Ridley Scott directed epic that gives the definitive version of the Columbus story. The lush scenery, superb casting and top-notch direction don't quite make up for it being overlong, but on the whole Scott (and Depardieu) have painted a wonderful and absorbing picture. Well worth a watch!
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AGUIRRE - WRATH OF GOD (1972)
Certification15 Our Rating
1560, Peru. In a beautiful poetic opening scene the conquistadors cross an Andes pass, situated between the peaks and the valleys, between conquered land and unexplored forests, between 'heaven' and 'earth', shrouded in mists, they make their way down a narrow path. Aguirre's meglomania grows as around him his comrades mutiny and die in his search for the lost city of El Dorado. Herzog's best film, an unforgetable tour de force. Made before the director himself gave in to meglomania on a later t
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AND THE SHIP SAILS ON (2007)
Certification15 Our Rating
Cinematic maestro Federico Fellini shows that, even in his mid-sixties, he had lost none of his power to shock, entertain and amaze with this `comedy of arias'. The film is set on the eve of the WWI, but this matters little
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AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956)
CertificationU Our Rating
Michael Anderson had the bright idea of collecting hundreds of stars together way before Robert Altman thought of it and here they all are, in glorious technicolour. Niven is suberb, as always, as the impeccable Fogg who, for a wager, tries to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days! Hop on a sailing railroad across The West! Be attacked by fierce prairie Indians! Rescue a Princess in India! Sail a burning Atlantic paddle-wheeler! Fight bulls in Spain! Romp through Paris! Won Best Picture at 1956 Ac
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BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Mind those steps! Perhaps the most famous movie scene in the history of cinema. The documentary style story of mutiny aboard the Potemkin as the sailors fight oppression and fire on Tzarist troops attempting to quell rebellion in the city of Oddessa. Almost every shot is so beautiful it could work as a still.
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CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Errol Flynn, in his starring debut, plays a doctor wrongly condemed to prison who escapes and leads his fellow prisoners to a life of piracey. He then goes onto form the 'Brotherhood of Buccaneers' to fight the villainous James II.
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HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Shot in five sections "How The West Was Won" is a sprawling multi-star epic following the fortunes of one family from 1839 and New York to 1889 and Arizona. 'The Rivers' (dir Henry Hathaway); the Prescotts head west down the Ohio river. 'The Plains' (dir Henry Hathaway); Lily moves to St Louis and on to Caifornia. 'The Civil War' (dir John Ford); Linus and Zeb enlist on the Union side. 'The Railroad' (dir George Marshall); the settlers multiply and cavalry officer Zeb finds himself in a war with
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LAND OF PROMISE DISC 1 (2007)
Certification15 Our Rating
A major retrospective of the British documentary film movement during its period of greatest influence; before, during and after the Second World War. These diverse and compelling films are fascinating historical documents, bearing witness to the social and industrial transformations of the rapidly changing world. Striking in their different approach to the form, using poetry, dramatic reconstruction and explicit propaganda, the film-makers found fresh, new ways to get their message across.
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LONGITUDE (1999)
CertificationU Our Rating
The lack of accuracy in the calculation of longitude had caused the death of countless sailors. In 1714 Parliament, worried by the loss of British ships and mindful to the military advantage of knowing where one was at sea, offered a £20,000 prize to anyone who could accurately measure longitude. This is the story of John Harrison, a brilliant carpenter, whose timepieces solved the problem that had long defeated the scientists, it was a hard fought victory and Harrison was forced to endure pover
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LORD JIM (1965)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Brooks's adaptation of Conrad's novel, the story of an idealistic young naval officer who is discharged for cowardice and tries to redeem himself by taking some explosives into the unmapped jungles of Sumatra, where he is captured and tortured by a feudal war lord. O'Toole's Jim and Mason's Gentleman Brown discussing the age of the world and the price of evil while sat on a raft in the middle of a fog-bound river is a classic scene, and Freddie Young's photography does for the Asian jungles what
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