This film is a riot of colour and a showcase for Lye’s hand-painted and stencilled imagery. Sponsored by Imperial Airways (the forerunner of British Airways), it incorporated the airline’s “speedbird” symbol. The music consisted of “Honolulu Blues” by Red Nichols and a rumba by the Lecuona Cuban Boys. Time Magazine wrote enthusiastically about the film in its 12 December 1938 issue, describing Lye as England’s alternative to Walt Disney. It admitted that the competition between the two animators was very unequal because Disney’s films were “the product of a big corporation” whereas Lye was a one-man film-maker who “painted or stenciled his designs by hand.” (Len Lye Foundation)
Original hand painted 35mm nitrate film of COLOUR FLIGHT TEST FILM held by the British Film Institute Archive, London was scanned using Scan2Screen’s revolutionary multispectral scanner, capturing digitally for the very first time Len Lye’s original vibrant hand painted colors.
The film will be meticulously digitally restored by San Francisco Film Preserve.
