News on Screen

Series

Series Name

Colour Pictorial

Issue

Issue No.

474

Date Released

26 Jan 1964

Date recorded

3 Jan 1964

Length of issue (in feet)

683

Stories in this Issue:

• 1. Crete

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

Pathe synopsis: Crete. A simple land, once the seat of supreme civilisation. A land of such a past that the past is ever present. Submerged beneath the waters of Elounda are the ruins of a port that recalls the festooned ships in which those early Cretans sailed - to Europe, to Scandinavia, to Iceland, possibly to England; where part of Stonehenge suggests a Cretan’s culture. All this, 1,400 years before the birth of Christ. Sails are still unfurled by the thousand - the sails of countless windmills that pump precious water to irrigate parched groves of olives and bananas. And though so sorely needed, perhaps the windmill is a symbol of this Don Quixote land. An island of donkeys, still they are used to pull the grain-threshing sleighs that date back to the Cretans’ primitive ancestors. Still the winnowing is done by tossing it to the wind until the chaff is blown away. Despite the hardships Crete imposes on its people, there is something of the old wonder in their faces. And there is time, always there is time, to listen to the age-old lyre - and to dance. Homer wrote of Knossos, but not until 1900 did Sir Arthur Evans excavate the site. Sacred horns crown the palace walls - this legendary palace of the Minos that looks upon Mount Iouktas where myth claims Zeus is buried. A palace of brilliant architecture, which yet requires no further explanation than a simple Minoan storage pot. Those wise Minoans built nothing of use that had not beauty too.

Keywords

History and archaeology; Scenery and travel

Locations

Greece; Crete

Written sources

Pathe Colour Pictorial Lobby Cards   Used for synopsis

Credits:

Commentator

Tim Brinton

Length of story (in feet)

645

Story extras:

Film clip

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This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name

British Pathe Ltd

Email

info@britishpathe.com

Web

https://www.britishpathe.com/

Phone

0207 665 8340

Address

3.29 Canterbury Court
1-3 Brixton Road
London
SW9 6DE

Notes

Pathe now also handles the Reuters Historical Collection, which includes the British Paramount, Empire British, Gaumont Graphic and Gaumont British newsreels.

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