«Since it permits seeing the past directly, it will eliminate at least at certain important points, the need for investigation and study»: documentary film and history of education

«Since it permits seeing the past directly, it will eliminate, at least at certain
important points, the need for investigation and study», so wrote Bolesław Matuszewski
(1865-1944) in Une nouvelle source de l'histoire (Paris, 1898). Matuszewski's essay
was one of the first texts to consider the historical and documentary value of film.
He was also the first film-maker who appreciated the historical importance of film
and proposed the creation of film archives for collecting and safekeeping of visual
materials. This paper will re-visit Matuszewski's key text as a way of reflecting on the
documentary movement in Britain and the value of documentary film for historians
of education. Problems around the use of film in historical research will then be
considered. The paper will conclude with some additional reflections on documentary
film in the digital age.