Cities of the World; Peking Remembered

Henreid, Paul · May 5, 1968

Peking Remembered is a color documentary which uses animation techniques to put action into a tremendous collection of photographs, paintings, and many objects of arts and crafts. The film reconstructs the struggles of the people and takes a look at Peking during its history as the capital and hub of China before the capital was shifted to Nanking prior to the Communist takeover of the mainland. Renamed Peiping after the move to Nanking, the ancient capital has regained the name of Peking under the communist regimes which forced the Nationalist government off the mainland. The narration avoids the textbook discourse of most documentaries but is alive and witty with anecdotes of frivolousness of Peking life which make the people real everything from the sex life of the Dowger Empress to the peasants who trained flocks of pigeons to steal rice from the imperial granaries. Cities of the World Peking is a presentation of National Educational Television, produced by Hall and Butler, directed by Dave Butler and narrated by Paul Henreid. Executive Producer: William Weston. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) In Cities of the World, media personalities such as author Mary McCarthy and the BBCs Alan Whicker, travel the world and give audiences a taste of life in cities including Budapest, Calcutta, Paris, Naples, Munich, and Peking. The series of 6 half-hour episodes was recorded in color.