Keyword Public Information Film

Warning children not to play near 'dark and lonely' water, a horror film style look and voice-over is used in this film to highlight the dangers.

Government information film on how to get maximum wear from a man's suit, narrated by one such suit in the form of an autobiography.

With its simple and iconic imagery this was public information film at its most sensational: expensive special effects and high-concept production design brought public information filmmaking into the realm of state-of-the-art corporate advertising. The film was the result of a £5 million cinema and television campaign aimed at combating the growing spread of HIV and AIDS. With restrictions around the overt promotion of condom use on television and a growing chorus of moral campaigners promulgating their own agenda, the straightforward and doom-laded approach was probably the only viable option for campaign mastermind Sammy Harari. But the result was a hard-hitting and memorable campaign which undoubtedly fulfilled its brief of pervading public consciousness. There are two versions; the one shown in cinemas did not feature John Hurt's famous voiceover.

Ernie tells Eric to ‘be wise’ and not drive home after their Christmas party.

A former Doctor Who returns to Earth to deliver a road safety message.

Poetic tribute to Mrs Turner's vegetable growing prowess, plus the delights of "wartime steaks".

This informative herring aid from WWII makes no bones about the need to make the most of every fish.

A provoking film on the place of women.

Abstract public information film regarding the practice of safe sex.

A haunting fire prevention film about keeping matches out of the hands of children.

Ever had a good experience with doorstep salespeople? Maybe you were lucky, but the doorstep has never seemed the best place for a sensible sales decision – which is exactly why companies use it.

A hard-hitting public information film made at the height of the Great Influenza 1918-18.

A doctor talks about the number of injuries and deaths resulting from automobile accidents.

Stark 70s firework safety film which mixes the everyday and the uncanny.

Regarded as one of the most horrifying British Public Information Films ever put on the screen, this 18-rated cinema PIF transports its unwitting audience into the eyes of a fox trying with all her lasting power to escape the pack of dogs commanded to tear her to shreds, before showing them images of actual foxes torn to shreds.

This anti-smoking public information film has the kind of stylistic sheen often associated with 1980s British advertising, with its sci-fi setting, filtered smoke and gloomy aesthetics clearly inspired by the works of Ridley Scott (although it’s directed by his contemporary, Barry Myers). It imagines a genetically advanced future humanoid who’s evolved to be a ‘natural born smoker’ – complete with enlarged nostrils and tapping finger - before reminding us that no such creature yet exists. While we expect smoking adverts to be disturbing, the titular character is disquieting in a refreshingly unusual sense.

John Hurt narrates this highly charged and doom-laden public information film from the 1987 AIDS awareness campaign. A cliff-face explodes in slow motion; an industrial drill bores into a huge block of rock; the word 'AIDS' is chiselled into the polished surface of a granite headstone and a "Don't Die of Ignorance" leaflet drops onto the surface along with an elegiac bouquet of white lilies. The solemnity of the accompanying voice-over quells any vestiges of ambiguity.

Educational film for a campaign against wife battering in 1985 in The Netherlands.

Featuring the voiceover of Sir Anthony Hopkins, this public information film from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society starts out rather innocently with beautiful hand-painted animation. It describes how once a year a large group of pilot whales swim to a small group of islands known as the Faroe Islands.

A short information film produced to get Britain ready for decimalisation.