Tales from the Shipyard (2-DVD set)

Britain's shipbuilding heritage on film, from celebrated documentaries to lesser-known gems

From scenes of jubilant workers celebrating spectacular launches in the early 1900s to King George V and Queen Mary's morale-boosting trip to Northern England's shipyards at the tail end of the Great War; from Sean Connery's perspective on Glasgow's industrial relations in The Bowler and the Bunnet (1967) – which he also directed – to lyrical documentaries in celebration of industrial might such as Shipyard (Paul Rotha, 1935) and the Oscar-winning Seawards the Great Ships (Hilary Harris, 1960), this collection celebrates Britain's shipbuilding heritage through celebrated documentaries, lesser-known cinematic gems and emotive actuality films.

The early silent films on this set feature newly-commissioned, semi-improvised piano scores by the celebrated silent film pianist, Stephen Horne.

This DVD is the second of the BFI's series celebrating Britain's industrial heritage, following Portrait of a Miner: National Coal Board Collection Volume 1.

Disc one

• The Launch of HMS Albion at Blackwall (1898)
• Employees Leaving Messrs Vickers and Maxim's in Barrow (1901)
• Workforce of Scott & Co. Shipyard, Greenock (1901)
• The Launch of HMS Dominion (1903)
• King Edward VII Launches HMS Dreadnought from Portsmouth Dockyard (1906)
• SS Olympic (1910)
• The Launch of HMS Lowestoft (1913)
• Visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen to the North-East Coast Shipbuilding and Engineering Works on the Wear (1917)
• RMS Queen Mary Leaves the Clyde (1936)
• Shipyard (1935)
• Chains (1939)
• Tyneside (1941)
• Steel Goes to Sea (1941)
• The Little Ships of England (1943)
• 'Shipyard for Colliers' from Mining Review 2nd Year No.3 (1948)
• Berth 24 (1950)

Disc two

• We've Come a Long Way (1951)
• The Sea Shall Test Her (1954)
• Seawards the Great Ships (1960)
• A Great Ship (1962)
• The Bowler and the Bunnet (1967)
• UCS 1 (1971)
• Launch (1974)