About

Known credits:
31
Birthday:
1907-06-12
Place of birth:
Frieth, Buckinghamshire, England
Website:
N/A

Basil Wright

Overview

Basil Wright - was a documentary filmmaker, film historian, film critic and teacher. During World War II, Wright worked only as a producer, first at John Grierson's Film Centre before joining The Crown Film Unit between 1945 and 1946 as producer-in-charge. Among the best known films he produced for Crown are Humphrey Jennings' A Diary for Timothy (1946) and A Defeated People (1946) and Instruments of the Orchestra (1946) featuring Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.[1] Returning to direction in the early 1950s, his films included Waters of Time (1951) made for the Festival of Britain, World Without End (1953) directed with Paul Rotha for UNESCO and Greece: The Immortal Land (1958) in collaboration with his friend the artist Michael Ayrton.

Writing throughout the 30s and 40s, Basil Wright had contributed to the theoretical development of documentary in the movement's journals Cinema Quarterly, World Film News and Documentary Newsletter. He was the film critic for The Spectator after Graham Greene left. Wright was a regular contributor to the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound during the 1940s and '50s. He published a small book: The Uses of Film (1948) and his personal (extensive) history of cinema The Long View (1974). He taught at the University of Southern California (1962 and 1968), The National Film and Television School in London (1971–73) and Temple University in Philadelphia (1977–78). He was Governor of the British Film Institute, a fellow of the British Film Academy and President of the International Association of Documentary Filmmakers.

In his films Wright combined an ability to look closely and carefully at a subject with a poetic and often experimental approach to editing and sound. In Britain he is commemorated with a film prize awarded biennially by the Royal Anthropological Institute.

Known for

Acting
1974 Omnibus - Cuckoo: A Celebration of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy Actor Himself N/A
N/A
1934 Pett and Pott: A Fairy Story of the Suburbs Actor Vicar (uncredited) 58
Average
1929 Every Day Actor 59
Average

Directing
1958 The Immortal Land Directing Director N/A
N/A
1953 World Without End Directing Director N/A
N/A
1951 Waters of Time Directing Director N/A
N/A
1938 The Face of Scotland Directing Director 59
Average
1937 Children at School Directing Director N/A
N/A
1937 Modern Orphans of the Storm: The Story of the Refugee Basque Children Directing Director N/A
N/A
1936 Night Mail Directing Director 59
Average
1934 The Song of Ceylon Directing Director 59
Average
1933 The Country Comes to Town Directing Director N/A
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1932 O'er Hill and Dale Directing Director N/A
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Writing
1939 The Rape of Czechoslovakia Writing Writer N/A
N/A

Production
1958 The Immortal Land Production Producer N/A
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1953 The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci Production Producer N/A
N/A
1946 It Might Be You Production Producer N/A
N/A
1945 A Diary for Timothy Production Producer 59
Average
1945 The Channel Islands 1940-1945 Production Producer 58
Average
1942 London Scrapbook Production Producer N/A
N/A
1942 This Is Colour Production Producer N/A
N/A
1941 The Green Girdle Production Producer N/A
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1940 Men of Africa Production Producer N/A
N/A
1938 Advance Democracy! Production Producer N/A
N/A
1936 Rainbow Dance Production Producer 58
Average

Camera
1935 Coal Face Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1934 The Song of Ceylon Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1931 Industrial Britain Camera Additional Photography 58
Average

Crew
1932 O'er Hill and Dale Crew Cinematography N/A
N/A

Editing
1936 Night Mail Editing Editor 59
Average
1934 The Song of Ceylon Editing Editor 59
Average