A library of over 3,500 hours of news footage from the sixties and seventies is just seeing the light of day after being stored in a bunker and never seen.
Owned by Associated Press, the 20,000 cans of 16mm film were stored in a London bunker under Goodge Street station once used by Eisenhower to direct the D-Day landings. The film is being restored and transferred to HD videotape and some of it is now available to view.
The quality is remarkable and it features unique scenes not covered by any other library footage, including a young Saddam Hussein being given a tour of a French nuclear power station and a young Margaret Thatcher, then education minister, campaigning for a yes vote on the joining of the EU. Other clips feature the fashions of the period, Liz Taylor’s 40th birthday with performances from Barbara Streisand and Joan Baez.
The film has remained dormant for all this time as its ownership changed hands many times before it came to AP, then the cost of the restoration project was low on the company’s list of priorities and it was hard to see any potential benefits.
It’s thought it’ll take another 18 months to complete the project, and who knows what they’ll find on the way.
Tags: AP News, Liz Taylor, Margaret Thatcher, Old News Footage Discovered
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