Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. When is a documentary documentary as a mode of reception. According to grierson, the roots of documentary are in what can be called reality. In 1926, grierson coined the term documentary tae describe a nonfeection film. As a theoretician he articulated the basis of the documentary film. John grierson april 26, 1898 february 19, 1972 is often considered the father of british and canadian documentary film.
The film was moana and what grierson regarded as documentary value was its. Grierson is a 1973 documentary about the father of documentary by canadian filmmaker roger blais, now free online in its entirety courtesy of the national film board of canada. In its time, on the waterfront 1954 was called a documentary. Als dokumentarfilm werden alle nonfiction oder factualfilme bezeichnet. The challenge of peace, reprinted in grierson on documentary, is one of them. From this came our insistence on the drama of the doorstep cited by hardy 1415. Daughter rite might or might not be called a documentary, depending upon how one makes sense of it. It is a partial representation of life from a particular point. The aim of a documentary is to report something with evidence documentaries can use narration to anchor meaning. John grierson s minor manifesto of beliefs, first principles of documentary 193234, is one such text, 2 a short work that john corner describes as the foundational text of documentary theory. Dec 28, 2011 above all, grierson believed in the social responsibility of the filmmaker and the potential of film in helping society achieve its democratic ideals. Claiming the real ii tells the story of the emergence, development and current state of documentary film and addressed the social. Pdf john griersons first principles as origin and beginning.
Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Grierson was born in deanston, near doune, scotland. The fiji film unit 19701985 philip robertson central queensland university abstract this article explores what happens when a documentary film form developed within a specific social, ideological, institutional, and aesthetic contextnamely, the socalled british documentary movement, under the. This work, despite its somewhat ambiguous title, is a discursive monograph. The power and potential of performative documentary film by john arthur little a thesis essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of fine arts in science and natural history filmmaking montana state university bozeman, montana april 2007.
Documentaries are problematic and the definition of documentaries is problematic. According to popular myth, in 1926, grierson coined the term documentary to describe a nonfiction film. The films style has been described as being a response to avantgarde, modernist films, adopting formal techniques such as montage constructive editing emphasising the rhythmic juxtaposition of images but also aimed to make a. He first edited an early collectionofgriersonswritings grierson on documentary, collins 1946, subsequently revised and updated, praeger 1971. Sep 15, 2017 paul rothas documentary film and roger manvells film both cited it extensively. For grierson, documentary was the art of giving film sequence to natural material. Building upon the bestselling 2005 edition, betsy mclane keeps the same chronological examination, factual reliability, ease of use and accessible prose style as before, while also weaving three new threads experimental documentary. John grierson and thedocumentary movement great britain. His series for stv, this wonderful world, which ran in its ori. To lend support to this idea, one of griersons contemporaries ivor mon. Thegriersons winnersofthe2009britishdocumentaryawardsareannounced. Media in category john grierson the following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. Grierson s faith in documentary as a form of social political communication, aimed at promoting education and eventually mechanisms of social reform, is confirmed not only by his assertions, but also by his founding of what has been called the documentary film.
Is there anything more to be said about grierson and the british. This page was last edited on 10 september 2019, at 02. John grierson, born april 26, 1898, kilmadock, stirlingshire, scot. By 1940 grierson was in canada, where he helped found the national film board. Aug 06, 2009 the complete nominations for the grierson documentary awards, to be presented at bfi southbank in london on 3 november thu 6 aug 2009 11.
This is because problems arise of authenticity, the more creative the documentary is the more it runs away from focus. As a theoretician he articulated the basis of the documentary film, its form and function, its aesthetic and its ethic. John grierson first principles of documentary 19321934 dixumentary is a clumsy description. John grierson born at deanston borders of stirling and perth on 26 april 1898.
John griersons first principles as origin and beginning. John grierson trailblazer of documentary film request pdf. John grierson, a modernist who believed film and aesthetics could change the world, created the national film board of canada and shaped canadian documentary film. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. He starts off by giving general examples of what is considered to be documentaries such as a shoot of a magazine item, newsreel item, educational or scientific film, to those of discursive or dramatized interests 99.
The rise and fall of the british documentary the story of the film movement founded by john grierson. Griersons principles of documentary were that cinemas potential for observing life could be. A pioneer of the documentary film movement, his films included drifters 1929 as director and night mail 1936 as producer. The french who first used the term only meant travelogue. John grierson founder of the british documentary film movement its leader for 40 years one of the first 1 to see the potential of motion pictures to shape peoples attitudes 2 to urge the use of films for educational purposes educated at the university of glasgow and university of chicago. It was shaped most profoundly during the 1930s as filmmakers began to record sociological an anthropological studies of different populations. John grierson documentary film maker made in perth. Sep 25, 20 the word documentary was coined by documentarian john grierson and defined as the creativity of actuality. Grierson on documentary the las interviet w john grierson, son of a scottish minister was the 9 prophet of an idea which was breathtaking in a day when no one used film for anything except entertainment. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title grierson. Central to griersons and the other early pioneers idea of documentary film was the idea that it should be the creative treatment of actuality. In the 1920s, when economic crisis and political unrest were provoking the arts to find their subjectmatter and their function in the neglected world of the everyday, grierson saw that the film had. Grierson s idea that, by selling the documentary to the government as an effective propaganda medium, he.
Grierson is a canadian documentary film, directed by roger blais and released in 1973. It is for his manyfaceted, innovative leadership in film and in education that grierson is most to be valued. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Grierson article about grierson by the free dictionary. The documentary handbook is a critical introduction to the documentary.
