New Zealand athlete Peter Snell features in the most viewed video of the 30 National Film Unit (NFU) films currently showcased on NZOn Screen.
Held at Archives New Zealand, the NFU collection provides valuable insight into New Zealand’s people and its history.
Other crowd favourites included: Flare – A Ski Trip, a promotional video on freestyle skiing directed by actor Sam Neill; The Governor – The Reverend Traitor, a television epic examining the life of Governor George Grey; and Score, “a ballsy Swan Lake in the mud”, where footage from the French 1979 rugby tour of New Zealand has been rendered in slow-motion and put to a Tchaikovsky score.
To view the top-ranked video, Peter Snell – Athlete (http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/peter-snell---athlete-1964), and various other New Zealand classics, check out http://www.nzonscreen.com/collection/national-film-unit-collection#. Films can also be viewed on Ziln (http://www.ziln.co.nz/channel_detail.php?program_id=&channel_id=60).
Soon to be added to Archives New Zealand’s contribution on NZOn Screen are a collection of videos on New Zealand photographer, Brian Brake.
These videos will be released to coincide with the Te Papa exhibition on Brake opening 23 October.
Thirty films from the National Film Unit (NFU) collection held at Archives New Zealand are being showcased on NZ On Screen.
The films provide a valuable insight into New Zealand’s screen history, and include NFU classics: Rhythm and Movement, Ralph Hotere; Snows of Aorangi, Score; Gone up North for a While, Games 74; Governor, This is New Zealand, and many more. To view the films: http://www.nzonscreen.com/collection/national-film-unit-collection
The NFU was established in August 1941 as a result of a Cabinet decision to provide film publicity of New Zealand’s war effort. For almost 50 years, the Unit produced a diverse range of films, from wartime newsreels to tourism promos to historical television dramas.
Archives New Zealand, Wellington took over responsibility for the restoration and preservation of the National Film Unit’s extensive archival film collection in 1988.
In 1988 the Government announced its intention to sell the National Film Unit. The sale occurred in March 1990.