The title refers to the legatee of Ludwig Van's worldly goods, and the film is a kind of musical detective story that explores the life and loves of Beethoven, who may have been the 'immortal beloved'. Exhilarating musical set-pieces from the Violin Concerto and the Eroica, amongst others, score persuasive points for classical music. find out more...

Small time gangster's moll Blondie kidnaps a big-wig local politico's junkie wife in order to secure her husband's release from the local mafiosi. Altman's homage to his hometown is a swirl of bourbon soaked atmospherics on the themes of love, crime, race and politics, grafted onto a fine jazz soundtrack. find out more...

Cornwall in 1936 is still a timeless place. Sisters, Janet and Ursula Widdington discover a castaway on the beach below their house, and with the help of the local doctor they nurse him back to health. During his convalescence the sisters discover his talent as a musician and the unsettling effect he has on them both - especially Ursula, whose life will never be the same again. Award winning actresses Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith star in this evocative, heart-warming story of unfulfilled dre find out more...

A major retrospective of the British documentary film movement during its period of greatest influence; before, during and after the Second World War. These diverse and compelling films are fascinating historical documents, bearing witness to the social and industrial transformations of the rapidly changing world. Striking in their different approach to the form, using poetry, dramatic reconstruction and explicit propaganda, the film-makers found fresh, new ways to get their message across. find out more...

A biopic expressed by a series of tableaux interpreting Mahler's music with Powell suitably impressive as the composer and Georgina Hale excellent as his wife - on its most serious level the film is about her stifled creativity. Despite the low budget Russell has produced his best work in a long time. find out more...

A largely fictional biopic depicting the solitary and star-crossed life of Toulouse Lautrec. We must all suffer for our art! The first half-hour is full of energy and verve as we trawl through the colourful Montmartre of Paris in the 1890's. find out more...

Documentary about recording studios in Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River. Lots of story beyond the recording sessions and loads and loads of great music too.

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Ulysses, Delmar and Pete have just escaped a chain gang and are high tailing it across the country to recover a fortune in hidden treasure. There is only one flaw in this otherwise faultless plan......they're clueless. 'O Brother Where Art Thou' is loosely based on Homer's Odyssey (when I say loose I mean like the jumper that you don't know whether to wear, or peg out as a tent) and is a rip-roaring comedy adventure, with all the quirky charm that you expect from the Coen brothers. The sound tra find out more...

An award-winning and arty biopic, adapted from his memoirs, of the great composer Dmitri Shostakovich, focusing on the period between the 30s and 60s and his deeply ambivalent relationship with Stalin. Worthy and with a resonant cinematic understanding of Shostakovich's opuses. find out more...

Set in a twenties New York nightclub, this highly stylish multi-million dollar movie tells the story of a young cornet player whose life is dramatically changed when he saves the life of gangster Dutch Schultz. Music is courtesy of many of the great jazz legends such as Duke Ellington. find out more...