find out more...

The Italian adventurer and libertine Giovanni Jacopo Casanova lived from 1725 to 1798, but in this six-part series Dennis Potter attempted to find a contemporary relevance through his central themes of sex and religion. He commented that Casanova "was concerned with religious and sexual freedom, and these are the things we have to address ourselves to now." Casanova was imprisoned in Venice in 1755, and Potter used that event as a central device, constantly inter-cutting to contrast Casanova's a find out more...

find out more...

As Season 4 begins, the Lannisters' hold on the Iron Throne remains intact in the wake of the Red Wedding slaughter that wiped out many of their Stark nemeses. But can they survive their own egos as well as new and ongoing threats? Meanwhile, an unbowed Stannis Baratheon continues to rebuild his army; the Lannister-loathing ‘Red Viper of Dorne,’ Oberyn Martell, arrives at King's Landing for Joffrey's wedding to Margaery Tyrell; Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons and unsullied forc find out more...

Bresson's subtle adaption of a Tolstoy story, 'The Forged Coupon', is a masterpiece of directorial understatement. The passing of a forged 500F note by two boys leads, unbeknownst to them, to the decline and fall of an innocent man. His descent into madness is as bleak a portrayal of moral conflict as you will see. find out more...

Victor Hugo's classic novel of a prisoner on the run gets a reworking by Josee Dayan in this 3 hour film version. The highlight of this film (other than the beautiful lack of overblown musical maladies) is the casting. Gerard Depardieu uses his ambiguous persona to great effect as Jean Valjean; the captivating Charlotte Gainsbourg as Fantine; an angelic Virginie Ledoyen as her orphaned daughter and the menacing urbanity of John Malkovich is excellently projected onto Valjean's nemesis Javert. As find out more...

Set against the backdrop of 19th century France, Les Misérables tells the story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption; a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit....but with over wrought songs. Ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, has been hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after he broke parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s young daughter, Cosette, the lives of all involved change forever. Another find out more...

An umpteenth adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel, with Liam Neeson taking the lead as hard-done by hero Valjean, unjustly imprisoned for 20 years before making his escape, and living a virtuous life under an assumed identity, before it becomes apparent that his past will forever come back to haunt him. Uma Thurman plays the beautiful, impoverished Fantine, whom Valjean decides to save from a life of vice. A competent but somewhat sanitised reworking of the classic tale. find out more...

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. find out more...

Dickens' classic tale of the young orphan boy, picking a pocket or two and struggling to survive in the seedy underbelly of 19th Century London is gloriously brought to life by Polanski. Oliver is a visual feast without doubt; the only question is quite why a director like Polanski has remained so rigidly within the original framework of the book, particularly when David Lean did such an exemplary adaptation over half a century earlier. find out more...