A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father.

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Three characters: a land girl, a US and a UK sergeant, all arrive on the same train in a small wartime Kent village and set out to catch the local malcontent, the 'glue man'. The three of them start to explore the area to discover and expose him but then they get engrossed in the history of the area and the tales of The Pilgrim's Way. The local magistrate is a regional historian, and a very mysterious character, who leads them further into the mystery. A superb depiction of the tensions that ari find out more...

Emperor Asoka was ruler of Magadha in the 3rd century BC and after waging a savage war on the neighbouring kingdom of Kalinga he finally witnesses the consequences of his actions, a dreadful reality that causes him to renounce his war like ways and dedicate himself to spreading the teachings of Buddha. Asoka is by no means historically accurate but it is a lush and fascinating epic. find out more...

An authentically bloody chronicle of the last Apache leader as recorded in the memoirs of one of the cavalrymen who hunted him down. The film covers his fight to preserve the lands of his people and the growing admiration and understanding of his white adversaries. It's all enough to make the red earth of the Moab desert curdle with blood and shame. Fine play from Patric, Duvall, Studi and Hackman in this great biopic. find out more...

In an attempt to anchor King Arthur's existence in some kind of historical reality, the filmmakers behind this update of the Arthurian legend have focused on the politics of the time (set roughly around the time the Romans were leaving our sceptred isle) and left alone the more traditional, supernatural elements associated with the legend. The result is a bewildering affair mixing Braveheart-esque realism (lots of gristle and gore in the Directors Cut, and subtitles enforcing the story's hypothe find out more...

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Guillermo Del Toro's blockbusting tale of a young girl struggling to make sense of the violent world around her was a big 2006 arthouse hit. Continuing his exploration of the impact of the Spanish Civil War on his generation (it was also the backdrop for his excellent ghost story, The Devil's Backbone) Del Toro's fantasy mixes strong horror with fairytale-style aesthetics to great effect, making Ofelia's escape into an imaginary realm a poignant response to the cruel realities of her existence. find out more...

The period between the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdom Periods is deeply engrained into Chinese myth, think of our own Arthurian legends, though Woo adapted this film from the historically accurate 'Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms' rather than the romantic 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' (one of the 'Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature'). find out more...

After the 11th September 2001 the War Against Terror is preparing to move on to Iraq. The UN have sent in the weapons inspectors to find if Saddam has indeed Weapons of Mass Destruction and the political machines in both the UK and US are working to present the strongest possible case for war in the face of (in the UK) very vocal opposition from the public. With the dossiers released and the threat established the "need for war" is set and, on the 19th March 2003, th find out more...

The classic tale of the epic war waged between the Greeks and Trojans is condensed into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. Helen, the belle of Troy, is convinced by pretty boy Paris to ditch her old home with Menelaus in Greece for the chance of true love and a life with the Trojans. Menelaus is not so easily dumped though and sends an army of thousands to go get her back, his star soldier being Achilles, a man with Godly good looks and a special move that allows him to pretty much kill anyone without find out more...