The film is based on the life of John Reed, the Communist, journalist, and writer who chronicled the Russian Revolution in his book Ten Days that Shook the World. The film works both as a history of the American left and as an epic romance, between Reed and Louise Bryant, an important feminist and radical journalist in her own right. After involvement with labour and political disputes in the US, they go to Russia in time for the 1917 October Revolution and, inspired, return to the US, hoping to find out more...

Britain's silent film history is finally emerging after an era of neglect. As Matthew Sweet, writer and presenter of the programme, says, the silent era "was one of the most creative, extravagant, sensational and pleasurable periods of film production in this country". A fascinating documentary profiling in detail British film from 1859 to 1929, a nearly forgotten slice of cultural history, featuring archive footage and interviews with historians and survivors from the period. find out more...

This truly exhaustive journey from the dawn of the medium through to the late sixties documents the rise and rise of Hollywood. Martin Scorsese guides us through his personal favourites and a vast selection of cult classics and recognised masterpieces. find out more...

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Between 1900-1913, filmmakers Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon roamed the country filming the everyday lives of people at work and play. Discovered and restored by the British Film Institute, this is a remarkable and fascinating observation of Great Britain before the arrival of the World Wars. find out more...