Kevin Brownlow
| Kevin Brownlow | |
|---|---|
| Born |
2 June 1938 Crowborough, Sussex, England |
| Occupation | film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor |
| Relatives | Peggy Fortnum (aunt) |
Kevin Brownlow (born 2 June 1938) is a British film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent documenting and restoring film. He has rescued many silent films and their history. His initiative in interviewing many largely forgotten, elderly film pioneers in the 1960s and 1970s preserved a legacy of early mass-entertainment cinema. Brownlow received an Academy Honorary Award at the 2nd Annual Governors Awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on 13 November 2010. This was the first occasion on which an Academy Honorary Award was given to a film preservationist.
Brownlow's interest in World War II prompted the creation of his alternative-history film, It Happened Here in which the Nazis have conquered Britain. Brownlow began work on the film at the age of 18 and soon began to collaborate with a friend Andrew Mollo, who was 16. After eight years of struggle, during which the film's content changed dramatically, it was completed in 1964 with the last-minute aid of Tony Richardson. The film was widely seen in the UK at film festivals, and it was picked up for major distribution by United Artists (UA). There were negative reactions in the media to parts of the film, complaints from some Jewish groups, and in October 1965 UA's American president, Arthur B. Krim, said the film would not see theatrical release unless the offending parts were cut out. Brownlow and Mollo tried to convince UA to run the film complete, but they were outmanoeuvred. The film finally began its theatrical run in May 1966, minus the disputed scenes. It was seen in London, New York, Copenhagen, Paris, Stockholm, Los Angeles and Haifa, and was reviewed positively. After the run, UA reported to Brownlow and Mollo that all of the box office receipts had been used to pay the advertising and distribution costs. The two filmmakers did not make any money from the film.
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