Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Night Mail (1936)

"But who can bear to feel himself forgotten?" The most significant film collaboration of the Auden-Britten working partnership is, happily, up on Youtube (in various renditions). Auden's sublime doggerel kicks in about 4 minutes from the end, as does Britten's perky score, first heard over the opening credits ("Sound Direction: Cavalcanti [top billing] Auden Britten").

1 comment:

Tim said...

"DavidBromage" and "st3v3nd0wd" post complete (3-parted) versions but to cut to the chase try bathsideboy. The text itself can be viewed at poemhunter. Thanks to David for bringing this out. John Fuller comments —

"It has probably not been realised … what a feat it represents, for Auden's images did not, as in a scenario, prescribe the images on the screen: he fitted the verse to an edited version as a composer does."