Look at Life was a regular series of short documentary films produced between 1959 and 1969 by the Special Features Division of the Rank Organisation for screening in their Odeon and Gaumont cinemas and always preceded the main feature film that was being shown in the cinema that week. It replaced the circuit’s newsreel, Universal News, which had become increasingly irrelevant in the face of more immediate news media, particularly television.
Produced on 35mm film and in Eastmancolor, these ten minute 'featurettes' melded a light hearted magazine format with a more in depth documentary approach and depicted aspects of life, mainly in Britain, but sometimes further afield. The films often depicted elements of the 'jet age', demonstrating advances in technology and a reflection on the changing tastes, fashions and styles representative of the so called ‘swinging sixties' era which were often portrayed in a glossy, vibrant and optimistic way. The films also reported on topical issues that were affecting modern day society such as road safety. The films were generally narrated in the style typical of newsreel films with a principal voice-over whilst letting the images tell the story. The narration was generally spoken over the natural sounds of the subject being discussed such as motor traffic or the activities within a workplace and with musical accompaniment. People who were featured in the programmes were seldom heard to speak unless as background sound, their activities and interactions with others generally being commented upon by the narrator. Otherwise the subject of the film or clip would address the camera directly or perform in a given situation, both in a staged and a scripted manner whereby the narrator could often add a humorous or ironic comment in the context of the subject. On occasions an expert or professional in the field of the subject could be seen to present the film directly to camera and provide voice overs. However, in the most part, the narration of the films was provided by well known celebrities and presenters of the time including Raymond Baxter, Eamonn Andrews and Sid James, but the majority of the films were narrated by actor Tim Turner. At the end of each film the caption "Look At Life Again Soon" would appear on screen.
When the first issue of Look At Life 'Marrakesh' was released in March 1959, it was hailed in the trade journals as an 'exciting venture in film journalism' and Rank announced this new innovation would have 'a more lasting impact than the present ephemeral newsreel content.' [1] Look at Life was a popular formula but did become rather frozen in time with its jaunty theme tune, despite subtle changes to the opening titles, their graphics and the introduction of the Rank 'gong' logo at the beginning of later films. Television led audiences into a documentary world that had more grit and less glamour than the relative escapism of the cinema and by 1969 Rank could no longer ensure the survival of the series and the concept waned just as other newsreels and magazine films also available at that time, such as the Pathé Pictorial which was shown on the rival ABC cinema circuit, and as cinema audience continued to decline rapidly on the verge of the 1970s.
Over 500 episodes were produced altogether. Digitally restored from the original film, the Look at Life series is now licensed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, formerly Granada Ventures and distributed by Network DVD. Many of the films have not been seen in full since their original showing in the cinemas, although a number of films have been previously released on DVD in themed categories. These include Look at Life - Swinging London, which explore elements of contemporary London life, work and traditions and Look at Life - On the Railways, which represented the great changes that were taking place to Britain's railways in the wake of the modernisation programme and the decline of steam. However Network are now gradually releasing box sets of the films in volumes. Volume 1 - Transport is a four disk compilation released in 2010 and contains 54 films on the theme of transport. Look at Life Volume 2 - Military was released in June 2011, whilst Volume 3 - Science was released in September 2011.
