A young man of just 22, dressed in a black beret and a dark narrow suit, is on an aeroplane flying from St Petersburg to Paris. It is 1961 and Rudolf Nureyev, not yet the imperious figure of legend, is a member of the world-renowned Kirov Ballet Company, travelling for the first time outside the Soviet Union. Parisian life delights Nureyev and the young dancer is eager to consume all the culture, art and music the dazzling city has to offer. But the KGB officers who watch his every move become increasingly suspicious of his behaviour and his friendship with the young Parisienne Clara Saint. When they finally confront Nureyev with a shocking demand, he is forced to make a heart-breaking decision, one that may change the course of his life forever and put his family and friends in terrible danger. From Nureyev's poverty-stricken childhood in the Soviet city of Ufa, to his blossoming as a student dancer in Leningrad, to his arrival at the epicentre of western culture in Paris in the early 1960s and a nail-biting stand-off at the Le Bourget airport, THE WHITE CROW is the true story of an incredible journey by a unique artist who transformed the world of ballet forever. Features: Interview with Ralph Fiennes and Oleg Ivenko National Ballet Featurette
Experience The Fantastic! You've visited lands where a Cyclops roams (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) skeletons duel (Jason and the Argonauts) and cowboys lasso dinosaurs (The Valley of Gwangi). They are the worlds of Ray Harryhausen the stop motion effects master who creates another dazzling realm in Clash of the Titans. Olympian gods mythological monsters and heroic mortals populate this imaginative spectacle. Harry Haml
Digitally Re-mastered for the very first time! Based on Evelyn Waugh's classic novel Jeremy Irons stars as Charles Ryder a disillusioned army captain who is moved to reflect on his languid days in the enchanted castle that was Brideshead home of the aristocratic Marchmain family whose acquaintance Charles made in the company of Oxford classmate the charming wild-child Sebastian. Anthony Andrews co-stars as the doomed Sebastian. Sebastian takes Charles under his wing but vows early on that he is not going to let Charles get mixed up with his family. But mixed up Charles gets! He becomes a friend and confidante not to mention a lover to Sebastian's sister Julia (Diana Quick). Meanwhile the self-destructive Sebastian's life spirals out of control. Brideshead Revisited boasts a distinguished ensemble cast including Laurence Olivier in his Emmy Award-winning role as the exiled Lord Merchmain Claire Bloom as Lady Merchmain and the magnificent John Gielgud as Charle's estranged father. Grand locations and a haunting musical score make this a memorable revisit of an irretrievable bygone era. Episodes comprise: 1. Et In Arcadia Ego 2. Home And Abroad 3. The Bleak Light Of Day 4. Sebastian Against The World 5. A Blow Upon A Bruise 6. Julia 7. The Unseen Hook 8. Brideshead Deserted 9. Orphans Of The Storm 10. A Twitch Upon A Thread 11. Brideshead Revisited
A televisual milestone and the benchmark for all war documentaries that followed, The World at War presents the story of World War Two from its beginnings in Hitler's pre-war Germany to its horrific climax at Hiroshima. Made with the full co-operation of the Imperial War Museum and narrated by Laurence Olivier, this powerful twenty-six part series combines eyewitness testimony with rare archive footage to tell the unforgettable story of the greatest conflict the world has ever known. A brand-new High Definition restoration, this is The World at War as it is meant to be seen in its original full screen format with the maximum picture area from the original film materials now visible onscreen. SPECIAL FEATURES: All eight supplementary documentaries made by the World at War production team Making of documentaries Experiences of War: unseen and extended interviews Dolby 5.1 mix (as well as original Mono audio) Image Gallery
Despite its manipulative grandiosity, this film is completely irresistible, for several reasons: it recounts the greatest air battle in history, creating the greatest aerial battle scenes in film history; it has a terrific cast (Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curt Jurgens, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Patrick, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Robert Shaw, Patrick Wymark and Edward Fox); and it's technically very well made, thanks to the Bond team of producer Harry Saltzman and director Guy Hamilton and the great cinematographer Freddie Young. --Bill Desowitz
Franco Zeffirelli's epic TV retelling of Jesus' life was filmed in Morocco and Tunisia with an all-star cast, including Robert Powell in the lead role. The script, co-written by renowned author Anthony Burgess, attempts to remain faithful to its source by using material from all four Gospels.
