Historical production house and online archive British Pathé have released their entire collection of films spanning from 1896 – 1976 to Youtube in high resolution, effectively gifting their archive to the world.
Their collection comprises of 85,000 films, or 3500 hours of historical newsreels from around the world, TV programmes, major events, disasters, fashion, sport, world wars and notable historic figures.
“Our hope is that everyone, everywhere who has a computer will see these films and enjoy them,” British Pathé GM Alastair White said in a statement. “This archive is a treasure trove unrivaled in historical and cultural significance that should never be forgotten. Uploading the films to YouTube seemed like the best way to make sure of that.”
British Pathé was once a dominant feature of the British cinema experience, renowned for first-class reporting and an informative yet uniquely entertaining style. It is now considered to be the finest newsreel archive in existence.
This project is being managed by German company Mediakraft, which has been responsible for numerous past YouTube successes. The company will be creating new content using British Pathé material, in English and in foreign languages.