The 39 Steps, 1935. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft and Wylie Watson. SYNOPSIS: Wrongfully accused of the murder of a counterespionage agent, a man (Robert Donat) must go on the run to clear his name whilst preventing a spy ring from stealing top secret information. […]

Tressa Price selects her Five Essential British Romances of the Nineties and Noughties… 5. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001 dir, Sharon Maguire) Total escapist romance. Just imagine being torn between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger with an impeccable British accent, has to choose between her disreputable, unreliable and sexy boss Daniel […]

Gary Collinson selects his Five Essential Films of Alfred Hitchcock… Without question, legendary director Alfred Hitchcock is among the very best filmmakers in history, and in my opinion the greatest British directing talent of all time. The Master of Suspense enjoyed a long and hugely influential career across six decades, beginning in the silent era […]

Gary Collinson selects Five Essential Films of Takashi Miike… Cult Japanese director Takashi Miike is one of the most prolific filmmakers working today, with over seventy credits since his debut in 1991. Miike’s body of work is often violent, sexually perverse and bizarre, mixing elements of different genres to create his own distinct style, which […]

Titanic, 1997. Directed by James Cameron. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. SYNOPSIS: A wreck-salvaging bounty hunter finds not the Heart of the Ocean jewel but discovers an old lady, Rose (an excellent Gloria Stewart), who claims to have worn it in 1912. Through Rose’s own story of inter-class love severed by disaster, Brock connects […]

It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946. Directed by Frank Capra. Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. SYNOPSIS: On the verge of suicide after finding out he might be bankrupt, George Bailey is visited by guardian angel Clarence on a mission to save George’s life, thereby getting his angel wings. Clarence displays to George what […]

Nowhere Boy, 2009. Directed by Sam Taylor Wood. Starring Aaron Johnson, Kristen Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff. SYNOPSIS: This is the story of teenage John Lennon and his three loves – his music, his Mum, and his Aunt. The sign of a really good film is when you walk out of the cinema and into […]

Dorian Gray, 2009. Directed by Oliver Parker. Starring Ben Barnes and Colin Firth. SYNOPSIS: Think Peter Pan meets Dr Faustus – oh, and a painting – and a lot of maggots… Another devil and soul barter! Why is this absurd premise attractive and a plot of many stories? It’s set to feature in Terry Gilliam’s […]

Synedoche, New York, 2008. Written and Directed by Charlie Kaufman. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dianne Wiest, Tom Noonan and Hope Davis. SYNOPSIS: A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of […]

Santosh Sandhu profiles the career of silver-screen legend John Wayne and examines the influence of World War II on his body of work… John Wayne (1907-1979) was the very embodiment of everything America would like to be. Jingoistic, brave, forthright and a fierce defender of the American way of life. After shooting to fame playing […]