Christy Brown was an Irish cerebal palsy victim who overcame his severe handicap to become a talented painter and author with just the use of his left foot. Daniel Day Lewis is totally and utterly convincing as Brown - using method acting he became Brown and his thoroughness makes the film a great one. find out more...

Great doco about the early days of NY hip hop and life on the projects. One of the best features of this film is that it examines the political trajectory of Nas' career through his lyrics as well as the environment and familial situation that gave rise to his stardom. Must see for fans of his music. And anyone interested in the political side of rap music.

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In 1998 Marco Pantani, the most flamboyant and popular cyclist of his era, won both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, a titanic feat of physical and mental endurance that no rider has repeated since. He was a hero to millions, the saviour of professional cycling following the doping scandals which threatened to destroy the sport. However, less than six years later, aged just 34, he died alone, in a cheap Italian hotel room.

This film is not just about cycling but an emotional expl find out more...

From the New York art scene of the 1940s to the heady heights of international adulation a stunning drama about one of the foremost artists of the latter half of the Twentieth Century. Such a volatile, passionate and influential character as Pollock has always been ripe for dramatisation and Ed Harris has achieved a mesmerising film, both in front and behind the camera; powerful, touching and damn it... educational! find out more...

A powerful and poetic depiction of the great Dutch painter from 1642, the year of the painting of the Night Watch of the Civic Guard and the death of his wife, to his position of social pariah, financial ruin and death in 1669. Rembrandt is an atmospheric and moving film with a truly awesome performance by Charles Laughton in the lead role. find out more...

On the eve of WW1 famed German art critic Wilhelm Uhde retreated from the pressures of urban life to stay in a small village just outside Paris. Here he noticed some stunningly vibrant artwork only to discover that it was done by his somewhat cuckoo cleaning lady. Thus began an association that propelled the peasant Seraphine de Senlis to fame as an artist, but not before she'd blown her lid and been permanently incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital.
'Seraphine' deservedly swept the boar find out more...

Supposedly a biography of Michelangelo, it is much more that of Pope Julius II, who, when not on the battlefield uniting Italy, nags Michelangelo, in an engaging and witty script, to speed up his painful work painting the Sistine Chapel, and wonders when he will finsh. The transformation of the chapel ceiling, which was originally dotted with stars, to an opulent statement of high renaissance is engrossing. find out more...

An artful documentary about the life of Daniel Johnson, singer/songwriter, artist, cartoonist and general artistic genius, but a man sadly afflicted with a severe mental illness that makes him totally self-delusional and an occasional danger to both himself and others. Daniel, raised in a Christian fundamentalist family in deepest West Virginia, amongst many of his fantasies, sees Devils everywhere, and with his overblown self-importance, not helped by his legions of admirers, vying with his low find out more...

This stunningly photographed and skilfully acted film uses an accretion of naturalistic detail to present an emotionally restrained, but utterly compelling, account of the last three months of Van Gogh's life. Living in Auvers-sur-Oise with his sensitive and knowledgeable patron Gachet, Van Gogh works, quietly and steadily, and flirts with Gachet's precocious daughter Marguerite. But his ill health, a brief return to the debauchery of brothels and drink, and his irrational resentment of his brot find out more...

Master director Robert Altman tackles the life of Van Gogh from taking up art full time to the death of his financier brother, and without shirking from the portrayal of his less endearing qualities. Particularly good as Altman has given Van Gogh's talents the space to speak for themselves. find out more...