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Night Mail
IDFA 1996

Night Mail

Nachtpost
Basil Wright, Harry Watt
England
1936
23 min
Festival history

Classic documentary about the night train taking the mail from London to Edinburgh. The filmmakers have minutely filmed all activities and operations that must be carried out before the train can leave. The organisation is depicted as a well-oiled machine in which every employee quickly and efficiently performs his task. The result is that nothing goes wrong, the train leaves at precisely the right time with the right mail. The film contains dramatised scenes, in order to emphasize the fact that mail transport by train is a complicated operation, which is flawlessly executed. While the train races through a deserted landscape, the sun rises and the postal workers on the train have finished sorting the mail: today it will again be delivered in time.

Credits
Director
Screening copy
    Eye Film Institute Netherlands
    Eye Film Institute Netherlands