Thousands of hours of historical footage showing major events, celebrities and simple day-to-day life from 1896 until 1976 has been uploaded to YouTube
The archive of 3,500 hours of footage was digitised in 2002 thanks in part to a grant from the National Lottery, and is now freely accessible to anyone around the world for free.
The unique collection of video covers major events, famous faces, travel, sport and culture and is a wealth of information on the First and Second World Wars in particular.
Founded in Paris in 1896, Pathé launched in Britain 14 years later. It single-handedly invented the modern television news format but ceased recording in 1970. After that it was sold several times, at one point to EMI, but launched as an independent archive in 2009. Two years later it opened a YouTube channel and has today announced the final step in digitising and uploading its entire collection to Google's video sharing platform. Alastair White, general manager of British Pathé, said: "Our hope is that everyone, everywhere who has a computer will see these films and enjoy them. This archive is a treasure trove unrivalled in historical and cultural significance that should never be forgotten. Uploading the films to YouTube seemed like the best way to make sure of that.
“Whether you’re looking for coverage of the Royal Family, the Titanic, the destruction of the Hindenburg, or quirky stories about British pastimes, it’ll be there on our channel. You can lose yourself for hours.”
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Eve's Wireless - World's first mobile phone (and... erm... portable music player, on demand), 1922
During the 1940s, the British Council commissioned over 100 short documentary films designed to promote an understanding of Britain and Britishness. They were created with an overseas audience in mind, and were intended to act as cultural propaganda, counteracting both negative Nazi propaganda and the popular perception of Britain as a country stuck in the past.
Digitised and researched, these films are now available for the public to watch and download for free, complete with trivia and contextual information.
Επίσης, μια αναζήτηση στο Youtube με όρους Pathe Greece δίνει δεκάδες φιλμάκια επικαίρων ελληνικού ενδιαφέροντος (συνήθως χωρίς ήχο), από το 1915 και μετά.
Εδώ ένα τουριστικό φιλμάκι για την Αθήνα (του 1961) με ήχο:
Και μια απορία. Στο βιντεάκι της υποδοχής, ο άνθρωπος που πάει να πιάσει το χωνί, στο 3:18, δεν μοιάζει πολύ με τον Γρηγόρη Λαμπράκη; Ήταν εκεί, όμως, εκείνη την εποχή;
Αν και χωρίς ήχο, Τα συναισθήματα που προκαλεί είναι απίστευτα.
Προσέξτε εκεί στο 1:30 πώς πίσω από τον Παύλο συνωστίζονται για ν' ανεβούν τα σκαλιά της μητρόπολης ο Κωνσταντίνος, η Ειρήνη και η Σοφία. Δείτε τον Κωνσταντίνο πώς βάζει τη μικρή στη θέση της σύμφωνα με το πρωτόκολλο και πώς εκείνη δίνει το χέρι της στον Θεμιστοκλή Σοφούλη, ο οποίος το ασπάζεται!
Χαϊλάιτ της παρέλασης: οι στρατιώτες με τα σκυλιά!
Ωστόσο νομίζω πως ο τίτλος του ντοκιμαντέρ είναι λάθος. Λέει 25th aniversary of independence, ενώ μάλλον εννοεί την 25η Μαρτίου.
