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...

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...

Alexandre Dumas' celebrated book recounts the adventures of Edmond Dantès, a fabulously wealthy 19th-century French aristocrat, whose charm and generosity hides an obsessive desire for revenge against those who betrayed him many years earlier. This French production has the distinction of being the first filmed version of the newly restored unabridged version of Dumas' classic, and is a lavish recreation of the epic novel. find out more...