Excerpts from 'A breath of fresh air'. Hair Soup.

Date:
1981
  • Videos

About this work

Description

Two separate videos compiled onto a DVD. The sequence from 'A Breath of Fresh Air' starts with a few clips from the film of 'Swallows and Amazons'; Dr Roger Altounyan as a child knew Sir Arthur Ransome and he became the inspiration for a character in the book. Dr Altounyan then goes onto talk about his own experience of asthma and how he experimented on himself and discovered a breakthrough treatment for asthma. He is filmed sitting on one of the Egyptian sphinxes which are located by Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames in London. He developed sodium cromoglycate and also a means to dispense the medicine safely by creating a spin inhaler (he talks about his war service as a pilot being instrumental in this discovery). As a result of this new medicine, the Asthma Society was set up to enable people to discuss their experiences and treatment. The sequence includes the end credits to the video. The second video is entitled 'Science Fiction' and is presented by Tom Baker; David Suchet plays Altounyan in a drama written by Gillian Freeman. We find out that he was also dyslexic. His daughter, Barbara, appears in the film. The film recreates his experiments on himself - he collects the hair of the laboratory guinea pigs to induce an asthma attack. His research centred on preventing attacks. He set up a clinic for asthma sufferers. As a result Intal was developed.

Publication/Creation

UK : Fisons Ltd, 1981.
UK : Swallow Production, 1991.

Physical description

1 DVD (Excerpts from 'A Breath of Fresh Air' 5 min and Hair Soup 25 min. Total 30 min.) : sound, color, PAL

Copyright note

Fisons Ltd

Notes

This DVD (two of two) forms part of the Roger Altounyan archives collection which is held in the Wellcome Library under the collection reference PP/RCA.

Creator/production credits

'A Breath of Fresh Air' produced by Des Good. Written and directed by Mick Jackson. An Emitel Picture Palace Produce for Fisons Ltd Pharmaceutical Division and McCormick Intermarco-Farmer Ltd. 'Hair Soup' produced by Kim Gordon, Directed by Jenny Wilkes (A Swallow Production for Yorkshire Television 1991).

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores
    5195D

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