It is becoming increasingly evident that several documentaries once considered great have lost much of their lustre with the passage of time. With the film under review, it is possible that the acclaim – and accolades (proudly cited in the opening title-card) – received upon release was due to its exclusive (though not artistically innovative, or even all that engaging!
I'm not familiar with the historical context of it, but it is beautifully shot, and expertly sounded. A true gem among early documentaries.
"The Song of Ceylon" is a British 38-minute documentary from 1934, so it's already over 80 years old and, to put it into perspective, this little film came out when the Nazis had only been in power for one year in Germany back then. But this black-and-white sound film is about a totally different part of the earth, namely Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
