The Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the May events in France, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the Prague Spring, the Chicago riots, the Mexico Summer Olympics, the presidential election of Richard Nixon, the Apollo 8 space mission, the hippies and the Yippies, Bullitt and the living dead. Once upon a time the year 1968.
While anticipating the arrival of a famous Hollywood star, five employees at a mediocre restaurant in London's Soho must deal with rats, arguments and kitchen-based power struggles.
A documentary on the music, performers, attitude and distinctive look that made up punk rock.
Commemorates 100 years since the release of the German classic, Nosferatu, by FW Murnau, and explores the general fascination of Count Dracula, a figure who resonates with audiences across the literary, art, mythological and historical worlds.
Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.
A documentary of the life leading up to the election of John F. Kennedy as president and the controversial life prior that created the legend.
It has been said that no two sisters were ever less alike. One reserved and proper. The other lively and controversial. One the anchor of a commonwealth of nations. The other searching for purpose in life.
Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great tragedy to life. Christopher Plummer, David Tennant, John Nettles, John Simm, Sir Trevor Nunn, Franco Zeffirelli, Philip Saville, and others explore the enduring appeal of the Prince of Denmark more than 400 years after his stage debut.
A personal take on working with Harold Pinter via intimate conversations with actors, directors and writers who share their experiences of the man and his work.
We know how the story ends. But how did it all begin? Who was Diana before the palace, before the paparazzi? Behind the modern legend that is ‘Diana, Princess of Wales’ lie many other stories – in her childhood and in her family’s past. For, long before she was a Royal, she was a Spencer.
The night of November 8, 1923, is arguably the most significant and transformative in the history of the twentieth century. A localised uprising in the Bavarian capital of Munich, led by a small man with a toothbrush moustache and a poisonous yet compelling grandiloquence, would have repercussions that would lead to the political shackling of an entire nation, the most abhorrent crimes of the century and a world war. You might say, Adolf Hitler came of age amid the smell of sweat and sawdust of a Munich beer hall. In the political chaos of 1923, he was a local irritant, gaining popularity among workers and soldiers, the ethos of his Nazi Party spreading like a virus. His first attempt at attaining true power came with an attempted putsch on the already separatist government of Bavaria, which left him imprisoned.
For this informative new one-off, film writer Ian Nathan focuses on the first 60 years of British film, from the invention of cinema and the transition from stage to screen, to the emergence of the studios and the first popular idols. Nathan takes us through the work of leading British film-makers — a talent pool that, like Hollywood’s, benefited from the influx of refugees fleeing Europe — including Alfred Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger, and many more besides.
A guide to human history through its most audacious power grabs. From Julius Caesar to Napoleon; from Mussolini to the strongmen of the present day - we see how the world we know has been shaped by those who dream big.
Luis Bunuel, the father of cinematic Surrealism, made his film debut with 'Un Chien Andalou' in 1929 working closely with Salvador Dali. Considered one of the finest and controversial filmmakers with, 'L’Age d’Or' (1930), attacking the church and the middle classes. He won many awards including Best Director at Cannes for 'Los Olvidados' (1950), and the coveted Palme d’Or for 'Viridiana' (1961), which had been banned in his native Spain. His career moved to France with 'The Diary of a Chambermaid' with major stars such as Jeanne Moreau and Catherine Deneuve.
Between April, 1975 and January, 1979, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people in Cambodia. A quarter of the population were wiped out in one of the most brutal and virulent genocides of the twentieth century. This new film explores the life of Pol Pot, the ever-smiling, obsessively secretive leader of the Khmer Rouge. What drove him to inflict such a radical experiment on his own people? How did the Khmer Rouge turn from a band of nationalist revolutionaries into a ruthless killing machine? And why did the West stand by and let it happen? As an international tribunal in Cambodia finally brings the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge to justice, it's time to re-examine the gruesome legacy of Pol Pot.
First shown on TV in 2011, this film is the fascinating story of British Rock Star Gary Numan. From his early meteoric success through mid career crisis and near catastrophe to his renaissance and subsequent evolution into industrial overload. Includes contributions from Trent Reznor, Phil Oakey, Little Boots, Andy McCluskey, Noel Fielding & Martin Mills. This is the story of Reinvention. This DVD edition includes over 45 minutes of extra previously unseen footage. The 45 minutes extra are a mixture of new interviews with Gary and extended footage from sections on the original (longer versions of guest interviews for example), plus scenes that didn't appear on the original at all.
In the 1960s, archaeologists working in China made an extraordinary discovery. They unsealed the twelve-hundred-year-old tomb of a princess. Its walls were covered in magnificent murals - an unprecedented glimpse into life during the Tang dynasty. This documentary tells the fascinating story of the great Empire that made those murals, of the Silk Road that connected it to the world, and of the rebellions and disasters that brought the dynasty crashing down.
Filmed in Netherlands and London this special commemorates 70 years since Anne Frank's death. With unique interviews with Anne's step sister, Eva Schloss and Gillian Walnes, a survivor from Auschwitz who now runs the Anne Frank Trust in the UK and Ronald Leopold, the Director of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. In 1933, the Nazis rose to power. Five years later, in 1938, Eva Schloss remembers the Nazis marching on Austria and then she and her family fleeing and settling in Amsterdam the same year. They found they were in the same residential square as the Franks with their young daughter, Anne. Anne and Eva found a bond from the shared experience of being displaced by the Nazis.
Born Reginald Dwight on 25 March 1947, he was something of a child prodigy and would go on to become a prolific songwriter and one of Britain's most accomplished and acclaimed musicians, selling out tours the world over. His humanitarianism has been suitably honored, and he has continued to contribute extensively to the music industry. Writing songs for the1994 animated film The Lion King, he later he adapted The Lion King for Broadway and in 2005 he composed music for a West End stage production of Billy Elliot. This documentary takes a look at his long and successful career, exploring his greatest hits with the help of leading industry figures.
Ian Nathan, Neil Norman and Stephen Armstrong run through their top 25 sci-films of the last century, including The Matrix and Planet of the Apes.
