Nations at Play
Lesley Sharp narrates as original newsreel and 1950s voiceover are used to illustrate how Britons spent their leisure time during the first half of the 20th century. Includes footage of Henley regattas, frolics at the seaside, the Victorian fairground, horse riding in Hyde Park, Royal Ascot in 1919, Deauville in the 20s and the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.

The Pursuit of Peace
Material from the 1950s newsreel documentary series Time to Remember tells the story of the struggle to maintain peace in the decades after the Great War. The politicians' high hopes for improved international relations through the League of Nations were gradually eroded by expansionism and aggression across the globe. Includes footage of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles; the first Armistice Day parade in 1919; Ramsay MacDonald addressing the League of Nations in 1924; Neville Chamberlain's visits to Germany to negotiate with Hitler; the liberations of Rome and Paris in the summer of 1944; the signing of the German surrender in 1945; and the signing of the United Nations charter.


Crime and Prohibition
Newsreel footage and voiceover from the original 1950s Time to Remember documentary TV series tells the story of the media circus that surrounded notorious gangsters and other Depression-era criminals in the United States of America. This is encapsulated in the kidnapping of Charles and Anne Lindbergh's baby - the 'crime of the century'.
Includes footage of rumrunners trying to outrun the US Coastguard and beat prohibition; mobster Jack 'Legs' Diamond; John Dillinger behind bars; Al Capone at the racecourse; and coverage from inside the courtroom during the Lindbergh baby murder trial of German illegal immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

Civilians at War
The impact of two world wars on the UK's civilian population is told through newsreel footage and voiceover from the original 1950s series Time to Remember. Here are the war stories from the home front.
Includes footage of circus elephants being used as farm animals during the Great War; a pram protected against gas attack; footage of Londoners bedding down in the Underground during World War Two; and the celebrations at the end of both global conflicts.


The Need for Speed
The story of the groundbreaking men, women and machines who, on land and sea and in the air, went furthest and fastest in the first half of the 20th century, told through newsreel footage and voiceover from the original 1950s series Time to Remember. Includes footage of Malcolm Campbell in Bluebird; the first Monaco Grand Prix; the Spitfire; Amelia Earhart; and Jean Batten, the first person to simultaneously hold the solo flight records between the UK and Australia in both directions.

In Times of Need
Clips and narration from different episodes of the 1950s Time to Remember series offer insights into the hardships and privations of the 1920s and 30s on both sides of the Atlantic. Includes footage of the bombing in Wall Street in 1920, preparations for the 1926 UK General Strike and images of the American dustbowl in the 1930s.