This film is part of Free
Space Invader
Kitsch public information filler inspired by the classic arcade game
Overview
"Play Space Invaders on the road and you play a dangerous game!" There's huge kitsch appeal to this very of-its-time road safety film, which stretches its video game analogy to breaking point and beyond. It may have seemed a good idea at the time, but the attempt to surf the zeitgeist seems misjudged: its references would have shot over the heads of most older drivers, while earning the ridicule of younger ones, for whom the Space Invaders arcade game was already old hat. Still, it's a fascinating case study for the amateur (or professional) historian of arcade culture.
The 'computer graphics' employed throughout are actually an animator's approximation of video game imagery: the approach may have been borrowed from BBC's TV production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which aired the same year.
Related
Strangers Strangers
Public Information Filler 1973 1 mins
Who needs to talk to strangers when you're the only one who can understand the garbled mewling of your best buddy cat, Charley?
Giro - Fast and Loose Giro - Fast and Loose
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1935 9 mins Silent
Don’t listen to Slacky the Sloucher or Giro the Germ will stage a jailbreak – public health cartoon by the Health & Cleanliness Council
Pan-tele-tron Pan-tele-tron
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1957 10 mins
Ye Gods! It’s the future of telecommunications – as seen through a cartoon modern lens from the 1950s
John the Bull John the Bull
Advert 1930 5 mins
Bloody foreign cows coming over here and becoming our dinners
The Dream of Arthur Sleap The Dream of Arthur Sleap
Advert 1972 1 mins
Dangerously addicted to boring old movies? This is a case for Dr BFI, as demonstrated in this 1970s animated promo
"T" For Teacher "T" For Teacher
Sponsored film 1947 5 mins Silent
Do you know the golden rules of tea making? The Tea Bureau set out to put your cuppa straight in this progressively designed post-war cartoon
Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 29 mins
Vicky Knight sits down with Rowan Woods for an extended discussion on the making of the film Silver Haze. *Contains Spoilers*
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.