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 find out more...

English General Charles George Gordon, a devout Christian, is appointed military governor of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by Prime Minister Gladstone. Ordered to evacuate Egyptians from the Sudan, General Gordon stays on to protect the people of Khartoum, who are under threat of being conquered by Mohammed Ahmed el Mahdi, "the Expected One," the head of the Muslim forces. An out-and-out action spectacle sealed with stunning cinematography. find out more...

Manipulative English mercenary Sir William Walker is posted to a Portuguese colony in the Caribbean and, once there, he uses his skills to engineer a slave revolt as part of his calculated plans for the English to seize control. 'Queimada' is a fine example of Pontecorvo's unique filmmaking talent and Brando's portrayal of a man who is both a gentleman and a scoundrel, a revolutionary and a colonialist, ranks amongst his best performances. Ennio Morricone's haunting music underscores a very powe find out more...

Among the lavish sets one can detect a plot in which one of Nero's Roman commanders falls in love with a Christian girl and they both get thrown to the lions. Ustinov barks, foams at the mouth, sets fire to the eternal city, and steals the show. Rivetting acting in one of the last great cinema epics.

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Adapted from a Novokshenov novel this semi-ethnographic, semi-polemical epic follows a Mongol uprising against British occupiers not long after the communist revolution in Russia. When a young herdsman is captured by the British a twist of fate leads them to believe he is a descendant of Genghis Khan and, hoping that such a presence will pacify the people, he is dully installed as a puppet leader. This as you might expect turns out to be a terrible error of judgement on the part of the interlope find out more...

A 1960s indictment of both war and 19th Century British imperialism which caricatures the aristocracy as blood-thirsty snobs and the workers as cap doffing morons, a blend that led to disaster. A well researched, thought provoking drama starring just about any British thespian who wanted a job. Included on the DVD is the 1912 silent version of the Charge of the Light Brigade, from the studio of Thomas Edison. find out more...

Newly restored to its original splendour, this is a definitive Hollywood epic that charts the intrigues surrounding the Imperial throne, held by Marcus Aurelius and coveted by the corrupt Commodus, that led to the Romans' downfall at the hands of the Barbarians. Superbly portrayed, a cast of thousands, spectacular battle scenes, while La Loren provides the passion. Stunning sets and a stirring score.

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Visually stunning biopic of Napoleon tracing his rise to power after exile in Elba and culminating in defeat by Wellington at Waterloo, and taking in along the way the consequences of the ravages of war on the common people. Aesthetically and technically impressive, though historically debatable. find out more...

The good old English upper-lip is presented as a small band of squaddies face insurmountable odds against thousands of screaming darkies in a further attempt to paint the world map red. Seen "Custer's Last Stand" Mr Botha? Now try this for size. find out more...