Lawrence Durrell's Greece Corfu ( Κέρκυρα ) 1975 Documentary | 16mm Film Print

Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, a bestselling author and one of the most celebrated writers in England.
Born in India to British colonial parents, he attended the Jesuit College at Darjeeling and was sent to England at the age of eleven for his education at St Edmund's School, Canterbury.
He spent from 1935 to 1939 on Corfu. His book 'Prospero's Cell' was his love letter to the Island.
His younger brother Gerald wrote a semi-fictional trilogy The Corfu Memoirs incorporating 'My Family and Other Animals' on which the popular TV series, 'The Durrells in Corfu' is mostly based.
This 1975 documentary reflects on Durrell's years on Corfu.
This 16mm film print was in near new shape, still unopened in a shipping can from the lab, physically un-run, but exhibited severe negative scratching, high grain, and colour had turned red. It was discovered in a shed amidst an abandoned consignment of dried dates from Alexandria.
After sitting in its container for nearly 50 years, the restoration was done in 2022.
#Corfu #Κέρκυρα #Durrell

[@rainscratch]

For interesting early film history visit my other channel Pioneers of Cinema www.youtube.com/@Pioneers_Of_Cinema/videos

[@itopus1]

One will never be too grateful to those who have restored this absolute gem and for having made it available to watch.

[@rainscratch]

Thank you Ivan. There are many more films in my archive to do!

[@gavinmcewen5896]

Wow!! As a 54yr old having been drawn into interest in Corfu and the Durrell's through the books of both Larry and Gerry I so often can't help but feel I have missed out on a richness that has been lost in time and location. And yet at the same time I also have the awareness of living in such an amazing age where technology now allows us the privilege to see into so much that we otherwise could not. So I really wanted to say thank you for all the time effort in getting this up for public viewing. I would be interested to know a bit more about how this film if you are happy to give out that information. Many thanks again!

[@rainscratch]

Thank you for watching and your comment. Corfu and the Ionian Islands have a rich history, quite different from mainland Greece and the other islands. They were part of the Venetian Empire for around 400 years, and a slew of other nation's control before and after. Prince Philip was born there before being whisked away as a baby to Paris to escape a political uprising. As to the provenance of the 16mm film print - repeated from the description box: This 16mm film print was in near new shape, still unopened in a shipping can from the lab, physically not screened, but exhibited severe negative scratching, high grain, and colour had turned red. It was discovered in a shed amidst an abandoned consignment of dried dates from Alexandria. After sitting in its container for nearly 50 years, the restoration was done in 2022.

[@gavinmcewen5896]

@@rainscratch yes sorry, I saw that information and should have made it clear I was meaning additional info.

[@rainscratch]

@@gavinmcewen5896 Not much more I know about the production except it was some sort of joint project between a UK, Greek and French? TV companies. The lab was in Greece according to the label on the tin. I was in touch with the assistant editor who told me a few interesting stories about the production, he was the one who did the titles. He had managed to keep a tape copy which has better colour than my prints but less resolution. Other than that we don't know of the existence of other copies. Had known about the Durrells mainly through the TV series based on a part of Gerald's book 'My Family and other Animals' within 'The Corfu Trilogy' - his recollections of the family moving from India to Corfu. The documentary spurred me to buy the book and it was a good read. This led to more research about the family, Gerald's zoo, etc. I thought the TV series The Durrells in Corfu started well but devolved into much melodrama and silliness later in the series (I think the directors changed)

[@gavinmcewen5896]

@@rainscratch Thanks for the additional info. I have just watched the part 2 and really enjoyed that also. I have also just subscribed to your other channel and look forward to watching some of those videos also. Do you know who discovered the film? and in who's shed it was and in what country? Was it you who has done the restoration? and if so, how did this come into your possession? regards.

[@rainscratch]

@@gavinmcewen5896 I acquired the film prints from a collector and he relayed the story of being found in that random shed in Europe. It was unopened since being made by the Greek lab. He has since passed away so can't find any more on that. Yes I did the restoration, although not perfect if I was to do it again now it would be improved as have upgraded the software.

[@peterraftopoulos1565]

What a fabulous insight into a delightful island and culture with Mr Durrell’s eloquent commentary! Loved the wedding sequence and the old ladies hankering for a glass of celebratory wine.

[@rainscratch]

So redolent and evocative of our favourite part of the world. The wedding and all the characters of the island are all highlights, as is of course Durrell's commentary. 30:45 - Did you pick up a subtle yet profound cultural reveal during the fisherman's song? The fisherman's delivery has all the tells of being Greek - whereas Durrell's chiming in has all the tells of being British.

[@martagonzalez58]

Poetíc and evocative, illuminating Durrell’s thoughts about life and literature. Evjaristó!

