London's transformation over the past century is to be celebrated in a three-month film season from the British Film Institute.

In the BFI’s biggest ever retrospective of the capital on film from July 1 to October 9, more than 200 movies - dating as far back as 1896 - will be shown at BFI Southbank.

As well as classics such as Oliver and My Fair Lady returning to the big screen, there are carefully selected little-known gems, forgotten classics, documentaries, public information films and even home movies that have never seen outside of the families that made them.

London on Film has been put together by the head curator at the BFI National Archive, Robin Baker.

Robin told Vibe: “A lot of what we have done is try to look at those films that give a real feeling of what the city was like in another time.”

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Elephant Will Never Forget (1952)

The season is separated into three strands. The first, called The Changing Face of London, runs throughout July and looks at the dramatic transformation undergone in the capital.

It combines everything from a Victorian and Edwardian film evening to a screening of Nicholas Roeg’s Performance (1970), which will be attended by its stars James Fox and Sandy Lieberson.

For Robin, there is no medium better for capturing London’s past than film.

He said: “Film is the most immediate art form.

“When you have got a Victorian or Edwardian film and you have got real Edwardians or Victorians staring at you, blinking, smiling, laughing, looking embarrassed by the camera – you cannot feel anything but a deep connection with the people from your city from over a hundred years ago.

“It’s the closest connection you are ever going to get to real, real Londoners. You see the humanity in them.”


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London on Film includes a strand dedicated to how London coped with the war, made up largely of propaganda films.

Robin said: “They’re incredibly emotional films. For me, one of the greatest films about London ever made was not a feature film, it was a 10 minute short called London Can Take It.

“The film was made by the British Government and it was an attempt in a way to try and get the Americans to come and fight in the war.

“The film shows the real spirit of Londoners and how they dealt with this absolute onslaught.

“What’s so amazing when you watch it now is it is obviously a film about London and Londoners at a very specific time but feels now like it is about anybody in any part of the world going through this absolute trauma of war.

“It’s a really emotional, fantastic film and a really rare opportunity to see it on the big screen.”

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London Can Take It (1940)

It is not just documentaries that chronicle how the city has changed, however.

“In terms of feature films, there are a number that I think are just wonderful films that deserve to be seen as real classics,” Robin said.

There will be a celebration of 25 years since The Krays was made, attended by the Kemp brothers, and screenings of 28 Days Later, Oliver and great films that have been forgotten such as Four in the Morning (1965), which stars Judi Dench and captures Aldgate and Greenwich in the 60s.

Many of the films were chosen because of their strong sense of location, like The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963) set in Soho and Pool of London (1951), whose depiction of SE1, Camberwell and Greenwich Robin described as ‘like a time travel capsule’.

Robin said: “Probably the most famous for doing that is Alfred Hitchcock. One of the favourite films I’m showing is Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy (1972). Of the many films he shot in London, this is the one that absolutely catches a real feeling of London at a certain time.”

London on Film is at BFI Southbank from July 1 to October 9. Go to bfi.org.uk