The Smokeless Air of Sheffield, 1971
This 1971 film, Sheffield: City on the Move, made by the City Council covers everything from steelmaking and silversmithing, the Pennines and the postwar rebuilding, conservation and municipal sports facilities. The footage is terrific, even if the pace is glacial. In a large part it's a celebration of the city's industrial traditions (I lost count of the number of times 'industry' was mentioned), with shots of smelting, sweet making and the largest snuff-makers in the country.
Still, the section on the countryside allows the director to select some stirringly romantic music and focus on some young women for a change. Then there's all the new flats, houses and shops to be shown off. We see Hyde Park, early seventies supermarkets and pristine new motorway bridges. It all gets a little fruitier in the nightlife section, a sequence of shots of women dancing in various plunging necklines and tiny skirts.
Near the end are some great shots of Castle Market and the Hole in the Road, in their bustling and colourful pomp. The film as a whole exudes a kind of quiet confidence in the modern charms of the city – no Telly Savalas voice-overs or Carry On star cameos here, it's good old-fashioned Yorkshire industry they're promoting, with some startlingly modernist dressing.
Still, the section on the countryside allows the director to select some stirringly romantic music and focus on some young women for a change. Then there's all the new flats, houses and shops to be shown off. We see Hyde Park, early seventies supermarkets and pristine new motorway bridges. It all gets a little fruitier in the nightlife section, a sequence of shots of women dancing in various plunging necklines and tiny skirts.
Near the end are some great shots of Castle Market and the Hole in the Road, in their bustling and colourful pomp. The film as a whole exudes a kind of quiet confidence in the modern charms of the city – no Telly Savalas voice-overs or Carry On star cameos here, it's good old-fashioned Yorkshire industry they're promoting, with some startlingly modernist dressing.
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