Belgium 1972

Back

Details

Location

Aldergrove, Aldergrove Airport, Antwerp, Belgium, Bruges, Ghent, Grote Markt, Knokke, London, Ostend, River Lys, Zeebrugge

Year

1972

Date

May 1972

Length

11min 57sec

Audio

silent

Format

8mm

colour

Source

The McDowell Family

Courtesy

The McDowell Family

Rights Holder

Ian McDowell, The McDowell Family

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

On a short professional trip to the Agfa Gevaert factory in Antwerp in May 1972 to view some new X-ray equipment, film-maker Dr. Frank McDowelll shot some truly beautiful footage. In Antwerp he explores the neon-lit city and lingers on some glinting diamonds in a jewellery shop. Panoramas from the observation lounge of his hotel scan the city skyline. On a sight-seeing trip to Ghent he visits the Gothic Cathedral of St Savon and the River Lys. Visually, the highlight of the trip is Bruges, particularly a boat-trip around its network of canals lined with step-gabled houses, patrician palaces and spires. 

In Belgium 1972, McDowell’s keen eye seeks out detail in every location -aerial shots of gleaming planes, construction sites, heraldic banners fluttering on medieval streets, delicate lace in a shop window, schoolchildren sketching in a quiet square, a bicycle gliding along by the canal, and the endless avenue of trees leading back through Knokke to the coast where the keen sailor scans the marinas and docks of Zeebrugge and Ostend. The final shot of the film shows the landing gear of the plane as he touches down on the runway, home once more.

Credits

Dr. Frank McDowell
×

Please scroll to review and accept our terms and conditions (last updated on ) before viewing the moving images content.

To remember your terms and conditions acceptance, you can register as a site member or allow cookies on your browser.