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It might last for only two weeks, but for those of us in the thick of The
Times BFI London Film Festival, it feels longer than many wars. But battle-scarred
and sleep-deprived as most of the festival faithful undoubtedly are by now,
the consensus is that, bar a few days of ticketing chaos and teething problems
at the new venue (the Vue cinema in Leicester Square), this year’s festival
was a resounding success. Best new festival event
A new initiative at this year’s festival was the introduction of an
Archive Gala in which a newly restored version of a long-lost classic is
presented to the public. And programmers could hardly have picked a better
film with which to launch the new gala strand than Anthony Asquith’s
Underground.
The restoration of this 1928 silent film, set in and around the London Underground,
presented a huge challenge to the dedicated team who pieced it together
from the degraded fragments that remained. But their hard work resulted
in one of the high points of the festival. With an energetic live, semi-improvised
accompaniment by the pianist Neil Brand and his Prima Vista Social Club,
the film reveals the Underground as a hotbed of sexual tension, intrigue
and chance romantic encounters. It also gives a fascinating glimpse of industrial
London’s lost skyline. A climatic chase across the roof of the Lots
Road power station in Chelsea reveals a forest of chimneys shrouded in coal
smoke. It’s a cause for celebration that this cinematic gem and piece
of London history has been preserved for future generations. |
