Judi Dench
Description
Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson star in this production of one of the great classics of post-war British drama. The play's protagonist is Jimmy Porter, who, as a child, watched his father die poor and alone and has grown up to be an angry young man who despises the establishment and vents his bitterness and frustration on his wife and her upper-class background. The playwright himself hailed Kenneth Branagh as "the best Jimmy Porter ever." Emma...
Description
Barbara is a cynical schoolteacher who is close to retirement. Her only means of taking the edge off her desperate loneliness is writing in her journal. Sheba is a younger, attractive woman, who joins the faculty as an art teacher. Barbara watches her from afar and has nothing but caustic things to say in her diary. Barbara finds herself reaching out to Sheba. Sheba responds by inviting her to dinner at her house to meet Sheba's lecturer husband and...
Author
Description
British Library and the Royal Shakespeare Company present twenty live productions of William Shakespeare's most celebrated works. Comprised of several famous recordings from the latter half of the 20th century, this program includes snippets from Romeo and Juliet, War of the Roses, King Lear, and Hamlet.
Description
The documentary tells the story of a group of children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia who were fortunate enough to escape the unfathomable horror of the genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people during WWII. They were saved by the Kindertransport, which took 10,000 children to the safety of England in the late 1930s. (The United States government, which could have sponsored a similar program, declined to do so.) Assuming that the broad...
5) Skyfall
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Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
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An inksetter in New York, Quoyle returns to his family's longtime home, a small fishing town in Newfoundland, with his young daughter, after a traumatizing experience with her mother, who sold her to an illegal adoption agency. Though Quoyle has had little success thus far in life, his shipping news column in the local newspaper finds an audience, and his experiences in the town begin to change his life.
8) Belfast
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It was 1969, and in his mixed, working-class Ireland neighborhood, young Buddy (Jude Hill) at least knew no shortage of indulgent infection from his mom (Catriona Balfe) and grandparents (Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds). However, the rising of the Troubles looked to splinter life in his community--and push his oft-absent dad (Jamie Dornan) into taking a stand.
10) Nine
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With only a week left before shooting begins on the filming of his latest movie, world famous film director Guido Contini is desperately searching for a way to overcome his creative block. Escaping to a seaside resort, he attempts to restore the equilibrium to his personal and professional existence by drawing inspiration from the women in his life.
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A 1979 videotaped version of Trevor Nunn's Royal Shakespeare Company of Macbeth in which Lady Macbeth, after a trio of witches prophesy Macbeth's ascension to the throne, pushes her husband into a murderous spree. But once crowned king of Scotland, Macbeth sees ghastly visions, fueled by guilt and a new prophecy, that ensure his ultimate downfall.
12) Philomena
Description
"Judi Dench stars in the story of Philomena Lee, mother to a boy conceived out of wedlock and given up for adoption. Nearly 50 years later, Philomena meets Martin Sixsmith, a former BBC reporter looking for his next big story. Together, they embark on a journey to locate her long lost son. As the pieces of the puzzle come together, the unlikely travel companions form a comic and heartwarming friendship."--Container
Description
Algernon is a gentleman from a wealthy family. Algernon's close friend Jack has a ward, Cecily. Both Algernon and Jack have created alter egos to make life more interesting. Algernon arrives for a weekend visit in the country posing as Earnest. Having heard of Earnest's misadventures, Cicely has developed an infatuation with the rogue, and Algernon's impersonation of him works famously on Cicely. Meanwhile, Algernon's cousin, Gwendolyn, arrives for...
Description
In the summer of 1956, 23-year-old Colin Clark, determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, the film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. When his diary account was published, one week was missing. This is the story of that week: an idyll in which he escorted a Monroe desperate to get away from Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work.
16) Henry V
Description
"Prince Hal" has ascended to the throne of England. He proceeds to assert his hereditary claim to the throne of France, gathers an army and embarks on a course that will lead to one of England's greatest battlefield triumphs--the bloody Battle of Agincourt--and forever change the face of Europe. King Henry V unites his people, deals justly with traitors, leads his soldiers to victory, and in the end ensures the peace by marrying the French princess...