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 find out more...

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 find out more...

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 find out more...

Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey is a naval commander whose ship comes under heavy fire from a vastly superior enemy vessel while on patrol off the Brazilian coast during the Napoleonic wars. Only the luck of the gods and Jack's renowned cunning save him and the crew from certain doom, enabling their ship to slip away from battle before all is lost in the icy depths of the ocean. With his pride and his ship in a poor way Jack vows to turn the tables on his foe and so begins a tense game of cat and mo find out more...

Melville's wild and brilliant gothic tale is electrically adapted by John Huston. Peck's performance, as Ahab with his gradual descent into madness, make a powerful centrepiece, whilst the deliberate sepia feel, the narration, and the fine supporting cast (including Orson Welles) all add depth. find out more...

Saloon singer Monroe, violence prone farmer Mitchum and the young son he hardly knows, drift down-river by raft from both immediate dangers and their immediate pasts. They must try the impossible, to restart their broken lives and return to being an ideal family. Mitchum's performance is excellent, but the film holds most interest as an early Monroe performance. There really is no return. A tale of betrayal, revenge and love in the wild Wild West. find out more...

An entertaining version of the famous book, which, while being a good period drama and an interesting comparison of moral and sexual codes, fails to match the book's post-structuralist approach to genre melodrama or its hard look at Victorian sexuality. An excellent, if slightly flawed movie! find out more...

Tom and Maggie Tulliver are a brother and sister who live in a mill beside the river Floss. Maggie is a tomboy, who gets into romantic difficulties which lead to her disgrace. A quality production which has become synonymous with the BBC and is perfect for conveying this rather modern tale of a young woman striving for independence in matters of life and love. The story is loosely autobiographical explaining the troubles that George Eliot herself had whilst in a relationship with a married man. find out more...

Jane Campion's outstanding and acclaimed dramatic masterpiece. Hunter turns in an incredible performance as the mute Ada, sold into a marriage with Neill. Her piano is her voice and she must earn it back from Baines, key by key, in a moving emotional bargain. Stunning - the best film of the year. find out more...

Jean and Thomas decide to take a sailing holiday in an attempt to rekindle their fading marriage, perhaps unwisely they also take Thomas' brother and his girlfriend. Jean, a newspaper photographer, who is teetering on the edge of a breakdown, researchs the lurid and sensational axe murder of two women in 1873, and discovers a cache of papers that appear to give an account of the murders by an eyewitness. The plot weaves between the narrative of the eyewitness and Jean's private struggle with jea find out more...