Award wining documentary ‘Song of Ceylon’, is a lyrical beauty, but owes its enduring charm to its anachronistic notions of Empire and Englishness. ‘Bread’ is a slice of realism that looks at hunger in Britain. ‘Beyond This Open Road’ shows the urban populace journeying into the countryside during their weekends away from work; the imagery and utopian aesthetic are reminiscent of the work of Leni Riefenstahl. ‘Coal Face’ is an experiment in realism that focuses on the importance of coal mini find out more...

The term 'free cinema' was coined by critic and filmmaker Lindsay Anderson in early 1956 when he, Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson and Lorenza Mazzetti showed a programme of their short films at the National Film Theatre. Although the name was intended only for that screening, it proved so successful that five more programmes were shown under the same banner between 1956 and 1959. find out more...

The term 'free cinema' was coined by critic and filmmaker Lindsay Anderson in early 1956 when he, Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson and Lorenza Mazzetti showed a programme of their short films at the National Film Theatre. Although the name was intended only for that screening, it proved so successful that five more programmes were shown under the same banner between 1956 and 1959. find out more...

The term 'free cinema' was coined by critic and filmmaker Lindsay Anderson in early 1956 when he, Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson and Lorenza Mazzetti showed a programme of their short films at the National Film Theatre. Although the name was intended only for that screening, it proved so successful that five more programmes were shown under the same banner between 1956 and 1959. 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...

Despite not living to his 30th birthday, Jean Vigo is still considered one of the great masters of French cinema. He only made 4 films and all of them are contained here, beautifully restored and with plenty of extras, including a feature length documentary on the director. L'Atlante tells the story of two newly weds living on board a barge on the Seine, Zero de Conduite contains a satirical tale of student revolt, A Propos de Nice is a documentary about the French coastal town, and Taris cinegr find out more...

'La Jetee' is a milestone in cinematic history, and the inspiration behind Hollywood hit '12 Monkeys'. This classic sci-fi short takes one man on a terrifying journey from the post-apocalyptic world he inhabits, back to his childhood and his one distant memory; the face of a woman at the end of a pier. Stunning. find out more...

A truly excellent documentary regarding the groundbreaking work of Georges Melies who (along with the Lumiere Brothers) provided early cinema with some of its most memorable images. Hollywood contempories like Spielberg and that arse George Lucas are on hand to throw in their two cents, but the film is really about the obsessive nature of a director who played the parts of writer, special effects creator, hand-tinter, backdrop artist, costumier and probably caterer too. A true visionary. The DVD find out more...

A disturbing documentary account of the 1934 Nuremberg rally, portraying Hitler in near godlike terms. So powerful was the imagery and effect of this film that it was banned for many years after WW2. Today too it leaves a chilling effect even after all those years. find out more...

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse's finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko, played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine, who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo's very modern post-war Ginza district. Sly, resourceful, but trapped, Keiko comes to embody the conflicts and struggles of a woman trying to establish her independence in a male-dominated society. A profoundly moving masterpiece. find out more...