SSVC Special

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This week we take a look at three classic SSVC productions made for the British military during the Cold War. SSVC or Services Sound & Vision Corporation were a production company formed in 1982 which oversaw the creation of training films and documentaries for the British Military. These productions are fascinating not only from a historical point of view providing a window onto how training was carried out, the development of military doctrine and changes in tactics and equipment but also from a cinematic, filmmaking perspective too. Many of these productions, some of which we’ve covered previously, convey major scenarios and do so in a highly engaging way with probably minuscule budgets.

In this special we examine a 1982 documentary which reconstructs the Brunneval Raid, one of the Parachute Regiment’s first major operations, Fighting Patrol (1985) which shows how a platoon would launch an attack on a Soviet position – the film showcases considerable brand new equipment including the then new SA80 rifle. And finally, Oil Safe (1980) a film detailing the SBS’ procedure for retaking an oil rig which has been seized by terrorists. Check out the links to watch each of the films.

Check out the new t-shirt and hoodie mentioned in this episode in the FoF shop here.

The episode is also available on all other podcast platforms, you can find them here.

Here are some stills from some of the films we discuss:

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Matthew Moss

Matthew Moss

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