Recently the British Film Institute in London closed temporarily and decided to take its Moving Pictures exhibition on tour. Sheffield's Millennium Galleries was chosen as the first venue. Intrigued, we went to check it out.
As soon as we entered the exhibition, we were greeted by a friendly 1940s-style cinema usher. She proudly boasted about the unbeaten record of 1,635 million tickets sold in the UK in 1946 and how the cinema was a local amenity with 53 cinemas in Sheffield alone. We found the displays in the section were informative though unimaginative, showing a range of cinematic projectors.
We thought the "Magic Lantern", the original slideshow, was the best part of the exhibition. Have you ever wondered where the phrase "lime light" came from? In the days of the theatre, lime was set alight and used as the footlights. So the actors were literally 'in the lime light'.
Next we travelled through the ages of television, again with a guide in character. We were disappointed by the content and lack of presentation. There was an authentic television from 1948 and a present day television, the exhibition didn't take in account the growing number of people to whom television is a major part of their lives. The organisers should have put in televisions from other eras and included more TV nostalgia.
Finally, we arrived at the film section. Wide screens played a variety of films, from Charlie Chaplin to Marilyn Monroe movies. Display cabinets held the actual costumes from famous films including "Gladiator" and "Star Wars". These are great for the film-fanatic but would have benefited from clear labelling for the rest of us!
Overall we enjoyed the Moving Pictures exhibition but it was short and needed more memorabilia. Although at first glance we thought that it sounded mostly targeted at teenagers, we felt the exhibition did not try hard enough to include young people. We would have preferred more interactive, hands-on exhibits and fewer large blocks of writing.
This review was produced by Wei Jun Chung, 15,Saarah Choudbury, 16,Lucy Taylor, 15
About the team
This review was produced by Wei Jun Chung, 15, Sarah Choudbury, 16, and Lucy Taylor, 15. It was published in the Museums Journal.
