Fires Were Started

1943 British film
  • 12 April 1943 (1943-04-12) (UK)
Running time
65 min.CountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

Fires Were Started is a 1943 British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings. Filmed in documentary style, it shows the lives of firefighters through the Blitz during the Second World War. The film uses actual firemen (including Cyril Demarne) rather than professional actors.

Production

Exterior shots were filmed on location, while the interior scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios. Jennings's first cut of the film was titled I Was a Fireman and ran to 74 minutes. This was cut down to 65 minutes and released as Fires Were Started.

Critical reception

Film critics mostly praised the film for its realism and documentary value, despite its reconstructions. Dilys Powell, of the Sunday Times declared its authenticity to be 'moving and terrifying'.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ Winston 1999, p. 66.

Bibliography

  • Winston, Brian (1999). Fires Were Started. BFI Film classics. London: BFI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85170-773-0.

External links

  • Fires Were Started at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  • Fires Were Started at the BFI's Screenonline
  • v
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Films directed by Humphrey Jennings
  • London Can Take It! (1940)
  • Words for Battle
  • In England Now (1941)
  • Listen to Britain (1942)
  • Fires Were Started (1943)
  • The Silent Village (1943)
  • A Diary for Timothy (1945)
  • A Defeated People (1946)


Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
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  • United States


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