I just stumbled over something truly, truly remarkable. The BFI has restored the first ever british science fiction film, A Message From Mars, dating from 1913. It can be viewed online here. I was just doing so, and it blew my mind: The picture seems aged, but somehow still crisp. What excites me are the backgrounds and peripheral details: you can see all sorts of things like vintage cars and trees blown by the wind. It is like looking into a world long passed. Another cool thing about this film is the sound track: I don’t know what happened to the original, but the BFI commissioned Matthew Herbert to create a new soundscape for the film. I think it works wonderfully. Excitingly, my friend Hugh Jones, Charlotte’s brother, worked with him, which is how I came across the news of this film. I think they did a great job – excellent stuff indeed!