The Merchant of Venice

The story of a disabled beggar in Charleston,S.C. who falls in love with a prostitute, this is the first filmed version of Gershwin's opera which uses Gershwin's own orchestrations and practically all of the music, with only one major cut.

Acorn Antiques: The Musical! is the all-singing, all-dancing and fully overalled stage version of the beloved TV spoof. The triumphant West End production brought together Julie Walters (Mrs Overall), Celia Imrie (Miss Babs) and Duncan Preston (Mr Clifford) - the original cast of the series. It was directed by Sir Trevor Nunn ("Les Miserables", "Woman in White", "Starlight Express") and written by Julie's understudy, the award-winning Victoria Wood. Filmed during the sell-out run at the beautiful Haymarket Theatre, the musical features an all-star supporting cast of Josie Lawrence, Neil Morrissey & Sally Ann Triplett.

The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son Edward, is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to each other, Guildford and Jane fall in love. But they cannot withstand the course of power which will lead to their ultimate downfall.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is a stage play by Tom Stoppard with music by André Previn. It was first performed in 1977. The play criticizes the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness.[1] Its title derives from the popular mnemonic used by music students to remember the notes on the lines of the treble clef.

In 1895, in cell 3, floor 3, in Reading Gaol, we find Prisoner C33. Starved, thin, and with his hair crudely hacked short, he is confined alone in this dark cell, denied water to wash himself with and refused access to a toilet. Prisoner C33 – real name Oscar Wilde – is a dramatist of genius, poet, wit, novelist, husband, father of two children and, until recently, the darling of London society. He has been imprisoned for the crime of having participated in a homosexual relationship. He is struggling to reconcile his identity as a creative genius with the trauma of his treatment as a despised criminal.

Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.

London, England, May 2000. The peaceful life of elderly Joan Stanley is suddenly disrupted when she is arrested by the British Intelligence Service and accused of providing information to communist Russia during the forties.

King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.

A series of dramas featuring staged theatre plays.

Live from Glyndebourne 1983

This documentary, originally presented on the television series The South Bank Show, covers actor Humphrey Bogart's life and career, including archival footage and interviews with Lauren Bacall and his son Stephen Bogart.

Swedish supergroup Abba stars in this documentary that features extensive concert footage, television clips and current interviews. Songs include "Super Trooper," "Mamma Mia," "Eagle," Head Over Heels," "Take a Chance On Me," "One Man, One Woman," "Money, Money, Money," "The Winner Takes It All," "Happy New Year," "Knowing Me and Knowing You" and "Fernando." Also included is the finale from the gala performance of the stage show "Mamma Mia."

Franco Zefirelli passed away on 15th June 2019. Chris Hunt's biography explores how Zeffirelli's sense of drama was born out of his own experience and how his life inspired his productions. Chris Hunt interviewed him and other famous actors, friends and associates, had a camera at Zefirelli's 94th birthday and during the opening of his foundation in Florence. This documentary, including clips from operas, films and plays aims to be the definitive portrait of a Renaissance man larger than life.

Following the life of Marlene Dietrich through her films (including home movies) and interviews with family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and presumed lovers. From the cabaret scene in 1920's Berlin, silent films in Germany, her triumph in _The Blue Angel_ in 1930 (for which her screen test is included in this film), to Hollywood with Josef von Sternberg. The highest paid female star of her time, the luster dimmed by 1935. and in the later part of the decade she might be the most valuable actress in the world but also the most unemployable. But with _Destry Rides Again_ Marlene became a sex symbol who could play comedy and the most remarkable comeback in Hollywood was a reality. She was one of the most active entertainers of the allied troops during WW II. After the war movies were infrequent, but a new career on the stage continued for another 20 years, until she retired into seclusion for the last decade of her life.

Robert Johnson was one of the most legendary and mysterious Delta Bluesmiths of all time. Little is known about his life, but his music has influenced many different artists, like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. Now, John Hammond Jr., son of legendary record producer John H. Hammond, who also organized a concert for Robert Johnson right before he died, goes to the Deep South to learn more about this amazing man, trying to find information about Johnson's birth date, place and parents, his early musical development, performances and travels, romances, his mythic "pact with the devil," his untimely murder in his late twenties, the discovery of possible offspring, and the uncertainty over where Johnson is buried. Throughout, Johnson's music is both foreground and background, from recordings of Johnson and as performed on camera by Hammond, David Honeyboy Edwards, and Johnny Shines.

Humphrey Bogart documentary narrated by his son.

The story of one of the greatest pop bands of all time, this programme features, for the first time, all four members talking about their lives before during and after ABBA. Included with extracts from the rehearsals and performances of the smash hit musical Mamma Mia!, based on the songs of ABBA, are all the big hits, concert footage and interviews with Bono, Malcolm McLaren, Pete Waterman, Tim Rice Bjorn Again and Steps!

Cole Porter's beloved classic receives "Another Op'nin, Another Show", in this masterful 1999 London revival of the Tony Award winning musical Kiss Me, Kate! When the egotistical Fred Graham mounts a musical adaptation of The Taming of The Shrew (with himself as director, producer, and star) he’s got the perfect leading lady in mind: his movie star ex-wife! The fireworks both onstage and off between the two seem destined to explode the entire production…or will a romantic flame that’s Too Darn Hot be rekindled? With backstage shenanigans, gangsters brushing up their Shakespeare, and a collection of Porter tunes that any Tom, Dick, or Harry will love, Kiss Me, Kate remains an all-time favorite of musical fans from Padua to Peoria.

In this documentary Roy Lichtenstein is interviewed and discusses his life and art work, what influenced him, where his ideas came from, how his art adapted and how and why it changed over time. He discusses the Pop Art movement, a bit, mostly how he was one of a number of artists making art that was then called Pop Art. Also interesting is Lichtenstein tells what different art critics have said about different phases of his art and he shares his personal reactions to their statements. Additionally some footage of people criticizing and discussing his artwork is included, almost in a “he said, she said” manner which makes the viewer think about how sometimes what others say about an artist’s work may be a bit off or just wrong. Contrary to what non-artists may think, artists do usually have a reason or an inspiration behind what they create. Lucky for us this documentary allows us into the brilliant mind of Roy Lichtenstein.