Public Information Films (PIFS)

[screamqueen]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Public information films, I love 'em! Here's a few from the '90s that I remember as a kid:

- The "Kill Your Speed" ads where kids would be hit by road signs showing 20, 30 or 40mph with a voiceover explaining how many children would be killed at each speed. I remember one with a girl's toy pram flying across the road to spare you the actual impact on her.

- The car theft ads with the hyenas. My younger sister was about three years old when these were on the air and was terrified of the multi-storey car park in town because she believed that actual hyenas lived in it.

- A few fire safety ads: the one where a woman constantly rewinds the video of her now-dead daughter opening a Christmas present, another one showing paramedics removing a dead child's body from a house, and one with a demonstration of why you shouldn't pour water over a chip pan fire, followed by a close-up of a woman whose face melted off because she did just that.

- TV Licensing ads with people who have been inconvenienced in some way because they were fined for not paying the license, like a couple camping out next to a fume-belching factory because they couldn't afford the holiday they planned, or a country lord having to rent out his stately home to the public and then a child walks in while he's on the loo.

- Horrible global warming cartoon with surreal visuals of ice melting, rainforests on fire, animals crying over each other's corpses and so on. It was terrifying and I had to leave the room whenever it was on.

- Not really a public information film cos it was made by the NSPCC: A fairytale-style story about a girl called "Maria" whose parents left her at home alone, somehow she set the house on fire and couldn't get out and there were no adults to rescue her.

- The anti-solvent-abuse ones with a black screen and you hear kids' voices whispering "Go on, try it ..."

[Happymama]

Re: Safety Ads

I remember the one where some kids are playing with a kite near some big pylons and there's this scarey 70's incidental music..then the kite gets tangled in the wires...there's a bang and the kid's dead...also one kinda the same involving a boat mast...I was well scared of those ad's and wouldn't walk near pylons because of them.

They showed us the frisbee/substation one at first school (circa 1987) and I seem to remember the kid was wearing FLARES and they caught fire!!!!???

Charley Says was amazing...they don't have enough Stranger danger stuff on TV or at school now.

My mum remembers the horrible nuclear bomb ones.

I remember them very well. Pretty useless if the big red button really had been pressed.

'If in the event of nuclear fallout, go inside, close the doors and windows.' Like that would save you.

My mum was in the Royal Observer Corps (disbanded in '88. Fylindales kinda made them useless) and I used to go with her up to Woolley Edge post to sit in a bunker on Thursday nights. I must have been the only 10 yo who could triangulate a nuclear air burst. We had a radio, and cooked bacon and eggs for supper.

Round here where I live misguided idiots try to nick the overhead powerlines supplying our houses. They seem to think a six foot hickory pickaxe handle will protect them. I'm surprised no-one's been killed yet.

[Solo]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Urgh apaches was terrifying! Scarred me for life.

[escorteclipse1990]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Apaches, PIF about dangers on the farm. I remember watching this in primary school when i was about 9 in 1986. The scene that has always haunted me about that film is where the lad drowned in a slurry pit, even at 9 i knew that would have been a nasty way to go. I have watched the film on youtube and its still terrifying.

[Shado66]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Thanks so much for finding these little gems on national paths. I remember them so well from when I was young. The acorn signs always fascinated me. Ive done a few miles of the Ridgeway over whitehorse hill.

[Yule Cottage]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

British Pathe have many of the old PIF's available to view on their website at http://www.britishpathe.com/

[havasack]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Another but I think it's from a bit later....

[havasack]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

I'm sure I'd posted on this 'ere forum about National trail PIF's from the 60's and being unable to find them. Anyway, I've found one and I'm sure there's more.

[Jasonm25870]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

The one with the seagulls and cancan girls was apparently called "The Honking of the Weaver Bird" and sadly no longer exists which is quite disappointing. I was doing some digging and contacted the National Archive and they informed me of this

[ayrshireman]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Two of the most terrifying were the 'Stop Look Listen' ads. aimed at children, where cars grew snarling shark-like mouths and came charging towards the camera roaring (an early example of real film & animation combination), and the anti-rabies ad. released when there was a brief rabies scare in the late '70s. It showed a severely rabid man strapped into his hospital bed, gnashing his teeth with a hugely swollen red mouth and thrashing about in delirium. Really scarey.

God, I remember all those. Yes, the rabies one was scary for a child.

[Roxxy]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

Two of the most terrifying were the 'Stop Look Listen' ads. aimed at children, where cars grew snarling shark-like mouths and came charging towards the camera roaring (an early example of real film & animation combination), and the anti-rabies ad. released when there was a brief rabies scare in the late '70s. It showed a severely rabid man strapped into his hospital bed, gnashing his teeth with a hugely swollen red mouth and thrashing about in delirium. Really scarey.

[stoysville]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

I remember one from the late 90's early 00's, which was about burglary, but I've never been able to track it down. Basically as a family leaves their home, it's very unsecured (open windows, etc) and I distinctly remember the woman saying ".... something... they'll be here any time", would love to see it again.

[battyrat]

Re: Public Information Films (PIFS)

My favourites were the Tufty the squirrel ones.They bring back so many memories of primary school.I was even a member of the Tufty club.

[themilkman]

Re: Public Information Films

[themilkman]

Re: Public Information Films