Taking man's inhumanity to man as its central theme, 'Au Hasard Balthazar' traces the life of a donkey, christened Balthazar by a group of young children, from birth to death. Balthazar's story begins on a small farm in a rural district of France. Throughout his life he is owned by many of the locals, returning to some of them more than once, and is set various tasks, from drawing a carriage to performing in a circus, turning a grindstone to acting as a smuggler's means of transport. Some owners find out more...

In a move designed to subordinate the Catholic Church to the state, Henry II gave the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury to his close friend and ally Thomas Becket. With Becket now installed as his 'man on the inside' Henry could be forgiven for thinking that the church would more easily acquiesce to his bidding. Henry, however, had neither bargained on Becket's ecclesiastical fervour nor realized his zealous nature. Thus the stage was set for one of the greatest battles of supremacy between find out more...

One of the most spectacular epics of all time, even by the standards of Hollywood, the famous twenty minute chariot race alone took three months to shoot, and, along the way, Ben is given a helping hand and converted by Jesus. An unmissable slice of movie history. Won Best Picture at 1959 Academy Awards. find out more...

Phyllis Dietrichson is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who inspires in her nothing but contempt, but rather than leave him Phyllis decides to kill him and collect on the insurance policy she's had set up with the help of her lover, and naive partner in crime, insurance salesman Walter Neff. The only flaws in their plan are the company's reluctance to pay out so much, the diligence of Neff's increasingly suspicious colleague, (and his 'little man'), and the exemplary ruthlessness of Ph find out more...

Elmer Gantry is a man on a mission, a mission from God, but behind the raging sermons of fire and brimstone there lurks a man whose conscience has long ago deserted him. A hustler par excellence Elmer has no qualms about what he takes and who he may hurt, but when an old flame re-enters his life the carefully constructed world he has created starts to dramatically fall apart. Elmer Gantry is a powerhouse performance from Burt Lancaster who deservedly won an Oscar in a role of awesome intensit find out more...

Huge epic, set during the heyday of Republican Rome, in all its ostentatious glory. The story details the purchase and selection of slaves, the harsh discipline and routine of the gladiators' school, the new comradeship balked by the realisation that a gladiator must kill or be killed. Then the film really comes into its own with the superbly staged revolt and escape, led by the slave who, with his unlikely army, holds the Roman army at bay for four years. Magnificent, masterful....a classic! find out more...

A luxurious visual interpretation of the biblical text performed entirely by non-professionals. The director's Catholicism and Marxism serve him well here as the Messiah is presented as a distinctly political figure fuelled by anger at social injustice, while the miracles are just incidental. Pasolini's stunning photography combined with a magnificent musical score, from Bach to Billie Holiday, make this a breath-taking feast. Both religiously and politically powerful. find out more...

The sufferings of a martyr, Jeanne D'Arc (1412-1431). Jeanne appears in court where Cauchon questions her and d'Estivet spits on her. She predicts her rescue, is taken to her cell, and judges forge evidence against her. In her cell, priests interrogate her and judges deny her the Mass. Threatened first in a torture chamber and then offered communion if she will recant, she refuses. At a cemetery, in front of a crowd, a priest and supporters urge her to recant; she does, and Cauchon announces find out more...

Set against the background of the English Civil War, this tale of the violent persecution of alleged witches by the eponymous central character is a masterpiece of 60's British cinema. Excellent performances, (especially Vincent Price's), complement evocative use of scenery. One point of interest is the changes in film stock, which makes the film appear redder at the end than at the beginning, a deliberate ploy on behalf of the director who uses the deepening crimson to symbolise the story's find out more...