Saga - 2002, Page 80

78
ÞORSTEINN HELGASON
Summary
History on the Screen
This article discusses documentary films on historical subjects, in par-
ticular television documentaries, making an attempt to distinguish
between documentary films and dramatisations or fiction films. After a
discussion of characteristics of individual directors, their creative art and
relation to evidence and the truth, the author contends that historical
documentaries are halfway between two other intellectual products,
historical evaluations and fiction. Following this, several factors affecting
the creation of historical documentaries are examined which can exert
pressure in opposing directions, especially research which underlies them
and demands for an artistic approach and entertainment value. The
arguments of sceptical scholars as to the value of historical documentaries
under such conditions are explained, and counter-arguments presented.
The claim is made that there are two characteristics which distinguish an
historical documentary from a fictional film: active argumentation and
loyalty to the best evidence available.
Most historical documentaries deal with the 20th century, because they
can be spliced together from older film footage. The article discusses
especially the problems of making a documentary film about events,
which took place before the days of motion pictures and photography,
without dramatising them or acting them out to any great extent. The use
of visual art to tell tales of former times is considered, together with use
of landscape, guides, interviews, computer graphics and narration.
An examination is made of historical documentaries in Iceland which
could be said to have been spawned by television, looking at a number of
filmmakers in this area: Einar Heimisson, Hjálmtýr Heiðdal, Margrét
Jónasdóttir, Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson, Erlendur Sveinsson, Baldur
Hermannsson and Birgir Sigurðsson. Individual Icelandic films are
examined, including Þjóð í hlekkjum hugarfarsins (A nation enslaved in
its traditional thinking), which drew more attention and caused more
debate in Iceland than any other historical documentary.
The author ends with his own experience of producing documentaries,
in particular of the three-part series on the Turkish Raid, describing the
development of the project and ideas on use of visual art in it.