Cradle of Creation
Clip 3: The Holy City
1 min 25 sec
Taken from the documentary Cradle of Creation (1944)
Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G
Availability of the complete title
Curator’s clip description
Daily life in the streets of Jerusalem unfolds as it has for centuries. Muslims, Jews, Christians – from pilgrims to Bedouin tribesman – mingle in the narrow alleyways and open-air markets. Jews from all over the world pray at the foot of the Wailing Wall. The narrow cobblestone streets leading up the hill to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre follows the path along which Jesus walked. It attracts many pilgrims.
Curator’s notes
Hurley began as a photographer before he ventured into making cinematographic films. His camera draws on traditional painting and his frames are always meticulously composed. In these street scenes, Hurley beautifully captures the textures and shades of Jerusalem – figures move in and out of the darkness and are highlighted by shafts of light which emerge from the diagonal corners of the frame. The beautiful contrasts between light and dark spaces in these scenes are similar to the chiaroscuro of 16th century artists such as Caravaggio.
Lauren Williams, curator
have teachers’ notes.
