Available online
Description
This programme contrasts the newsreel coverage of the bombing of Guernica from both a German and British point of view. Dr. Tony Aldgate of the Open University introduces the two contrasting newsre...els and analyses their use of sound and picture in the context of their contemporary presentation. Dr. Aldgate then talks to a German television producer who has made use of the German newsreel film in a new programme about the bombing. He discusses with him the extent to which the newsreel film accurately reflects contemporary attitudes, and the extent to which it might change current opinions.
This programme contrasts the newsreel coverage of the bombing of Guernica from both a German and British point of view. Dr. Tony Aldgate of the Open University introduces the two contrasting newsre...els and analyses their use of sound and picture in the context of their contemporary presentation. Dr. Aldgate then talks to a German television producer who has made use of the German newsreel film in a new programme about the bombing. He discusses with him the extent to which the newsreel film accurately reflects contemporary attitudes, and the extent to which it might change current opinions.
| Module code and title: | U202, Inquiry |
|---|---|
| Item code: | U202; 11 |
| First transmission date: | 08-07-1981 |
| Published: | 1981 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:35 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Roger Penfound |
| Contributors: | Tony Aldgate; Klaus Figge |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Film history; Guernica; Newsreels; Spanish Civil War |
| Footage description: | The programme begins with a Gaumont British Newsreel The Ruins of Guernica, showing the devastation of the city after the air raid. Tony Aldgate discusses the significance of Guernica to the Basque people and also its military significance in the Civil War. He then discusses the content of the newsreel, pointing out that it does not report who did the bombing. The newsreel is then shown again. Tony Aldgate looks at some of the contemporary press reports, some of which blamed the Germans, others which gave some credence to Franco's suggestion that the retreating Basque forces had set fire to their own city. He then shows a German newsreel about Guernica. With many of the same shots that were used in the Gaumont Newsreel, the commentary blames the destruction upon Basque Bolsheviks. Tony Aldgate discusses this clip and then introduces Klaus Figge, German documentary film maker. Klaus argues that the German film is a good example of Nazi propaganda, but of little use as historical evidence. Klaus Figge used a re-edited version of that newsreel for his own documentary on Guernica. This clip is now shown. He explains why he re-edited the material and describes to Tony Aldgate the techniques he used in making his documentary about Guernica. Tony Aldgate now shows a piece of original documentary film from 1938 showing General Richtoven in action in Spain with the Condor Legion. He then shows how Figge re-edited this piece of film for his own documentary, adding Richtoven's voice, from a radio recording, to the soundtrack. Figge explains that he laid over a new soundtrack for dramatic effect. He explains that his film was made for the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the bombing of Guernica and that he wanted to show up the myths that had developed, on both right and left, about the significance of the attack on Guernica. He talks to Tony Aldgate about the reception of his film in Germany and the inevitability of manipulation in the use of the media. Tony Aldgate assesses the significance of the news reports of the attack on Guernica, arguing that they created a powerful symbol, which was later enhanced by Picasso's painting. The Gaumont newsreel is shown once again, followed by the German film of the event. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT |
| Production number: | FOUD124F |
| Videofinder number: | 1307 |
| Available to public: | no |
