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Humphrey Jennings is a Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Additional Photography and Editor British born on 19 august 1907

Humphrey Jennings

Humphrey Jennings
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Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 19 august 1907
Death 24 september 1950 (at 43 years)

Humphrey Jennings, né le 19 août 1907 à Walberswick dans le comté du Suffolk et mort le 24 septembre 1950 à Poros en Grèce, est un réalisateur de documentaire, monteur, poète, photographe, critique littéraire et peintre britannique.

Biography

Il nait le 19 août 1907 à Walberswick dans le comté du Suffolk d'un père architecte et d'une mère peintre. Il va à l'école Perse School puis étudie l'anglais au Pembroke College de l'Université de Cambridge.

Après son diplôme, il fait des recherches sur le poète Thomas Gray sous la supervision de Ivor Armstrong Richards qui est souvent absent. Abandonnant la carrière académique, il fait plusieurs métiers tels que photographe, peintre.

Jennings rejoint la GPO Film Unit en 1934 où il est formé à l’école documentaire de John Grierson. Ses films sur la Seconde Guerre mondiale, comme Listen to Britain ou A Diary for Timothy, en ont fait un grand documentariste. Il est l'un des trois fondateurs de Mass-Observation en 1937.

Lindsay Anderson a dit de lui qu'il était « le seul véritable poète du cinéma anglais ».

Usually with

Stewart McAllister
Stewart McAllister
(6 films)
Ian Dalrymple
Ian Dalrymple
(3 films)
Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto Cavalcanti
(1 films)
Fred Griffiths
Fred Griffiths
(1 films)
Quentin Reynolds
Quentin Reynolds
(1 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Humphrey Jennings (8 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

A Defeated People
A Defeated People (1946)
, 18minutes
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Documentary
Rating62% 3.1231853.1231853.1231853.1231853.123185
The film opens with a map of the German zones of occupation with the British zone highlighted. Voiceovers in a variety of English class accents offer a snapshot of what is being said about Germany in Britain ("They asked for it and they got it!", "You can't let them starve", "As far as I can see it'd be a good thing if some of them did die"). A series of images shows the country's shattered infrastructure, with destroyed roads, bridges, railway lines and factories. This is followed by shots of missing persons noticeboards and posters with the information that 30 million Germans – almost half the population – are still looking for lost relatives and friends.
Fires Were Started
Fires Were Started (1943)
, 1h5
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Documentary
Themes Transport films, Films about the labor movement, Aviation films, Documentary films about war, Documentary films about historical events, Political films, Documentary films about World War II, Disaster films
Actors Fred Griffiths
Rating64% 3.2420353.2420353.2420353.2420353.242035
Un matin de l'hiver 1940, Barrett, une jeune recrue, arrive à la caserne de l'Auxiliary Fire Service , la brigade d'incendie de Londres et est intégré dans une équipe de sept pompiers. Pendant toute la journée, les huit hommes se préparent pour les opérations prévues à la nuit tombée. Londres est bombardée par l'aviation allemande et nombre de bâtiments sont en feu. Le service d'incendie se bat de toutes ses forces contre les flammes. Un navire de munitions, amarré sur la Tamise, prend feu. L'équipe intervient sur cette mission dangereuse, mais un des pompiers, Jackson, est tué et les autres grièvement blessés. Le lendemain, le camarade est enterré, alors que le navire de munitions quitte le port.
The Silent Village
The Silent Village (1943)
, 36minutes
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Documentary, Historical
Themes Documentary films about war, Documentary films about historical events, Political films, Documentary films about World War II
Rating69% 3.470743.470743.470743.470743.47074
The film opens with a title card outlining the story of Lidice. It then moves on to an image of the stream running through the village of Cwmgiedd (half a mile from Ystradgynlais in west Wales), and an eight-minute opening sequence interspersed with images and sounds of everyday life in a community in the Upper Swansea Valley; men are shown working at the colliery, women engaged in domestic tasks in their homes and the inhabitants singing in the Methodist chapel. Most of the dialogue in this section is spoken in Welsh, with no subtitles provided. The section closes with another title card stating "such is life at Cwmgiedd...and such too was life in Lidice until the coming of Fascism".
London Can Take It!
London Can Take It! (1940)
, 9minutes
Directed by Harry Watt, Humphrey Jennings
Origin United-kingdom
Genres War, Documentary
Themes Transport films, Aviation films, Documentary films about war, Documentary films about historical events, Documentary films about cities, Political films, Documentary films about World War II
Actors Quentin Reynolds
Rating69% 3.485043.485043.485043.485043.48504
The film opens with shots of the London streets in late afternoon, as people begin their commute home. The narrator reminds the audience that these people are part of the greatest civilian army the world has ever known, and are going to join their respective service before London's "nightly visitor" arrives. Listening posts are stationed as far away as the coastline and the "white fingers" of searchlights touch the sky.

Scriptwriter

Fires Were Started
Fires Were Started (1943)
, 1h5
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Documentary
Themes Transport films, Films about the labor movement, Aviation films, Documentary films about war, Documentary films about historical events, Political films, Documentary films about World War II, Disaster films
Actors Fred Griffiths
Roles Writer
Rating64% 3.2420353.2420353.2420353.2420353.242035
Un matin de l'hiver 1940, Barrett, une jeune recrue, arrive à la caserne de l'Auxiliary Fire Service , la brigade d'incendie de Londres et est intégré dans une équipe de sept pompiers. Pendant toute la journée, les huit hommes se préparent pour les opérations prévues à la nuit tombée. Londres est bombardée par l'aviation allemande et nombre de bâtiments sont en feu. Le service d'incendie se bat de toutes ses forces contre les flammes. Un navire de munitions, amarré sur la Tamise, prend feu. L'équipe intervient sur cette mission dangereuse, mais un des pompiers, Jackson, est tué et les autres grièvement blessés. Le lendemain, le camarade est enterré, alors que le navire de munitions quitte le port.

Producer

The Silent Village
The Silent Village (1943)
, 36minutes
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Documentary, Historical
Themes Documentary films about war, Documentary films about historical events, Political films, Documentary films about World War II
Roles Producer
Rating69% 3.470743.470743.470743.470743.47074
The film opens with a title card outlining the story of Lidice. It then moves on to an image of the stream running through the village of Cwmgiedd (half a mile from Ystradgynlais in west Wales), and an eight-minute opening sequence interspersed with images and sounds of everyday life in a community in the Upper Swansea Valley; men are shown working at the colliery, women engaged in domestic tasks in their homes and the inhabitants singing in the Methodist chapel. Most of the dialogue in this section is spoken in Welsh, with no subtitles provided. The section closes with another title card stating "such is life at Cwmgiedd...and such too was life in Lidice until the coming of Fascism".

Cameraman

Coal Face
Coal Face (1935)
, 11minutes
Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Documentary
Actors Montagu Slater
Roles Additional Photography
Rating62% 3.1422453.1422453.1422453.1422453.142245

Editor