News

Long Live Film

6th Jul 2010

The BFI is launching two national projects as part of its LONG LIVE FILM campaign to celebrate the BFI Archive’s 75th birthday.

LONG LIVE FILM will give members of the public a unique opportunity to adopt a Hitchcock film with a fund-raising appeal to restore his early films: RESCUE THE HITCHCOCK 9.

And there’s a national hunt for the BFI’s 75 MOST WANTED FILMS, a search for important but elusive films, including the only missing Hitchcock film, The Mountain Eagle.

Alfred Hitchcock’s early silent films need urgent attention to restore them to their former glory. The BFI needs YOUR help to bring these cinematic masterpieces back to life and secure them for future generations as the BFI celebrates 75 years of the BFI National Archive.

A dedicated cinema trailer, voiced by Kenneth Branagh, and a new website are part of the campaign. link

Every penny counts and even small amounts can add up to help reach the target of £1 million. From July onwards, members of the public who would like to save an important and historic film can contribute by visiting link. Donors with upwards of £5,000 ADOPT a specific film from the shortlist and receive an on-screen credit, whilst a donation of £100,000 will secure the full restoration of an individual film with their name in the credits. All donations are welcome but £25 and upwards will help RESCUE one of the films, from 50cm of film to restoring a whole scene, and make the contributor a BFI Supporter, receiving regular updates about the status of the restoration while having the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped to save a crucial part of British cultural history.

THE HITCHCOCK 9

THE PLEASURE GARDEN (1925)
THE LODGER (1926)
DOWNHILL (1927)
EASY VIRTUE (1927)
THE RING (1927)
THE FARMER'S WIFE (1927)
CHAMPAGNE (1928)
THE MANXMAN (1929)
BLACKMAIL (1929)

BFI MOST WANTED

The BFI is launching a nation-wide hunt for 75 of its Most Wanted ‘lost’ films and offers audiences a rare opportunity to see a selection of the BFI National Archive’s recent discoveries.

Missing films have an aura about them, a mystery they accrue due to being unavailable and sought after. Lost titles such as Alfred Hitchcock’s The Mountain Eagle (1926) have become holy grails for film enthusiasts the world over. In 1992, the BFI compiled a list of titles called Missing Believed Lost, in a bid to track down elusive British films. Since then, 16 of them have found their way to the BFI National Archive; while not every discovery is a candidate for ‘masterpiece’ status, they nevertheless enable greater understanding of our film history and fill important gaps in the filmographies of some of our best directors.

Some may exist in private collections, others might turn up in foreign archives, but the aim is to find as many as possible so it can continue to preserve and make available the nation’s film heritage.

The new project will take the form of an online resource at the BFI website, which describes the lost films using reviews, stills and original publicity materials. link