Adapted from the classic, absurdist, anti-war novel by Joseph Heller. "Catch-22" is the story of Yossarian, a pilot who trys to opt out of flying bombing missions by being declared insane, the catch being that anyone trying to avoid bombing missions by being insane must be sane. This dark classic catches much of the flavour of the book, the insanity, the corruption and the absurdity of war. Think MASH, but non-linear - flawed but awesome. find out more...

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant to rehearse in Sils Maria; a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal is to take find out more...

A retired American academic lives a quiet, ordered and repressed existence in a beautiful old Italian mansion, but this façade of tranquillity swiftly collapses when a decadent aristocratic family rent the apartment above, their lascivious lifestyle laying bare the torment that lurks beneath his exterior. 'The Conversation Piece' is a dark head trip of a journey, a claustrophobic and sexually charged drama heavy with the scent of irretreviably damaged lives. find out more...

A father is haunted by the death of his young child. Omens point to disaster and hallucinations predict the future as this wonderful atmospheric film moves to its disturbing climax. Shot in the beautiful city of Venice and based on the book by Daphne du Maurier.

find out more...

Told partially in flashback we learn of a married Japanese man, Kengo, who is sent to manage forests in Indochina, during WW2. Here he meets a young typist, Yukiko, who falls hopelessly in love with him. Despite his promises when he returns to Tokyo it is to his wife that does so and he continues having heartless affairs, while Yukiko is forced to become the mistress of a GI and then a rich businessman, anything to survive. find out more...

The last in Pasolini's trilogy, after 'The Decameron' and 'The Canterbury Tales', is a series of interlinked tales from the ancient Middle Eastern classic. 'Arabian Nights' is a truly lush and lusty version of the original folk stories revolving around slaves, kings, demons, love, betrayal, loss and appeasement. find out more...

Adapted from Zola's novel, this powerful tale concerns a triangle of love and murder in which a train driver becomes passionately involved with a femme fatale. With its images of trains and railways as symbols of human destiny this is a visually arresting film; Gallic and tragic. find out more...

The post-WW2 struggles of four fading Japanese beauties for whom the glamor of youth has passed; Kin has become a calculating cold-hearted money-lender, and even her best friends, fellow ex-Geishas Tomi, Nobu and Tamae, are in hock to her. She also has two former lovers pursuing her; one she wants to see and the other she doesn't, but when the former turns up he proves to be a great disappointment. Tomi and Tamae have children, but their relationships with them are troubled. Meanwhile Nobu and h find out more...

Adapted from three stories by Maupassant. 'Le Masque' describes how an old man wears a mask of youth at a dance hall to extend his youthful memories. 'La Maison Tellier', the longest episode, deals with a day's outing for the ladies from a brothel and a brief romance. In 'Le Modéle' the model in question jumps from a window for love of an artist, who then marries her. These three on old age, purity and marriage are shot with a supreme elegance and sympathy and the central tale in particular luxu find out more...

Nazarin is one of Bunuel's quartet of adaptations of the great 19th Century Spanish writer Benito Perez Galdos and, with 'Simon Of The Desert', forms the best of his explorations of religion. find out more...