Best Of...
American cinema: History
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Richard Attenborough
September, 1944. D-Day has come and gone but the allied advance has slowed to a crawl owing to over-extended supply lines...
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Richard Attenborough
A Passage to India (1984)
David Lean
In the 1920s, Adela Quested makes the journey from England to India, where she intends to marry her fiancé, Ronny Heaslop, the magistrate of a provincial town named Chandrapore...
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David Lean
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
John Cromwell
In the 1830s, a modest woodsman named Abe Lincoln leaves his home and his mother in Kentucky to settle in New Salem, where he finds popularity as a store owner...
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John Cromwell
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Michael Curtiz
England, 1191. With Richard the Lionheart, the rightful king, away fighting in the crusades, the country is governed by his younger brother, John...
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Michael Curtiz
Anastasia (1956)
Anatole Litvak
Paris, 1928. A decade after Tsar Nicolas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks, rumours continue to circulate that the tsar's daughter, Anastasia, somehow survived...
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Anatole Litvak
Becket (1964)
Peter Glenville
In 12th Century England, the young King Henry II is more preoccupied with the hedonistic pursuits of youth than with matters of state, and in this he is aided and abetted by his good friend Thomas Becket... [More...]
Peter Glenville
In 12th Century England, the young King Henry II is more preoccupied with the hedonistic pursuits of youth than with matters of state, and in this he is aided and abetted by his good friend Thomas Becket... [More...]
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
D.W. Griffith
In the early 1860s, the Stonemans, an affluent family from the Northern States, visit their friends, the Camerons, in the South... [More...]
D.W. Griffith
In the early 1860s, the Stonemans, an affluent family from the Northern States, visit their friends, the Camerons, in the South... [More...]
Captain Blood (1935)
Michael Curtiz
England, 1685. Dr Peter Blood is convicted of treason when he treats a wounded man who took part in an uprising against King James II... [More...]
Michael Curtiz
England, 1685. Dr Peter Blood is convicted of treason when he treats a wounded man who took part in an uprising against King James II... [More...]
El Cid (1961)
Anthony Mann
In the 11th century, Spain is a divided country. The wars between the Christians and the Moors have raged for many years but now Spain faces a greater threat, from the Muslim general Ibn Yusuf, who has amassed an army in readiness to invade the country... [More...]
Anthony Mann
In the 11th century, Spain is a divided country. The wars between the Christians and the Moors have raged for many years but now Spain faces a greater threat, from the Muslim general Ibn Yusuf, who has amassed an army in readiness to invade the country... [More...]
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Stephen Frears
France, circa 1760. Behind a façade of scrupulous respectability, the Marquise de Merteuil delights in inflicting cruelty on those who do her wrong through her meticulously calculated romantic intrigues... [More...]
Stephen Frears
France, circa 1760. Behind a façade of scrupulous respectability, the Marquise de Merteuil delights in inflicting cruelty on those who do her wrong through her meticulously calculated romantic intrigues... [More...]
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
George Stevens
In July 1945, Otto Frank, a man in his mid-fifties, arrives at a disused spice factory in Amsterdam and climbs a staircase to a concealed annex on the top floor of the building... [More...]
George Stevens
In July 1945, Otto Frank, a man in his mid-fifties, arrives at a disused spice factory in Amsterdam and climbs a staircase to a concealed annex on the top floor of the building... [More...]
The Elephant Man (1980)
David Lynch
In Victorian England, Frederick Treves, a senior surgeon at the London Hospital, comes across a heavily deformed man being exhibited as a freak in the East End of London... [More...]
David Lynch
In Victorian England, Frederick Treves, a senior surgeon at the London Hospital, comes across a heavily deformed man being exhibited as a freak in the East End of London... [More...]
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
Wallace Worsley
Paris in the 1480s. From his vantage point atop Notre Dame Cathedral, a deformed hunchback named Quasimodo watches the poor people celebrate their annual Festival of Fools... [More...]
Wallace Worsley
Paris in the 1480s. From his vantage point atop Notre Dame Cathedral, a deformed hunchback named Quasimodo watches the poor people celebrate their annual Festival of Fools... [More...]
Il Casanova di Federico Fellini (1976)
Federico Fellini
The debauched life of Giacomo Casanova is legendary, a succession of erotic adventures with women who are no more to him than instruments of pleasure... [More...]
Federico Fellini
The debauched life of Giacomo Casanova is legendary, a succession of erotic adventures with women who are no more to him than instruments of pleasure... [More...]
Intolerance (1916)
D.W. Griffith
Four interwoven stories spanning mankind's turbulent history show how hatred and intolerance have battled against love and charity across the ages... [More...]
D.W. Griffith
Four interwoven stories spanning mankind's turbulent history show how hatred and intolerance have battled against love and charity across the ages... [More...]
The Last of the Mohicans (1920)
Maurice Tourneur
By 1757, the Seven Years' War that is ravaging the continent of Europe has reached the colonies in the Americas. A British stronghold in New York, Fort William Henry, is threatened by French armies and their Huron Indian allies... [More...]
Maurice Tourneur
By 1757, the Seven Years' War that is ravaging the continent of Europe has reached the colonies in the Americas. A British stronghold in New York, Fort William Henry, is threatened by French armies and their Huron Indian allies... [More...]
The Longest Day (1962)
Ken Annakin
June, 1944. Thousands of Allied troops assembled in the south of England impatiently await the go-ahead for a full-scale invasion of France, the one military manoeuvre that will decisively crush the resolve of the Axis powers and hasten the end of the war... [More...]