Contents |
| Date of Feature | Title | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| April 1959 | Ticket to Tokyo | Travelling with a Britannia Airline from London and Tokyo and back. |
| May 1959 | Letting off Steam | Celebrating British Railways' change of technology to bring in the modern age of commuter travel. |
| May 1959 | New Roads for Old | A look at tomorrow's roads in the making. |
| August 1959 | Flight on a Cushion | Telling the story of a hovercraft from the moment it was invented. |
| August 1959 | Talking of Coaches | Life from the back of a coach during a tour of Italy |
| October 1959 | Alpine Rescue | A glimpse of the hazards faced by Swiss glacier pilots. |
| October 1959 | Shopping for a 'Queen' | What it takes to replenish the 'Queen Elizabeth", the 83,000 ton liner before her next voyage. |
| November 1959 | Sailing the Sky | The thrills of gliding and an interview with Britain's leading woman glider pilot, Ann Welch. |
| December 1959 | Driving Test | Driving school tuition and the training of police drivers |
| January 1960 | Shape of a Ship | Taking a look at the big new liners being built including the Canberra. |
| February 1960 | Air Hostess | Following an airline stewardess on her working day. |
| March 1960 | Taxi! Taxi!! | Looking at the organisation behind taxis, from how they are made to picking up passengers. |
| April 1960 | All Through the Night | Out on the trunk roads with the night lorries. |
| Date of Feature | Title | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| April 1960 | Over and Under | A look at the modern bridge building that is taking place all over Britain today. |
| July 1960 | Horse-power Riders | Experts prove that safety on a motor-cycle stems from control of the machines. |
| March 1962 | Eyes of the Law | A look at traffic control and motorways in West Germany. |
| April 1962 | Scooter Commuter | In ten years, the number of scooters on British Roads has increased from 4,250 to over 41,000. |
| May 1962 | Sea Horses | featuring tugs boats, without which any big port would come to a standstill. |
| September 1962 | So They all Hover Now | Today all kinds of things are using hover power. Trucks, barrows and even stretchers. |
| September 1962 | The Village Sleeps Again | The arguments for and against building a by-pass. |
| January 1963 | Birdmen | John Wimpenny is the first man to pedal himself through the air for more than half a mile. |
| April 1963 | Draw the Fires | An interim report on the railway modernisation schemes that have generated controversy. |
| June 1963 | The Car Has Wings | Natural boundaries no longer limit the range of motoring. |
| June 1963 | Vintage Models | A visit to Montagu Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the New Forest. |
| July 1963 | Pilot Abroad | The story of Britain's pilotage services. |
| August 1963 | Where No Tide Flows | A look at canals today and how they have been rediscovered by holidaymakers. |
| Date of Feature | Title | Synopsis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1963 | High, Wide and Faster | Closer co-ordination between our roads, railways and coastal shipping. | |
| December 1963 | Oil Aboard | The story of the oil tankers and the crews that sail in them. | |
| December 1963 | Report on a River | Following the River Thames from its source in Gloucestershire to the Port of London, which is modernising services and keep traffic moving. | |
| December 1963 | Europe Grows Together | An urgent look at Britain's links with the Continent. | |
| April 1964 | Turn of the Wheel | A look at what is happening to the old trains and buses that are being replaced. | |
| May 1964 | City of Air | A look at the many aspects of London Airport with a focus on BOAC and BEA airlines. | |
| August 1964 | Behind the Ton-Up Boys | A reflection on the nearly two million motorcyclists in Britain. | |
| August 1964 | Going Places Under Water | The world's first underwater sightseeing bus. | |
| November 1964 | Living with Cars | Analysis of what is being done to cope with the increasing number of cars on our roads. | |
| December 1964 | Flying to Work | The increasing number of private planes and helicopters in Britain's airspace. | |
| February 1965 | The Spirit of Brooklands | The story of the Surrey motor racing circuit. | |
| May 1965 | What Price Safety? | A look at what is being don to make cars and roads safer. | |
| September 1965 | Down in the Dumps | How the problem of dumped cars is being addressed. |
| Date of Feature | Title | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| November 1965 | Cats of the Sea | The thrill of sailing catamarans. |
| March 1966 | Breaking the Ice | Looking at the icebreakers which keep shipping routes open. |
| December 1966 | Skimming through the Sixties | Revisiting the Hovercraft and how it has been evolving. |
| December 1966 | The Big Take-Off | Assessing what is happening to Britain's aircraft industry in the face of competition. |
| March 1967 | Lighter than Air | Going up in a hot air balloon. |
| May 1967 | Just an Accident | The shocking statistic that twenty people are killed on the roads daily. |
| May 1967 | Scrambling for It | The motor sport which is attracting thousands of followers. |
| June 1967 | The Straights of Dover | A closer look at the 750 ships that pass through the five mile wide shipping channel every day. |
| August 1967 | Where Do You Leave the Boat? | The problems of where to keep pleasure boats as more are built. |
| October 1967 | Pushing the Bike | The impact of the bicycle on the world today. |
| December 1967 | Playing Trains | How despite moves to diesel and electric traction thousands of people are still running steam locomotives on unprofitable branch lines. |
| September 1968 | The City's for Living In | A response to the Buchanan Report with a focus on Bath and Norwich as to how British cities face the danger of the impact of traffic on the environment. |
| March 1969 | All in a Day's Work | People who travel the world by air as part of their everyday jobs. |
| March 1969 | A Load of Pheasants | Following intercontinental deliveries by lorries that travel through Britain's ferry ports. |
Released 27 June 2011
Released 12 September 2011
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