This massive 1977 adaptation by director Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) of Cornelius Ryan's novel features an all-star cast in an epic rendering of a daring but ultimately disastrous raid behind enemy lines in Holland during the Second World War. A lengthy and exhaustive look at the mechanics of warfare and the price and futility of war, the film is almost too large for its aims but manages to be both picaresque and affecting, particularly in the performance of James Caan. The impressive cast includes Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde, Sean Connery, and Liv Ullmann among others. While not a classic war film, it nevertheless manages to be a consistently interesting and exciting adventure. --Robert Lane, Amazon.com
In New York City the brother of infamous Nazi war criminal Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier) is killed in a car accident. Shortly thereafter members of a covert US government group called 'The Division' who are investigating the incident begin to be murdered one by one. When Doc Levy (Roy Scheider) a 'Division' agent is the latest to be attacked his brother Babe (Dustin Hoffman) witnesses his death and unwittingly becomes the pawn in a deadly game in which former SS dentist
His story will make you cry. His music will make you sing. His triumph will make you cheer. Following in the family tradition maintained by his proud Orthodox father Yussel Rabinovitch (Neil Diamond) is the latest Cantor of his local synagogue. Blessed with a beautiful singing voice and with a loving wife at his side Yussel's life seems to be mapped out in front of him. But the restrictions of religious music can't satisfy his secret craving for life as a jazz singer. When his father (Laurence Olivier) discovers that Yussel has been moonlighting with a Harlem soul group the confrontation that follows leads Yussel to leave his family behind to seek a new life as a musician in California. He finds success and a new love but at a cost: cut off from his family Yussel still cannot find happiness. Has he strayed too far from his roots and will his family ever be willing to accept his new life?
The World At War: The Ultimate Restored Edition (11 Discs)
For a limited time only, Universal Pictures are re-releasing five of their most beloved Cinema Classics in cinemas around the UK. The following films will be released: Spartacus, Blues Brothers, Scar Face, The Thing and Animal House.
When this epic series was first broadcast in 1973 it redefined the gold standard for television documentary; it remains the benchmark by which all factual programming must judge itself. Originally shown as 26 one-hour programmes, The World at War set out to tell the story of the Second World War through the testimony of key participants. The result is a unique and unrepeatable event, since many of the eyewitnesses captured on film did not have long left to live. Each hour-long programme is carefully structured to focus on a key theme or campaign, from the rise of Nazi Germany to Hitler's downfall and the onset of the Cold War. There are no academic "talking heads" here to spell out an official version of history; the narration, delivered with wonderful gravitas by Sir Laurence Olivier, is kept to a minimum. The show's great coup was to allow the participants to speak for themselves. Painstaking research in the archives of the Imperial War Museum also unearthed a vast quantity of newsreel footage, including on occasion the cameraman's original raw rushes which present an unvarnished and never-before-seen picture of important events. Carl Davis' portentous main title theme and score underlines the grand scale of the enterprise. The original 26 episodes were supplemented three years later by six special programmes (narrated by Eric Porter), bringing the total running-time to a truly epic 32 hours. --Mark Walker
Paul (Faulkner), who goes from the most infamous persecutor of Christians to Christ's most influential apostle, is spending his last days in a dark and bleak prison cell awaiting execution by Emperor Nero. Luke(Caviezel), his friend and physician, risks his life when he ventures into Rome to visit him. Paul is under the watchful eye of Mauritius (Martinez), the prisons prefect, who seeks to understand how this broken old man can pose such a threat. But before Paul's death sentence can be enacted, Luke resolves to write another book, one that details the beginnings of The Way and the birth of what will come to be known as the church. Their faith challenged an empire. But their words changed the world.
This is a spectacular retelling of a true story that shows courage at its inspiring best. Few defining moments can change the outcome of war; but when the outnumbered Royal Air Force defied unsurmountable odds in engaging the German Luftwaffe they may well have altered the course of history!
Bursting onto the scene, wide-eyed and keen, your first time with the boys was Hard Love. For a second you were In Too Deep - you dallied with the American Boy, travelling the Pacific Rim with Bad Romance on your tail. Now out of your teens, your Heroes behind you, the future is yours. Heaven Can Wait. Come celebrate 20 years of Boys on Film with the finest of gay short cinema for your eyes only. On the cusp of adulthood, the world's longest running short film series is only getting started. Featuring over two hours of the best short films from around the world including; - Sleepover - Just Me - Mine - Don t Blame Jack - Foreign Lovers - Mankind - Isha - RUOK - The World In Your Window
""Why I can smile and murder while I smile And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart And wet my cheeks with artificial tears And frame my face to all occasions..."" Soon after Edward IV is crowned King his brother Richard a hunchback twisted in mind as well as body starts scheming for the throne of England. He woos and wins Lady Anne and then poisons Edward's mind against their brother Clarence later organising his death. But even after his coronation
A French woman is courted by a Swedish co-worker even though she is still mourning over the death of her husband three years earlier.
Robustly entertaining and bracingly sinister, The Boys from Brazil stars Gregory Peck as the infamous Dr Josef Mengele, the former Nazi chief who intends to resurrect the Führer and create a Fourth Reich through genetic experiments that commence with the assassination of some 94 fathers. Elderly Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier, in an Oscar-nominated performance) is tipped to the plot, but his efforts to expose Peck (fiendishly cast against type) are thwarted by a set of menacing triplets played by Jeremy Black. Back in 1978, The Boys from Brazil (adapted from Ira Levin's novel) was an incalculably tense, straight-faced entertainment whose lack of irony allowed the viewer to indulge the film's outrageous premise without moral offence. But in view of the scientific advancements made since the release of the film, it's now a cautionary tale, and all the more compelling for being so. Jerry Goldsmith's richly conceived, Oscar-nominated score--replete with echoes of Mahler and Strauss--reinforces this impression.--Kevin Mulhall
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