Errol Flynn, in his starring debut, plays a doctor wrongly condemed to prison who escapes and leads his fellow prisoners to a life of piracey. He then goes onto form the 'Brotherhood of Buccaneers' to fight the villainous James II. find out more...

Another striking DVD release from the BFI archives that gives a contemporary twist to a dramatic re-construction of the battle of Culloden in 1746; a conflict acknowledged by many for ending Clan unity within the Scottish Highlands. Filmed in black and white and made back in 1964 Culloden remains a striking depiction of a particularly brutal event in history. find out more...

A disturbing Danish film, reanacting witchcraft trials from the 15th and 16th on till the early 20th Century. Mixing scenes of reanactment, animation and illustrated slideshows to depict events of alleged real-life events and possessions, we are shown images of extreme cruelty which smack of the experimental edges of medical research. This must have been tantamount to the work of the devil when it first came out. Sick-minds they had back in 1922! The DVD has a choice of soundtracks, the best of find out more...

Kobayashi's remarkable 'ghost' stories are a beautiful amalgam of traditional Japanese art and subtle direction. The four stories are adaptations of 18th century ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn and are eerily compelling. Their dramatic impact is all due to subtle visual nuances. Excellent. find out more...

Set during the height of the French aristocracy, Le Bossu is a classic swashbuckling romp, thick with skulduggery, revenge and some fantastic swordsmanship. A rip roaring period adventure. find out more...

Max Ophuls's penultimate film, this adaptation of the Louise de Vilmorin novel 'Madame de...' is a beautifully paced melodrama. The story concerns an 18th Century Countess and her doomed love affair with a Baron. A pair of diamond earrings function as a pivotal plot device, initially given to the Countess by her husband, they pass through a number of owners before ending up back with the Countess, allowing a satirical take on the superficiality and greed of the times. Ophuls' characteristic movi find out more...

The first, and many would argue the best, of Hollywood's interpretations of the infamous mutiny aboard HMS Bounty in the South Pacific in 1789, an historic battle of wills between Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh. This version virtually deserts Christian after the mutiny, concentrating on Bligh's amazing 4,000 mile open boat voyage and the subsequent court-martial. find out more...

It's the off-season at the lonely Beauregard Hotel in Bournemoth, and only the long-term tenants are still in residence. Life is stirred up, however, when the beautiful Ann Shankland arrives to see her alcoholic ex-husband, John Malcolm, who is secretly engaged to Pat Cooper, the woman who runs the hotel. Meanwhile, snobbish Mrs Railton-Bell discovers that the kindly if rather doddering Major Pollock, played by David Niven, who won an Oscar for his performance, a retired officer who likes to find out more...

Real-life lovers Olivier and Leigh gel perfectly and light up the screen in this portrayal of the rise, decline and fall of a courtesan and one of history's great, but doomed, love affairs. With its great dialogue audiences of the time adored this film, as did Churchill who announced it his favourite! find out more...

Peter Brook's adaptation of the John Gay opera follows the story of roguish highwayman Captain MacHeath as he awaits his seemingly inevitable trip to the gallows. It is only the Captain's studious use of a file that provides him with the opportunity of escape, but as the highwayman prepares to flee, a beggar who has written an opera of the great man's exploits waylays him. "The Beggar's Opera" is a hugely enjoyable satire on 18th Century society and says much that still rings true today. find out more...