[@rainscratch]

Thank you Marta. Part two delves more into Durrell's motives and personality, and is set around the Aegean Islands.

[@beckynelson6786]

This video clip is worth gold!

[@LondonPower]

in the 1970s there were still many areas in Greece that lived like the Homeric times without electricity or roads to connect them to the big urban centers

[@rainscratch]

My mother's village on another of the Ionian Islands, Ithaca, used wells (sternas) for water. an open fire in the kitchen for cooking, didn't have electricity until the 1970s and there was only one phone in the whole village - you queued up every Thursday morning to make a call! Very isolated with the rest of the world, albeit that a lot of residents had left to start new lives in Sth Africa, Australia, US, etc, and there was that input, but not until tourism became a viable economic force did substantial money be spent upgrading to more modern infrastructure on those small islands. Part 2 of this documentary is about Durrell in the Aegean. Will be uploaded in a few hours (5Gb)

[@2008-u8b]

Great to discover this documentary after discovering " the durells " tv drama. Where is part 2 ? I have known Lawrence Durell only by name, never read one of his books.And we discover, with this fantastic bbc drama, terrific casting and story, it was also all the Durell family, that was quite original and unconventionnel.Gerry Durell the youngest, Margo the sister, Leslie, the brother, Larry, Lawrence, and the mother.And all this British tribe going to live in Corfu!

[@rainscratch]

Thank you for your comment. Part two is here kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXmzhq2Gg6p2jdE

[@2008-u8b]

thank you !!! 😀 this documentary part 1/ and part 2 ( I'm about to watch now) is a gem. For the writer and also for Corfu and Greece.It should be remasterised, as we say.Have a good day 👏

[@nickdaskalakis9289]

Great documentary George . Really enjoyed watching it

[@rainscratch]

Thanks Nick for your comment and support. Have just finished work on Part 2 which will be on this channel.

[@nickdaskalakis9289]

@@rainscratch I really look forward to watching part 2 George

[@classic20rock00]

What is the name of the song at the beginning? It has such a familiar tune. Thanks!

[@rainscratch]

'Never on Sunday' translates to Greek as the original title 'Τα Παιδεία του Πειραιά' (The Boys of Pireaus) the theme song from the 1960 film of the same name. Music written by Manos Hadjidakis and starring Melina Mercouri - both very famous in Greece. 'Never on Sunday' was the title of the English release of the film. Here is the English language trailer for the movie. It was a very popular film around the world. - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWTHqX6MlpJkkJo

[@classic20rock00]

@@rainscratch Wow, thank you so much! That's so interesting. I'll check out the film!

[@midiacoste7506]

wow!!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@dionysioschalkomatas39]

"You are welcome, sir, to Cyprus. Goats and monkeys!"

[@menelpro]

This Greece is gone for ever. It died by the bulldozer, the tourist money and the technology. So sad to watch these pictures...

[@susanmorano405]

Yes, so sad

[@parrhasius]

It's always moving to come across an English.man who can speak Greek better than I can .It was Nelson Mandela who said .'if you speak to someone in a common language you can get through to their mind,but if you speak to them in their own language you can speak to their heart ' could not agree more .

[@rainscratch]

Thank you for watching and for the great comment. Durrell's Greek is pretty good but you can sense a subtle difference when he joins in the singing with the fisherman. More than just words, there is a cultural difference in the singing, that is hard to replicate for a non-native.

[@robertmacgregor2788]

This is great, you may be aware that a scan of a Betamax recording of the programme when it was reshown in 1982 was uploaded to KZbin 7 years ago by Laurence Williamson, who was involved in the production of the film (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3qym5SopLeZe6s). It appears the 2 episodes you have uploaded were on that occasion re-edited into a single programme for the 1982 broadcast. So having the original episodes and an even better copy of them is very welcome - thank you. Hopefully, one day a copy of the 1978 sequel to this series (Spirit of Place: Lawrence Durrell's Egypt) will be released on KZbin.

[@rainscratch]

Thanks Robert. I was in contact with Laurence a while back. He was an assistant editor and that was the reason he had a Betamax copy. My source was original 16mm film prints, which although a better resolution the colour had faded a bit. I restored what I could.

[@hallohallo1332]

That was beautiful, thanks.

[@rainscratch]

It is a great documentary about an amazing time in history for a unique family.

[@arcoamirad7430]

Magnifique.

[@rainscratch]

Thank you - Part 2 (Aegean Islands) is great too

[@ERISLagriega]

Que maravilla solo escuchar la música me hace llorar 😢 💙🤍💙

[@rainscratch]

Gracias por mirar. Sí, la música le habla al alma.