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Festival Archive Treasures
Film preservation and restoration is a vital part of our work. This collection represents moments in time, salvaged for a second chance to awe, enrich and entertain a new audience. They reflect human endeavour, on and off screen.
As BFI Ambassador Tom Hiddleston said, "We can’t predict the future of film. But we can preserve its past."
The Battles of Coronel and Falkland IslandsThe Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands
War 1927 106 minsSilentDirector: Walter Summers
This dramatic reconstruction of two decisive naval battles from the First World War is one of the finest films of the British silent era.
UndergroundUnderground
Romance 1928 93 minsSilentDirector: Anthony Asquith
The BFI National Archive restoration of one of Anthony Asquith's finest silent films set in London's Underground, with a new score.
Journey to ItalyJourney to Italy
Drama 1954 86 minsDirector: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini's acerbic but finally very moving masterpiece about marital crisis boasts great performances from Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders
La Belle et la BêteLa Belle et la Bête
Fantasy 1946 95 minsDirector: Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau’s ravishingly restored 1946 film is a cinematic classic. “Five stars. [This] magical exploration of the fairytale is a compelling and bizarre masterpiece” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
VictimVictim
Crime 1961 100 minsDirector: Basil Dearden
This thought-provoking classic stars Dirk Bogarde as a homosexual lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer.
WinstanleyWinstanley
Biopic 1976 96 minsDirector: Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo
An authentic historical drama about the visionary Gerrard Winstanley who led a group of impoverished 'Diggers' to assert their common rights.
More Festival Archive Treasures in our Rentals collection.
More Festival Archive Treasures in our Free collection.