A 1960s indictment of both war and 19th Century British imperialism which caricatures the aristocracy as blood-thirsty snobs and the workers as cap doffing morons, a blend that led to disaster. A well researched, thought provoking drama starring just about any British thespian who wanted a job. Included on the DVD is the 1912 silent version of the Charge of the Light Brigade, from the studio of Thomas Edison. find out more...

Newly restored to its original splendour, this is a definitive Hollywood epic that charts the intrigues surrounding the Imperial throne, held by Marcus Aurelius and coveted by the corrupt Commodus, that led to the Romans' downfall at the hands of the Barbarians. Superbly portrayed, a cast of thousands, spectacular battle scenes, while La Loren provides the passion. Stunning sets and a stirring score.

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Sierra Leone 1942; Trevor Howard gives perhaps his best performance as the humane deputy police commissioner in debt to a local trader and being blackmailed for having an affair outside his failed marriage. In the book, riddled with guilt, he kills himself, one of the deepest sins of his Catholic faith, but in the film his death is accidental. Nevertheless this tale of torment is an atmospheric and noteworthy adaptation of one of Greene's works and a superbly acted depictation of religious and m find out more...

Visually stunning biopic of Napoleon tracing his rise to power after exile in Elba and culminating in defeat by Wellington at Waterloo, and taking in along the way the consequences of the ravages of war on the common people. Aesthetically and technically impressive, though historically debatable. find out more...

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse's finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko, played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine, who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo's very modern post-war Ginza district. Sly, resourceful, but trapped, Keiko comes to embody the conflicts and struggles of a woman trying to establish her independence in a male-dominated society. A profoundly moving masterpiece. find out more...

The good old English upper-lip is presented as a small band of squaddies face insurmountable odds against thousands of screaming darkies in a further attempt to paint the world map red. Seen "Custer's Last Stand" Mr Botha? Now try this for size. find out more...