Ken Annakin
June, 1944. Thousands of Allied troops assembled in the south of England impatiently await the go-ahead for a full-scale invasion of France, the one military manoeuvre that will decisively crush the resolve of the Axis powers and hasten the end of the war... [More...]
Lorna Doone (1922)
Maurice Tourneur
In the late 1600s, a region of rural Devonshire in England is menaced by a lawless gang of highwaymen and cut-throats, the Doones... [More...]
Maurice Tourneur
In the late 1600s, a region of rural Devonshire in England is menaced by a lawless gang of highwaymen and cut-throats, the Doones... [More...]
Love and Death (1975)
Woody Allen
A condemned man, about to be executed for a crime he did not commit, Boris Grushenko looks back on his short life, conscious that Death is even now beating a path in his direction... [More...]
Woody Allen
A condemned man, about to be executed for a crime he did not commit, Boris Grushenko looks back on his short life, conscious that Death is even now beating a path in his direction... [More...]
Macbeth (1948)
Orson Welles
Triumphant in battle, warriors Macbeth and Banquo return to their home in Scotland and are greeted by three strange hags who offer them prophecies of future glory... [More...]
Orson Welles
Triumphant in battle, warriors Macbeth and Banquo return to their home in Scotland and are greeted by three strange hags who offer them prophecies of future glory... [More...]
The Man Who Laughs (1928)
Paul Leni
England, 1690. King James II is so offended by the rebellious nobleman Lord Clancharlie that he orders his execution. Before he dies, Clancharlie learns that his infant son Gwynplaine has been sold by the king's jester Barkilphedro to a gypsy surgeon, Dr Hardquannone, who has so disfigured the boy's face to give him a permanent clown-like smile... [More...]
Paul Leni
England, 1690. King James II is so offended by the rebellious nobleman Lord Clancharlie that he orders his execution. Before he dies, Clancharlie learns that his infant son Gwynplaine has been sold by the king's jester Barkilphedro to a gypsy surgeon, Dr Hardquannone, who has so disfigured the boy's face to give him a permanent clown-like smile... [More...]
Mary of Scotland (1936)
John Ford
In 1561, Mary Stuart, the widow of Francis II of France, makes herself two dangerous enemies when she opts to return to Scotland... [More...]
John Ford
In 1561, Mary Stuart, the widow of Francis II of France, makes herself two dangerous enemies when she opts to return to Scotland... [More...]
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
Franklin J. Schaffner
In 1904 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia ignores the advice of his closest allies and launches a war against Japan to protect his nation's interest in Korea... [More...]
Franklin J. Schaffner
In 1904 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia ignores the advice of his closest allies and launches a war against Japan to protect his nation's interest in Korea... [More...]
Orphans of the Storm (1921)
D.W. Griffith
18th century Paris. An aristocratic woman is forced to abandon her infant daughter on the steps of a cathedral. The child, Louise, is found by a man who takes her home and rears her with his own daughter, Henriette... [More...]
D.W. Griffith
18th century Paris. An aristocratic woman is forced to abandon her infant daughter on the steps of a cathedral. The child, Louise, is found by a man who takes her home and rears her with his own daughter, Henriette... [More...]
Persepolis (2007)
Vincent Paronnaud
Teheran, 1978. The dreams of 8-year-old Marjane are fractured but not crushed when the Shah is deposed and the Islamic Revolution begins... [More...]
Vincent Paronnaud
Teheran, 1978. The dreams of 8-year-old Marjane are fractured but not crushed when the Shah is deposed and the Islamic Revolution begins... [More...]
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Michael Curtiz
Content in having dealt the Spanish a resounding naval defeat at Cadiz, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, returns to England, expecting a hero's welcome... [More...]
Michael Curtiz
Content in having dealt the Spanish a resounding naval defeat at Cadiz, Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, returns to England, expecting a hero's welcome... [More...]
The Prodigal (1955)
Richard Thorpe
Micah, a devout servant of the Hebrew tradition, wins his father Eli's disapproval when, on a visit to Damascus, he falls in love with the beautiful priestess of Astarte, Samarra... [More...]
Richard Thorpe
Micah, a devout servant of the Hebrew tradition, wins his father Eli's disapproval when, on a visit to Damascus, he falls in love with the beautiful priestess of Astarte, Samarra... [More...]
Queen Christina (1933)
Rouben Mamoulian
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden becomes the pre-eminent power in Europe, under the reign of the warrior king Gustavus Adolphus... [More...]
Rouben Mamoulian
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden becomes the pre-eminent power in Europe, under the reign of the warrior king Gustavus Adolphus... [More...]
Quentin Durward (1955)
Richard Thorpe
In 1465, the impecunious Scottish knight Quentin Durward travels to France to determine whether the Countess Isabelle of Marcroy will make a suitable bride for his aged uncle... [More...]
Richard Thorpe
In 1465, the impecunious Scottish knight Quentin Durward travels to France to determine whether the Countess Isabelle of Marcroy will make a suitable bride for his aged uncle... [More...]
The Remains of the Day (1993)
James Ivory
Mr James Stevens is the butler at Darlington Hall, one of England's grander stately homes. Recently the Hall has changed hands and Stevens now serves Mr Lewis, a retired American congressman... [More...]
James Ivory
Mr James Stevens is the butler at Darlington Hall, one of England's grander stately homes. Recently the Hall has changed hands and Stevens now serves Mr Lewis, a retired American congressman... [More...]