English Harvest (1938)

This film is showing as part of 'Britain at Bay: Peace & War 1937-1940', a touring programme of films from the BFI National Archive. Visit http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/mediatheque_britainatbay.html for more information.

This early Dufaycolor documentary from Humphrey Jennings focuses on an August harvest in Sawston, Cambridgeshire. The old makes way for the new as the trusty old scythe bows down to the horse-drawn binder and plough. Hard work, flat caps and pipes abound as we see the workers downing midday ale for sustenance and taking a break at 5 to sit in the fields for a cup of tea brought to them by their wives. The 'playground of the town' and 'workshop of the country', alias the great British countryside, has never looked better.

For more information about Dufaycolor and 'English Harvest' see http://www.bftv.ac.uk/projects/dufaycolor.htm

You can watch over 1200 other complete films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive free of charge in the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank, London and at the new QUAD centre for art and film in Derby - http://www.bfi.org.uk/mediatheque http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/bfi-mediatheque

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• BFI
• Farmers
• Countryside
• Humphrey
• Jennings
• Dufaycolor
• Documentary
• Agriculture
• Scythe
• Village
• Life
• Haystacks
• Hay
• Crops
• Pitchfork
• Plough
• Cambridgeshire
• Sawston
• Beethoven
• Pastoral

[openfold]

I've waited years to see this again....this might just be Jennings' finest film....and he made many great ones. How our grandparents lived....backbreaking hard work, and ageing too, though.

[59acres]

And notice the complete absence of fat people!! No need to go to the gym if you worked like they did.Think about it!.....Think harder........thats it...good girls and boys!

[MrJodyh54]

What?? No cell phones, no video games, no TV? Slender people? What is going on here? Those good old days are gone forever-sad to say.

[780special]

Wonderful and evocative . Thank you. Charming but also back-breaking work and long hours for low pay for the average farm worker.

[shinobiung]

the "times" were not better, only peoples character, so what is stopping you my friends from adopting good old english humility, the long lost english hospitality, the legendary english community, and the very missed english sense of justice. Sadly all gone since adopting the american way who adopted the dishonourable Israeli way

[EnglishG3nt]

Wonderful.

[mcpug10]

I remember this era very clearly, when as a child I was living on a farm in Wales to escape the bombing in Liverpool. Every scene in this film was familiar to me and I recall helping with the horses in some small way. The meals that the farmers and hired help ate at the end of the work day were huge and they earned them. What a wonderful trip down memory lane for me,

[chanctonbury63]

@mikewalker2233 They are at their best on Oct 1st, when you can shoot them.

[chanctonbury63]

Imagine the first cut with your scythe, knowing you only had another 100 acres to do!

[ninjatoolkit]

5:17 Does that horse check its wing mirrors to see if it'll clear the gate?

[CaptainOvious123]

@latham29 how ignorant.