Among the different newsfeeds which I have subscribed to, occasionally I see a few gems. Sometimes these gems remind us of what things were once like so that we can consider how much things have changed.
One such example is a story which the Guardian has reprinted from 38 years ago:
TV audiences should wait longer for cinema releases: From the archive, 3 January 1976 | From the Guardian | theguardian.com
In the story it mentions a wish by the BFI to prevent films from being shown on the TV Screen until at least 15 years had passed from when the film was first released. This proposal was made in order to revitalise the British Film Industry, something that the likes of Tesco most certainly do not consider important (else they would never have built their big superstore on the site of the Elstree Studios in Borehamwood in the '90s).
Had this become the rules, we could look forward to viewing some of the following films on the TV this year:
American Pie, The 13th Warrior, Annie, Austin Powers: The Spy who shagged me, Beowulf, Dogma, The Green Mile, The Mummy, Notting Hill, The Sixth Sense, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Stuart Little, Toy Story 2 & The World is not enough.
Most of these were not British films, but many were made in part in the UK, starred British actors and employed British workers.
Sure the TVs which most of us had in 1976 was a poor product compared to the digital HD TVs we have today. In many cases we also have 3D TVs and I suspect more than a few have projectors and maybe a handful have 4K UHDTVs at home as well now.
Their sound wasn't that much better though, since most HD TVs have rather poor 20watt speakers. However we do now have stereo sound on the TV and in many cases have the option of a surround sound system.
As for the British Film Industry, it has had to work hard to promote itself. Whilst many actors are often out of work, there are many successful ones, the studios are very busy. Whilst only 16 films were made in the UK last year, compared to 96 made in 1953, there has been a considerable change in the industry.
List of British films of 2013 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of British films of 1953 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Today the TV market has improved considerably. Many new productions which may have once been put onto film, are now finding their way onto the TV screen instead. In 1976 we only had BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Now we have hundreds of TV channels, nearly 70 of them are in HD and a host of different broadcasters competing for our attention.
We also have the likes of Netflix, LoveFilm and many other providers that allow us to view all those films, provided that out Internet connections allow us to enjoy them.
Only a year after the report from the BFI was made, we saw Star Wars (not Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as it is now known) released in the cinemas. At the time it was the most financially successful film, earning $1,554,475 through its opening weekend (don't ask me the £ equivalent).
There have been some influences I suspect from the report though.
Today we have DVDs and Blu-rays which are released around 6 months after a film was first shown in the Cinema, at the same time it is made available on Sky Box Office. Around 6 months later the film can first be aired on one of the Sky Movie channels, but it is normally 2 years after a film is shown in the Cinema that it will be shown on terrestrial TV.
One such example is a story which the Guardian has reprinted from 38 years ago:
TV audiences should wait longer for cinema releases: From the archive, 3 January 1976 | From the Guardian | theguardian.com
In the story it mentions a wish by the BFI to prevent films from being shown on the TV Screen until at least 15 years had passed from when the film was first released. This proposal was made in order to revitalise the British Film Industry, something that the likes of Tesco most certainly do not consider important (else they would never have built their big superstore on the site of the Elstree Studios in Borehamwood in the '90s).
Had this become the rules, we could look forward to viewing some of the following films on the TV this year:
American Pie, The 13th Warrior, Annie, Austin Powers: The Spy who shagged me, Beowulf, Dogma, The Green Mile, The Mummy, Notting Hill, The Sixth Sense, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Stuart Little, Toy Story 2 & The World is not enough.
Most of these were not British films, but many were made in part in the UK, starred British actors and employed British workers.
Sure the TVs which most of us had in 1976 was a poor product compared to the digital HD TVs we have today. In many cases we also have 3D TVs and I suspect more than a few have projectors and maybe a handful have 4K UHDTVs at home as well now.
Their sound wasn't that much better though, since most HD TVs have rather poor 20watt speakers. However we do now have stereo sound on the TV and in many cases have the option of a surround sound system.
As for the British Film Industry, it has had to work hard to promote itself. Whilst many actors are often out of work, there are many successful ones, the studios are very busy. Whilst only 16 films were made in the UK last year, compared to 96 made in 1953, there has been a considerable change in the industry.
List of British films of 2013 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of British films of 1953 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Today the TV market has improved considerably. Many new productions which may have once been put onto film, are now finding their way onto the TV screen instead. In 1976 we only had BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Now we have hundreds of TV channels, nearly 70 of them are in HD and a host of different broadcasters competing for our attention.
We also have the likes of Netflix, LoveFilm and many other providers that allow us to view all those films, provided that out Internet connections allow us to enjoy them.
Only a year after the report from the BFI was made, we saw Star Wars (not Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as it is now known) released in the cinemas. At the time it was the most financially successful film, earning $1,554,475 through its opening weekend (don't ask me the £ equivalent).
There have been some influences I suspect from the report though.
Today we have DVDs and Blu-rays which are released around 6 months after a film was first shown in the Cinema, at the same time it is made available on Sky Box Office. Around 6 months later the film can first be aired on one of the Sky Movie channels, but it is normally 2 years after a film is shown in the Cinema that it will be shown on terrestrial TV.