Dr Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster. What distinguishes the film is less its horror content, which is admittedly low, than the macabre humour and sense of parody. Strong on atmosphere, Gothic sets and expressionist c find out more...

A landmark in the history of the cinema; it was ranked Number 1 in the American Film Institute's 100 greatest films of all time in two polls (1998 and 2007) of more than 1,500 film industry movers and shakers and again by UK directors in a BFI poll. "Citizen Kane" narrates the rise and fall of a newspaper tycoon driven by a childhood obssession and is loosely based round the life of William Randolph Hurst, who tried to have it banned, but incorporates elements from the lives of other fat cats il find out more...

The BFI continues its successful strand of Archive Television releases with Ken Russell's classic documentary Elgar, which was first shown in 1962 as the 100th programme in the BBC's Monitor series. This partly dramatised account of the life of composer Sir Edward Elgar includes footage of Elgar at the Three Choirs Festival and a recording of the opening of Abbey Road Studios when 'Land Of Hope And Glory' was played. find out more...

This comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge. Jean Renoir's Technicolour masterpiece is a wonderful homage to fin de siecle Paris, drawing from the contemporary cafe culture of 1950s Paris and featuring some of the luminaries from that time including Edith Piaf and Patachou. This remastered version is available on both DVD and Bluray. 

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'High Noon' works on many levels; the second-to-none screenplay, the subtle direction, the clock, Gary Cooper's Oscar-winning performance... It's about a small town sheriff who must basically stand alone to defend the people from a wild gang of outlaws, who have just been let out of jail and will arrive on the noon train. Although he does not have to, and the town does not deserve saving, Cooper decides that he will do the job that he was hired to do. A classic amongst Westerns, it strips the ge find out more...

Way ahead of its time, this is a Western with a difference! There's gun-totting women (including the brilliant Joan Crawford) fighting over the men that they love and leading the men into action. Then there's the anaemic looking Sterling Hayden as the male lead in this classic that tramples stereotypes with a memorable result! The 'Lie to me...' speech is guaranteed to give you chills. find out more...

This masterpiece is understandably on many people's all time favourite list. The lives of six Parisians are intertwined against the backdrop of the early-19th Century popular theatre and underworld, with the film a multi-layered meditation on the nature of performance. Flawlessly executed and cast. find out more...

After Renoir's reluctant addition of a couple of titles to satisfy the producers desire to expand to feature length, this masterpiece was finally released in 1946. On an idyllic country picnic, a young girl briefly leaves her family and fiance and succumbs to an all-too-brief romance. The careful reconstruction of period (around 1860) is enhanced by a typically touching generosity towards the characters and an aching, poignant sense of love lost, but never forgotten. And, as always in Renoir, find out more...

One of the finest of the genre, this classic western follows two men whose initial contempt for each other's methods, one a hard man rancher, the other a naively honest lawyer, develops into respect when faced with the the town's local hoodlum. Tense, absorbing and not without wit. Superb. find out more...