Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7904 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-25
• Rating: Exempt
• Formats: Box set, Limited Edition, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 80 minutes

Synopsis
A collection of animated Public Information Films from the Central Office of Information. Plus a bonus disc featuring the original 'Charley Says'.

Customer Reviews

Great Nostalgia
A great way to see all the PIFs released by Network in one place. Of note is that Volume 1 has been changed slightly so that random play has been removed, the index to films is better organised and for the first time you can move between each PIF with the next button on your DVD remote which didn't work on the original release. A great value buy. Here's hoping for Volume 3!

How we used to live
A very good value for money double disc set, featuring a huge assortment of (often hilarious) nostalgia from a different era. (Better or worse depends on your opinion). Britain was a simpler place, yet many of these messages are every bit as valid today as back then, and the better clips are still hard-hitting when watched now.

The first disc is undoubtedly the best, featuring most of the best-known PIFs. One or two of the road safety ones feature real stunt actors and make you wonder how they got away with doing what they did!

The second disc is much less essential and features a large number of more obscure (though worthwhile) older b+w clips - mostly featuring the same actor - and a few that aren't really PIFs, more RAF recruitment ads. It also feature a couple of Spanish PIFs, suggesting they were running out of material. Even so, there are some classics in amongst them. Sadly, the audio levels are very inconsistent on this disc.

I would like to have seen a selectable title and year caption available via subtitles on both these discs as this would have been useful, but neither have subtitles.

Recommended for all aged 30+, especially nostalgia fans.

A Fun-Filled Nostalgia Fest
This is great fun for those of us interested in social history, those who want to revisit their youth, or those who just want to laugh at the fashions of the recent past. It's a real pleasure to look at the PIFs that frightened the life out of me in my school hall, as well as finding out more about what silly things the government were warning people not to do before I was born.

I echo the comments about the variation in audio quality (the Spanish ones in particular have truly appalling sound), but this doesn't really ruin the fun. The only thing that's missing is more information about the films; I'd love a short booklet telling you when and why each film was made, but I guess it would make the release less viable.