London, 1818; the young Romantic poet John Keats begins an unlikely three year romance with chic urbanite neighbour Fanny, an affair cut short by his premature illness and death.
A superbly made interpretation of love and its rendition through poetry.
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COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY (2009)
Certification15 Our Rating
Picking up pretty much from where 'Coco Before Chanel' finished, this film explores the relationship between the French fashion icon and the radical Russian-born composer. Having initially met at a premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, their relationship is rekindled seven years later. By now, Chanel is rich and respected, but Stravinsky is living in exile as a penniless refugee. As Chanel begins creating her iconic perfume No5 Stravinsky moves into her villa along with his children and c
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DE-LOVELY (2004)
Certification12 Our Rating
Kline and Judd combine well in this delightful homage to the life and times of Cole and Linda Porter, man and wife, composer and muse, a couple who led a life of glamour and indulged eccentricity. There's no shortage of the man's music, which is unfortunately sometimes murdered by using a series of unsuitable singers; "It's De-Lovely" by Robbie Williams, "Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)" by Alanis Morissette, "Begin The Beguine" by Sheryl Crow, "Let's Misbehave" by Elvis Costello, "Be a Clown"
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EL CID (1961)
CertificationPG Our Rating
One of the very finest epics produced, equally impressive in terms of script and spectacle. Heston is aptly heroic as the 11th Century patriot destined to die in the fight to evict the Moors from Spain, Mann's direction is stately and thrilling and Miklos Rosza's superb score perfectly complements the crisp and simple widescreen images. Sobriety and restraint, in fact, are perhaps the keynotes of the film's success, with the result that a potentially risible finale, in which Cid's corpse is born
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HENRY VIII (2004)
Certification12 Our Rating
From the moment Henry Tudor casts aside his faithful wife Katherine of Aragon for the bewitching and determined Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter) he sets himself on course for a series of disastrous marriages. Violent conflict, both within the population and the church, left England reeling while its complex and charismatic King turned from handsome playboy to a bitter invalid desperate for a son and heir to the throne.
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HER MAJESTY MRS BROWN (1997)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Superb drama with a stunning performance from Judi Dench as Queen Victoria. Consumed with grief, after the death of Prince Albert, the arrival of John Brown, Albert's fiery former servant, shakes the Queen from her melancholy and gives her a new lease of life, but feathers are ruffled within the palace as a touching friendship develops tentatively between the two. As public feeling turns against the monarch, the pressure falls squarely on Brown's shoulders, turning the proud, strong Scotsman int
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LA REINE MARGOT (1994)
Certification18 Our Rating
Centred on the intrigues leading up to and following the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572, this historical drama begins with the arranged, loveless wedding of the Roman Catholic Marguerite de Valois, sister to the eccentric King Charles IX and daughter of the scheming Catherine de Medici, and the Huguenot Henri de Navarre. Despite Catherine's hope that the marriage may unite France, the mutual hatred felt by Catholics and Protestants soon degenerates into carnage and Margot, who has learned
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LADY JANE (1985)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Jane of Suffolk, a studious young girl, is married off to the feckless Duke of Guilford for political reasons. The throne must remain Protestant and the ruling faction must retain its power, so she found herself forced unwillingly on to the throne for nine days. An English costume drama of the finest pedigree.
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NAPOLEON (DISC 1): PART 1 A RISING FORCE / PART 2 AN ALL CONQUERING EMPEROR (2002)
Certification15 Our Rating
The first half of an exhaustive and lush dramatisation of Napoleon Bonaparte, from ambitious Corsican soldier at the end of the 18th Century, to his imprisonment on the Island of St Helena by the British, less than twenty years later. If anything "Napoleon" is almost overly dramatic, but it's still an enthralling look at the great man, both publicly and privately, his military achievements, and the turning of a divided France into the most powerful nation in the Western world.
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NAPOLEON (DISC 2): PART 3 A TIME OF CONFLICT / PART 4 A FALL FROM GRACE (2002)
Certification15 Our Rating
The second half of an exhaustive and lush dramatisation of Napoleon Bonaparte, from ambitious Corsican soldier at the end of the 18th Century, to his imprisonment on the Island of St Helena by the British, less than twenty years later. If anything "Napoleon" is almost overly dramatic, but it's still an enthralling look at the great man, both publicly and privately, his military achievements, and the turning of a divided France into the most powerful nation in the Western world.
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