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The first part of the film depicts the religious life of the
Sinhalese, interlinking the Buddhist rituals with the natural beauty of Ceylon. Opening with a series of pans over palm leaves, we then gradually see people journey to Adam's Peak, a center of Buddhist pilgrimage for over two hundred years.
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Part two focuses on the working life of the
Sinhalese, again continually stressing their intimate connection to the surrounding environment. We see people engaging in pottery, woodcarving and the building of houses, whilst children play.
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The third part of the film introduces the arrival of modern communications systems into the fabric of this 'natural' lifestyle, heralded by experimental sounds and shots of industrial working practices.
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Finally, in the last part of the film, we return to the cultural life of the
Sinhalese, where people perform a traditional Kandyan dance. The film ends as it began, panning over palm trees.
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Ambitious documentary chronicling the cultural life and religious customs of the
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This is continually inter-cut with images of surrounding natural beauty and a series of pans of a
Buddhist statue.
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Watch The Film Online at the
Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire Website
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Article on Basil Wright & Walter Leigh's use of sound in the film
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and produced by John
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Colonial Film: Moving Images of the
British Empire Entry for
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274:(4 October 1935). "Song of Ceylon".
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421:Black-and-white documentary films
396:Sri Lankan black-and-white films
386:British short documentary films
401:Films directed by Basil Wright
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406:1930s short documentary films
391:British black-and-white films
441:Films scored by Walter Leigh
431:1930s English-language films
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329:Screenonline Entry for
416:1934 documentary films
285:Taylor, John Russell
54:Robert Knox (sailor)
436:1930s British films
426:GPO Film Unit films
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351:The Song of Ceylon
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98:John Taylor
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258:References
152:38 minutes
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50:Written by
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