
Edwardian Insects on Film (2013)
0h 59m | PG-13
In 1908, amateur naturalist and pioneering filmmaker Percy Smith stunned early cinema goers with his footage of the juggling fly. Hailed as the father of Natural History film, Smith was a hugely influential visual pioneer, inventing many techniques that are still used today. Being both a genius and an eccentric, we follow his life from his earliest films, to the collapse of his house from his mould experiment to his ultimate suicide. We also meet Natural History icon Sir David Attenborough, who was so amazed by Smith’s films in the 1930s that they inspired him to get into natural history.
Director: John Holdsworth
Studio: National Media Museum
Genre: Documentary
Video: 720p
Cast

Charlie Hamilton James
as Self - Presenter

David Attenborough
as Self

Dr Tim Boon
as Self - Science Museum, London

David Cleveland
as Self - Film Archivist

Tim Cockerill
as Self - Entomologist

Bryony Dixon
as Self - Curator, Silent Film, BFI