A respectable, sincere film of Robert Bolt's literate play, with Scofield as Sir Thomas More, endorsing the divine right of the Pope over and above his King, Henry VIII, who wishes to divorce Katherine Of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. Watch out for Orson Welles in a marvellous cameo as Cardinal Wolsey. The film won 6 Oscars.
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BRIGHTON ROCK (1947)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Brilliant noirish adaptation of Graham Greene's gritty novel with Attenborough superb as the psychopathic Pinky, a small time gangster and violent hood, who marries a witness to one of his crimes to keep her quiet. Disturbingly good.
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DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
Certification15 Our Rating
David Lean's epic romance set against the turbulant backdrop of the Russian revolution. One man's struggle for moral political and personal survival amidst the complex web of intrigue and tangled loyalties that accompanied the fall of the Tsar.
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DON'T LOOK NOW (1973)
Certification15 Our Rating
A father is haunted by the death of his young child. Omens point to disaster and hallucinations predict the future as this wonderful atmospheric film moves to its disturbing climax. Shot in the beautiful city of Venice and based on the book by Daphne du Maurier.
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FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967)
CertificationU Our Rating
Thomas Hardy's classic tale of a rural landowner chased by three men, a swashbuckling army womaniser, a loyal shepherd and a staid middle-aged bachelor, and her making a choice she lives to regret. Nicolas Roeg's beautiful cinematography of the West Country dominates the film.
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946)
CertificationPG Our Rating
David Lean's much-acclaimed production of the gloomy Dickens classic. Briefly, a young boy befriends an escaped convict who later repays him anonymously, creating a bond which the now upwardly-mobile youngster could well do without...an interesting probe of Victorian class structure. Visually flawless, perfectly paced, it's a masterpiece.
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OLIVER TWIST (1948)
CertificationU Our Rating
One of two classic Lean adaptations of Charles Dickens. From the opening shot of Oliver's mother struggling through the snow to reach the workhouse. The film brilliantly recreates the feeling of poverty-stricken Victorian England. Look out in particular for Alec Guinness' superb performance as Fagin.
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THE 39 STEPS (1935)
CertificationU Our Rating
The original and the best screen adaptation of John Buchan's jingoistic thriller of German plots and dashing Englishmen. Considered by the director as one of his very best this launched the theme of the innocent man on the run from both the law and the villians. Excellent.
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THE CRUEL SEA (1952)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Jack Hawkins gives perhaps his best performance as captain of a British corvette during the Second World War. Inexperienced young men face two enemies, the Atlantic and the U-boats, but the more deadly one is "The Cruel Sea". Adapted from Nicholas Montsarrat's novel and shot in a semi-documentary style.
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THE THIRD MAN (1949)
CertificationPG Our Rating
The Graham Greene story of black-marketeer Harry Lime, who "dies" and then apparently comes back to life. A totally compelling thriller, set against a backdrop of shattered post-war Vienna and haunted by an evocative zither score.
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