A beautifully made costume drama set in rural Yorkshire 1920. Two returning servicemen, each in their own way shattered by their experiences, try to rebuild their lives. Intelligent, charming and a pleasure to see. find out more...

Elmer Gantry is a man on a mission, a mission from God, but behind the raging sermons of fire and brimstone there lurks a man whose conscience has long ago deserted him. A hustler par excellence Elmer has no qualms about what he takes and who he may hurt, but when an old flame re-enters his life the carefully constructed world he has created starts to dramatically fall apart. Elmer Gantry is a powerhouse performance from Burt Lancaster who deservedly won an Oscar in a role of awesome intensit find out more...

The object of this massive tribute died as he had always lived, without wealth, without property, without official title or office. Mahatma Gandhi was not the commander of armies, nor the ruler of vast lands, he could not boast any scientific achievement or artistic gift, yet men, governments, dignitaries from all over the world, have joined hands today to pay homage to the little brown man in the loin cloth who led his country to freedom. This quote is from his funeral, one of the greatest s find out more...

Schoolteacher John Scopes is placed under close arrest for advocating Darwin's theory of evolution to his pupils in violation of a stifling Tennessee law banning anything that 'denies the divine creation of man as taught by the Bible'. The case is taken up by a cynical newspaper-man who takes an interest when the champion of the Fundamentalists and three-time presidential candidate is named prosecutor. A fascinating and absorbing dramatisation of the famous 1925 'Monkey Trial'. find out more...

'Ordet' is the story of religious rural families in 1920s West Jutland divided internally, and between each other, by different interpretations of their faith. Devout Morten has three sons, one an atheist, one who believes he is Jesus Christ and one who would like to be married, but whose prospective father-in-law objects to his sect. It's going to take a miracle to heal these differences... find out more...

Astonishingly rich and beautiful film, rightly acclaimed as one of the finest examples of Chinese cinema. A young girl becomes the fourth wife of a powerful clan chief and finds that life revolves around the jealousies of her rivals. A poignant study of one woman's fate under feudalism. find out more...

Adapted from a Novokshenov novel this semi-ethnographic, semi-polemical epic follows a Mongol uprising against British occupiers not long after the communist revolution in Russia. When a young herdsman is captured by the British a twist of fate leads them to believe he is a descendant of Genghis Khan and, hoping that such a presence will pacify the people, he is dully installed as a puppet leader. This as you might expect turns out to be a terrible error of judgement on the part of the interlope find out more...

Set in Shanghai during the Chinese Revolution, the storyline explores the relationship between a missionary, Megan, and a Chinese warlord, General Yen. It's refreshing to see Capra tackling something more alien to him than the struggles of idealistic American men and he seems to have taken a healthy interest in a culture that at the time was still shrouded in mystery and secrecy. The style of the film is infused with the Orient, from its zen-like mise en scene to the director's inclusion of c find out more...

Flighty upper class Londoner Kitty is desperate to escape her repressive family life and accepts the marriage proposal of uptight Shanghai based bacteriologist Walter. Quickly bored she instigates her husband's hatred by having an affair with promiscuous diplomat Charlie and, as if in revenge, Walter drags her off to work in a mountainous cholera infected province in rural China. Some couples grew apart, some together....highly recommended. find out more...

Much vaunted tale of mens' greed; sacrificing family, friends and principles to gain profit in the early years of the 20th Century. Danny Day Lewis is superb, as always, as the sinister Daniel Plainview. find out more...