John grierson, founder of the british documentaryfilm movement and its leader for almost 40 years. The root of both the rise and the fall was the same. John grierson download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Drifters 1929 is silent documentary film by john grierson, his first and only personal film it tells the story of britains north sea herring fishery.
A range of arguments have carried on since about the balance of creativity. Grierson awards, a documentary awards ceremony set up in 1972 by the grierson trust in commemoration of documentary filmmaker john grierson. It is, however, in the process of evolving alternatives that seem, in our present historical context, less obvi ously problematic than the strategies of com mentary, verite, or the interview. He is credited with initiating the 1930s british documentary film movement.
While john grierson is known as grierson, they, like many women. In october 1957, john grierson, the founder of the british documentary film movement, made the transition to a new medium. John grierson 26 april 1898 19 february 1972 was a pioneering scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of british and canadian documentary film. May 22, 2014 born the son of a headmaster in cambusbarron, near stirling, john grierson directed one of the first documentaries, drifters, set up the influential gpo film unit making night mail, and went on to.
The book charts the evolution of the documentary from screen art to core television genre, its metamorphosis into many different types of factual tv programmes and its current emergence in forms of new media. Grierson s idea that, by selling the documentary to the government as an effective propaganda medium, he could get the funding for making art. May 09, 2014 john grierson born at deanston borders of stirling and perth on 26 april 1898. A portrait of documentary filmmaker and national film board of canada founder john grierson, the film won the canadian film award for best feature length documentary at the 25th canadian film awards in 1973. Specifically, we need to recon this essay grew from numerous sources of encouragement and stimulation. This book traces benjamin grierson s 1863 civil war raid through mississippi, conducted with three union cavalry regiments and a battery of small artillery pieces, with the goal to destruct the southern railroad of mississippi at newton station and to divert attention away from the vicksburg campaign of the army of the tennessee. Grierson on documentary by grierson, john, 18981972.
The documentary film i gave a push to forty years ago was a richer form of art than i ever dreamt of. John grierson 26 aprile 1898 19 februar 1972 wis a scots documentary maker, eften considerit the faither o breetish an canadian documentary film. I do not intend to argue that selfreflexive documentary represents a pinnacle or solu tion in any ultimate sense. On the other hand, it would appear practically absurd in ordinary circumstances to call rocky 1976 a documentary. Types and styles of documentaries salisbury university. Despite calling flaherty the father of documentary, john grierson objected to. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. Gleason is an american documentary film premiered at the 2016 sundance film festival, covering five years in the life of the former new orleans saints football defensive back steve gleason, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis als, sometimes known as lou gehrigs disease, a rare incurable neurodegenerative condition associated with the former new york yankees baseball star lou gehrig. Grierson also notes that the early documentary filmmakers were concerned about the way the world was going and wanted to use all the tools at hand to push the public towards greater civic participation. Film unit give grierson hand harry watt hitchcock hollywood human images imagination important industrial inevitably inspiration interest issue john grierson labour living marx brothers. Grierson and the documentary movement scotland on screen. A new history of documentary film, second edition offers a muchneeded resource, considering the very rapid changes taking place within documentary media. John grierson cbe 26 april 1898 19 february 1972 was a pioneering scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of british and canadian documentary film. Nichols modes is not the only theory of documentary and is not definitive, see bruzzi below and also look at grierson s theories as well as bazins views on realism.
More about john grierson john grierson by steve foxon pdf 741kb john grierson by jo fox pdf 2. John grierson and the documentary film movement by ian aitken routledge. While in the united states in the 1920s, grierson first applied the term documentary to robert flahertys moana. Grierson, john, 18981972, grierson, john, documentaires biographies, motion picture producers and directors great britain biography, great britain, motion picture producers and. Filmmakers who worked with grierson or were inspired by his approach to documentary later permeated the bbc and television generally. This revised and updated edition includes a restructured last section on the postgriersonian documentary.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The toughest problem for commonsense definitions of documentary, like grierson s the creative treatment of. He was one of the first to see the potential of motion pictures to shape peoples attitudes toward life and to urge the use of films for educational purposes. Despite its ties to the real, the documentary film movement in great britain was in many ways an innovative form, concerned with aesthetics and a vital contributor to the development of an identifiable national cinema. With the success of drifters, grierson was able to further his ideas, but rather. Project muse john grierson and the national film board. Grierson on documentary john grierson, forsyth hardy. The power and potential of performative documentary film by. It was not simple reproduction, but interpretation. Types and styles of documentaries origins john grierson, a key figure in the british documentary school, is thought to have been the first to use the term to describe a film by robert flaherty in 1926, which he described as having documentary value. Ellis notes, john grierson, a scot, was responsible for the documentary film as it has developed in englishspeaking countries. He also managed to persuade the post office to set up the gpo films unit specifically to produce, purchase and distribute this type of film and so the british documentary film movement was born. Click on a datetime to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Following this, the article looks at bazins analysis of dreyers the passion kracauer of joan of arc, and heyerdahls kon tiki. John grierson writer of first principles of documentary describes the term documentary as a clumsy description of films made from natural material. Reportage and propaganda 19002003 2005 john grierson, his documentary boys and the british ministry of information, 19391942 wings on her shoulder 862 words view diff exact match in snippet view article find links to article. More recently he has completed the official biography john grierson. The toughest problem for commonsense definitions of documentary, like. A documentary film is a nonfictional, motion picture intended to document reality, primarily for. Through archival footage, interviews with people who knew him, and footage of grierson himself, blais paints a lively and fascinating portrait of a man who was concerned. Grierson, john, 18981972, grierson, john, documentaires biographies, motion picture producers and directors great britain biography, great britain, motion picture producers and directors publisher.