The collection opens with Len Lye's modernist abstraction ‘Tusalava’, which, heavily influenced by Maori and Aboriginal art, shares an interest in ‘primitive’ cultures that was typical of the Modernist movement of the time. It was almost refused a certificate by the puzzled British Board of Censors who suspected that the dancing abstract shapes might be about sex. Lye's own explanation was that it showed the beginnings of organic life. ‘Crossing the Great Sagrada’, is a lowbrow spoof on travel find out more...

This classic piece of early silent cinema is noted not merely for its dramatic camerawork and cast of thousands but also for its contribution as a cinematic template, particularly in the genre of horror. Set in 16th Century Prague, a monstrous creature of Jewish myth is unleashed by a Rabbi to save his people from anti-Semitic legislation; unfortunately for all concerned The Golem's taste for destruction is not sated by the demands of his master, and so begins an unstoppable rampage. find out more...

Pudovkin's account of the 1917 Revolution was commissioned as part of the celebrations to mark its 10th anniversary and this silent epic stands as an example of the grandiose nature of early Russian film-making. The spirit of the masses is represented by a single, proto-typical worker-hero, and his view of the revolution. find out more...

In this, Lang's final silent epic newly restored to its near original length, the legendary filmmaker spins a tale involving a wicked cartel of spies who co-opt an experimental mission to the moon in the hope of plundering its vast stores of gold. When the crew finally reach their destination, they find themselves stranded in a lunar labyrinth without walls where emotions run scattershot, and the new goal becomes survival. A modern Daedalus, Frau im Mond is as much a warning-sign against human h 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...

It wasn't until the crushing end of the Soviet regime that Bauer's work was rediscovered and celebrated. Although he made 80 films before his untimely death in 1917 only 20 or so have survived and this tape showcases three. His masterful use of deep-focus photography is demonstrated in Twilight of Woman's Soul (1913). After Death (1915) is an adaptation of Turgenev and displays the psychological hold that the dead have over the living (apparently one of Bauer's favorite themes). The final instal 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 genuine classic of cinema. One of the first sci-fi films ever made and still one of the most fascinating. Echoes of Lang's vision can be seen in almost every apocalyptic sci-fi film made since, especially the struggle of man to overcome the impersonality of machines. Superior to the colour remake, though the new soundtrack falls short of the mark. Turn the sound down and watch it like they did on its first release!

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Seminal vampire film, the first to be based upon the Bram Stoker tale. An estate agent's clerk from Bremen embarks on a journey to Orlock's castle, where a client of his resides. On arrival, the full horror of the inhabitants confront him. Wonderful imagery and direction. Imitated but never equalled. find out more...

The Soviet Revolution in all its glory as the events of Red October unfold on an epic scale. The storming of the Winter Palace in Leningrad is one of the great set pieces of cinema history. Eisenstien practicaly invented the art of editing and this is the movie in which he did it! Brilliant. find out more...