Third Cinema

Listen to Britain

Jennings’ Listen to Britain is, I believe, a very direct example of the kind of narrative that Third Cinema wishes to create. Jennings co-directed and co-edited the film with Stewart MacAllister – his usual collaborator and editor of Fires Were Started and others. The film is a masterpiece of sound mixing; it uses natural sounds and music to create the sound of Britain. The introduction, voiced directly to camera by Leonard Brockington, touched many of Jennings key themes in a way that invites the viewer to share. Indeed the invitation comes from outside of any narrative, directed straight at the audience. “I, am a Canadian. I have been listening to Britain. I have heard the sound of her life by day and by night. Many years ago, a great American, speaking of Britain, said that in the storm of battle and conflict, she had a secret rigour and a pulse like a cannon. In the great sound picture that is here presented, you too will hear that heart beating. For blended together in one great symphony is the music of Britain at war. The evening hymn of the lark, the roar of the Spitfires, the dancers in the great ballroom at Blackpool, the clank of machinery and shunting trains. Soldiers of Canada holding in memory, in proud memory, their home on the range. The BBC sending truth on its journey around the world. The trumpet call of freedom, the war song of a great people. The first sure notes of the march of victory, as you, and I, listen to Britain.” (Humphrey Jennings, 1942). Past this introductory invitation, the film eschews either a commentary or a story. It creates an audio landscape of Britain during the war, with images both accompanying and conflicting with the multitude of sounds.