1975 · 27m
An animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engineering marvels of the early 19th century - including the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western Railway, and the Great Eastern steamship (for 40 years the world's largest steamship). Various styles of animation are used to depict events in his colorful life.
Directed by Bob Godfrey
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CinemaSerf
Two men are painting a battleship and the older is regaling the younger with the achievements of the engineering genius that was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I could have sworn it was the voice of Angus Lennie (remember "Ives" from the Great Escape - 1963) and sure enough it is! Anyway, using a comibination of animation styles and photography we spend half an hour on a planet very near "Monty Python" as the feats of this gentleman - some more successful than others - are celebrated with a satirical set of songs and dialogue. Queen Victoria, Prince Albert - even William Gladstone get in on the act as the story unfolds and Britain evolves from a nation of not a lot to a nation of industrially fuelled Empire. It's genuinely quite funny with some of the writing gently taking the mickey out of just about all sectors of society that benefitted from his bridges, railways, boats and other intricate and ingenious mechanisms. You can spot plenty of influences here, everything from Lionel Jeffries to the much derided British Rail commercials we used to get in the 1970s, and it takes a brief pop at the consequences of the industrial decline too as it packs a relentless amount of history (fact or fiction) into thirty minutes of quirky film-making. "Flying Officer Ives" was a tunnel man - so was IKB. No Steve McQueen though.
Where to watch
Not currently available to stream, rent, or buy in the US.
