Derek Jacobi
Author
Description
"When Paris of Troy fell in love with Helen of Sparta and took her to his homeland, the princes of Greece launched a fleet of a thousand ships filled with armed men to bring her back. Led by Helen's brother-in-law, Agamemnon, this immense force would besiege Troy for 10 years in a staggering effort to rescue the princess. The Iliad is the story of Achilles, the greatest warrior of this decade-long war, and his desperate but ultimately futile battle...
2) Hamlet
Description
Presents a dramatization of William Shakespeare's play in which a Danish prince avenges the murder of his father, the king, by killing his uncle Claudius who murdered the king, usurped the throne, and married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Hamlet, considered the most complex of all Shakespeare's characters, examines the fundamental issues of justice, guilt and death.
5) Hamlet
Description
In this first-ever full-text film of William Shakespeare's work, the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
6) Richard II
Description
A dramatization of Shakespeare's play, the story of a rebellion against the corrupt Richard II.
Description
Nearly a thousand miles away from their beloved Moscow, three sisters live in virtual exile. Olga attempts to support her family and home that is the sole legacy from their late father. Masha finds relief from an empty marriage by being involved with a passionate young colonel. Irina wills herself to return the affections of an ardent suitor in the hope that he will whisk her off to the city. Sift through the debris of their shattered dreams on the...
12) The Civil War
Description
An epic documentary bringing life to America's most destructive - and defining - conflict. Here is the saga of celebrated generals and the ordinary soldiers. A heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one again.
Description
Vampire heroine Selene continues the saga of war between the aristocratic Death Dealers and the barbaric Lycans. The film traces the beginnings of the ancient feud between the two tribes. Selene and her love Michael, the lycan hybrid, try to unlock the secrets of their bloodlines. The tale of action, intrigue and forbidden love takes them into the battle to end all wars as the immortals must finally face their retribution.
14) I, Claudius
Description
A dramatization of Robert Graves' version of the times of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Claudius told through the dying Claudius as he sets down the history of his family.
15) Anonymous
Description
Was Shakespeare a fraud? Who really wrote about cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power of the throne? Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, intrigue and suspense advance the theory that it was really Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays.
Description
"The King's Speech" presents a sideways glance at a crucial period in 20th-century history--as the monumentally awkward Prince Albert, or Bertie, becomes King George VI unexpectedly in 1936 when his older brother Edward VIII abdicates to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. In imperial Britain between the wars, that was problem enough, but Bertie suffered from a chronic stammer that made his public appearances painful for everyone. In an age of...
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.
18) Cinderella
Description
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.
19) 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...
20) Gladiator
Description
When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor's corrupt son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.