This film is part of Free
India: Hunting with Elephants
On the trail of big game in this extraordinary home movie shot by famous hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett
Overview
Edward James (aka Jim) Corbett was one of India’s most famous big game hunters who, improbably, became one of its most significant conservationists. In this film, one of several home movies he made, it is the sheer scale of the hunt which seems so extraordinary today - dozens of elephants and a cast of hundreds. The juxtaposition of images - jolly picnics following the slaughter of ‘big game’ - is particularly unsettling.
Born in 1875 in Nainital, Corbett recorded his hunting exploits in a series of books including Man-Eaters of Kumaon - hugely popular boys’ own adventures that continue to be widely read. Corbett progressed from shooting the wildlife to preserving it and helped to form both the Association for the Preservation of Game in the United Provinces and the All-India Conference for the Preservation of Wild Life. Corbett left India with the rest of the British in 1947, and moved to Kenya where he died in 1955. India’s oldest national park was re-named the Jim Corbett National Park in his honour later that year.
Related
Mother Mother
Documentary 1947 16 mins
A social worker teaches her Indian village neighbours about clean, modern childbirth
Child Child
Documentary 1947 18 mins Silent
Advice for village families on raising children to become strong, healthy citizens
A Native Street in India A Native Street in India
Non-Fiction 1906 2 mins Silent
Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city. Can you identify it?
Sports dans l'armée des Indes Sports dans l'armée des Indes
Interest film 1910 5 mins Silent
A demonstration of sport and fitness by members of the Indian Army
India - Personal Film 1 - C. 1940 India - Personal Film 1 - C. 1940
Amateur film 1940 2 mins Silent
Family life in colonial India - baby Georgina with her British mother and Chinese amah, possibly in Calcutta
India India
Amateur film 1929 14 mins Silent
Amateur film of the passage to India - complete with guest appearance by Gandhi
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.