A respectable, sincere film of Robert Bolt's literate play, with Scofield as Sir Thomas More, endorsing the divine right of the Pope over and above his King, Henry VIII, who wishes to divorce Katherine Of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. Watch out for Orson Welles in a marvellous cameo as Cardinal Wolsey. The film won 6 Oscars. find out more...

David Lean's epic romance set against the turbulant backdrop of the Russian revolution. One man's struggle for moral political and personal survival amidst the complex web of intrigue and tangled loyalties that accompanied the fall of the Tsar.

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Thomas Hardy's classic tale of a rural landowner chased by three men, a swashbuckling army womaniser, a loyal shepherd and a staid middle-aged bachelor, and her making a choice she lives to regret. Nicolas Roeg's beautiful cinematography of the West Country dominates the film. find out more...

David Lean's much-acclaimed production of the gloomy Dickens classic. Briefly, a young boy befriends an escaped convict who later repays him anonymously, creating a bond which the now upwardly-mobile youngster could well do without...an interesting probe of Victorian class structure. Visually flawless, perfectly paced, it's a masterpiece. find out more...

This remains one of the greatest screen versions of the tortured play, though it does look rather over-played by modern standards. The late Olivier gives one of his greatest performances - indeed this is the performance that first ranked him amongst the very greatest of actors. Won Best Picture at 1948 Academy Awards. find out more...

One of two classic Lean adaptations of Charles Dickens. From the opening shot of Oliver's mother struggling through the snow to reach the workhouse. The film brilliantly recreates the feeling of poverty-stricken Victorian England. Look out in particular for Alec Guinness' superb performance as Fagin. find out more...

When Mr Dashwood dies, the bulk of his estate goes to his son by his first marriage, which leaves his second wife and three daughters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) in straitened circumstances. They are taken in by a kindly cousin, but their lack of fortune affects the marriageability of both practical Elinor and romantic Marianne. When Elinor forms an attachment for the wealthy Edward Ferrars, his family disapprove and separate them. And though Mrs Jennings tries to match the worthy (and rich find out more...

The original and the best screen adaptation of John Buchan's jingoistic thriller of German plots and dashing Englishmen. Considered by the director as one of his very best this launched the theme of the innocent man on the run from both the law and the villians. Excellent. find out more...

An ageing bachelor reminisces of the long hot 1900 summer of his youth. Leo is 13 and a guest at a grand home in rural Norfolk, where he becomes a go-between in the love affair between the daughter of the affluent country family and a local farmer. An absolute cinema classic successfully adapted from Hartley's novel of the same name, a powerful and beautiful tale. find out more...

The Railway Children; an affectionate adaptation of the great children's novel capturing the innocence of childhood and the comfy certainties of a bygone era. Not that their world is boring, they meet a wry bunch of characters, save a train from derailment and harbour a Bolshevik refugee etc. A high nostalgia count. find out more...