Romantic vision

I came across this old Pathe news film from 1937, while i was looking through some old Hindenburg clips on YouTube. What strikes me about this film so much is 1) No sound 2) the beautifully romantic vision of flight that's portrayed by the footage.

It's the final five seconds of the film that i love. The Hindenburg disappears into a bank of cloud as the film comes to an end and the lack of sounds seems to add some poignancy. All you can here is the occasional crackle or pop from the soundtrack. Far better than some over-the-top period commentary.

The film celebrates the brief life of the Hindenburg Zeppelin, but it's the footage of the disaster itself that is usually remembered. An amazing fact of that day concerns Murray Becker, a photographer for Associated Press, who managed to skillfully shoot three great 4x5 shots (All that in about ten seconds) on his Speed Graphic, as the Zeppelin came down in flames.